Blog
Find advice and follow the college experiences of our current first-gen student bloggers.
Enjoy the Struggle
College certainly does provide it’s own pace of things. I thought I knew what stress felt like through out high school. Oh how wrong I was. College is extremely fast paced. On the one hand you have a whole year worth of one AP class squished into one semester. That’s...
How Studying Can be… Fun: A Plea to Those Onboard the Struggle Bus
“Who discovered the electron?” my brother asks as we study for our chemistry test. “All I remember is that it starts with a J, but it’s just a name and a word. How are we supposed to memorize the association if it means nothing to us?” He cleverly responds: “J.J...
Your College Questions Answered by a Graduating First-Generation Student
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. Instead of telling my stories in this blog post, I've taken the initiative to allow first-generation students to ask me questions about college. I've answered these...
My Social Wheel
At a recent residential life meeting, we were asked to fill out two sheets of paper. On the first was a circle that asked about my personal traits- the type of books I enjoy reading, the words I would use to describe myself, etc. On the second was a circle that asked...
How to Make Each Day Count: Managing Time and Balancing Your Schedule as a First-Gen Student
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. Are You a Mr. or Mrs. Do-Everything? Chances are, you're a thriving first-generation student who, like me, has had problems with trying to do everything or, more...
This Semester
When I registered for spring semester in November of last year I was extremely excited. But this semester taken quite a few unexpected turns! The one class I expected to be my favorite turned out to be my least favorite! I was extremely excited to take a class that...
Financial Aid Troubles
Once again it is that joyous time of year to reapply for financial aid! I say that hesitantly because this year I have actually had more difficulties associated with the process of reapplying! Generally, most schools require three separate applications-- the FAFSA,...
On rule-breakers
Some thoughts I had earlier tonight on leadership and game-changers: Lately I've thought a lot about how individuals we now recognize as major cultural icons must have felt when they were first starting out their career/movement. I've thought about how insecure they...
Reporting from the Clinton Global Initiative University
On March 22, I had the privilege of attending the Clinton Global Initiative University conference at Arizona State University on behalf of Center for Student Opportunity and the I'm First project. It was one of the highlights of my senior year at Harvard. Being around...
4 Ways to Jump-Start Your College Search Process
This article was originally written for FirstGenerationStudent.com, now a part of ImFirst.org. Spring has sprung … sort of. While many of us are still digging ourselves out of snow and ice, the signs of spring have arrived: more sunlight, rising temps and...