Blog
Find advice and follow the college experiences of our current first-gen student bloggers.
My Cinderella shoe internship
This summer I found the Cinderella shoe of an opportunity with the Los Angeles County Department of Health in South Central Los Angeles which is also, coincidentally, my home. I interned right in the heart of my hometown of Compton which was JUST the experience I...
Thoughts as I Gaze at my Unpacked Suitcases
It’s the season of packing bags and goodbyes. I simultaneously look forward to being uprooted to a new yet familiar place, that of my college, but also dread the inherent feelings of departure and loneliness one feels as one crosses the airport terminal. Where I am by...
Hawaiian Pizza and Existentialist Dread: Your First Move-In Day
Hey reader, hope you’ve had a nice, relaxing summer so far. So, let’s talk about move in day. Now I like to think my parents raised a truthful boy… so I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that it’s a smooth process. It’s AWKWARD. No like, REALLY AWKWARD. Move in...
Off Campus Crib – A Beginners Guide
So you’ve survived life on campus, and now you’re ready to set up camp in your own apartment, outside of the quads which will be swarming with underclassmen in the coming year. You have done some research, found a nice place that is most likely half the price of what...
Uncomfortably Comfortable
Looking back on how I have come to where I am now, I notice there have been a few very clear moments that defined my experience, either as a student, musician, or person – sometimes a combination. Thinking about these moments, I usually feel nostalgic and wish I could...
Feeling Sunk, Still Swimming
The end of sophomore year came like a sigh of relief in the middle of a series of exasperated gasps. I declared my major and immersed myself fully into my academics. I developed relationships with my professors. I became a “leader” in my favorite on-campus...
The Worst Voicemail I've Ever Received
It’s probably just some phony call about winning a fake trip to Florida. I’ll let it go to voicemail. I hit play to half-listen to what I thought would be a robot speaking. Oh how wrong I was…Turns out, the voicemail was to inform me that my apartment’s water heater...
Final Summer to Reflect
Throughout my final summer as an undergraduate student I have found that summer is no longer what it once was. While in high school my friends and I spent our days finding ways to get in trouble and would laugh about it after during our ritual sleepovers. Life was...
Beginnings of Sophomore Year
Summer is over and the Fall semester is already here. It feels like I just finished the second semester of my freshman year; I blinked and summer was over. This summer I was able to take part in an internship with my high school by working at their headquarters. It...
Taking the Old Clunker
Summer's wrapping up and on comes the STRESS. What I've learned from this summer is a very important lesson, that I feel was more-or-less common sense, is to put special towards financial aid and scholarship deadlines and any outside funding you're planning (or...