Blog
Find advice and follow the college experiences of our current first-gen student bloggers.
Your College Success Strategy: 5 Tactics from a First-Gen Student
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. Take it from someone who knows: adapting to college life can be a real challenge! Not only does studying go from a 30-minute task to a three-hour feat, but sleep can become...
Being a Low-income, First-generation Student at an Elite College
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. I never expected a student like me to struggle in college. I graduated in the top five percent of my class, had been awarded a Questbridge Scholarship to attend the...
College Shopping: Finding The Best Fit For You
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. There are two approaches to shopping: hope something stands out as you browse the aisles or know what you need beforehand. This was especially true when I recently tried to...
A Simple Inequality: Procrastination < Discipline
Procrastination. It’s a word that we students are all too familiar with. We find every excuse not to do an assignment, study for a test, or any other task. Don’t get me wrong, I know that there are those times when we just have a lot on our plate; when the to-do list...
Stay Focused
The last semester of senior year of high school is one of the most fun times ever. You are about to graduate, most people have already gotten accepted into college, now you just have to cruise through the rest of high school. When I was a senior, I just kicked back...
Treasure!
Hey everyone! Can you smell summertime? I know I can! This past month has been a whirlwind, but a very enjoyable one… If that makes sense. I’d like to tell y’all about what’s been going on! If you don’t know, I am involved in Student Government. It has been a very big...
First-Generation Students in Today's College Society: From Disconnect to Engagement
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. I have been reflecting lately on what it means to be a college student in American higher education today. As I have pondered this, I have realized the similarities and...
My Panama Trip
Here I am, almost finished with my first year of college as a first generation student and I am shocked with what I have accomplished. Last year I took a course called Power and Politics in America--a class full of seniors--and at the end of the course my professor...
Planning for Post-College Life and Fighting Senioritis
As graduation gets closer and closer, most seniors just really want to get done with everything and take a breather. I, for example, just want to lie in bed and re-watch that last episode of Game of Thrones. That ending was great, cathartic even, since I had really...
Learning Outside the Classroom, Adventures Abroad
Four months ago, I was learning how to cook in Cape Town, South Africa. From June to December last year, I interned and studied abroad at the University of Cape Town. When I got to my hostel in Cape Town, I was on my own (the first time since college) in an entirely...