My mom laughed for real this time and said, “Mamita, you don’t really have a choice.”
I have heard these words since childhood the sound of hope and dreams that one day someone in your family will find success. Many first generation students have heard this as well, many times there is no option. School isn't a want its a need, many people think of college as a bridge to their dreams but first gen students think of it as a bridge to the stable middle class.
She sighed into the phone and said: “Just read me the first question. We’ll go through it a little at a time and figure it out.”
I wish I had the luxury of talking to my parents about my academic life that would be nice, however it is every common for latinx folks to rely on their families no matter the distance between them.
We all made the trip from Miami, my hometown, to what would be my new home at Cornell University.
I bet all those white faces were surprised to see brown faces in a predominately white institution. LOL
Whether used as code for “low income” or “underprivileged” or as a proxy for affirmative action, the label comes with assumptions: that the student’s parents have little or no experience navigating the academic, financial and cultural barriers to higher education, including an application process that stymies even the most savvy parent.
Assumptions are dangerous in particular within the college application world, many times people assume that just because your low income many things are handed to you when the truth is that poor kids like me must work 3 times as hard to get the level of a affluent child with unlimited resources.
Still other definitions are often used by colleges and educational associations.
This doesn't make sense to me, its confusing when private institution define something already made clear into their own version and push to make their information the only way to define a certain phrase or word. The boys dad past away there was no their with an advanced education therefor he is first generation this whole article is trying to argue something extremely clear.