A Perspective of Low-Income, First Generation Students

I recently stumbled across two very meaningful blog posts that gave a perspective of being a low-income, first-generation student. First-generation being that the student is the first in his/her family to attend a four-year college. The blogs were written by Andrew Martinez, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education and research associate at the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions.

Andrew Martinez talks about how when he was at a college orientation why he felt like he did not belong. For example, he had to take a summer bridge program to "catch up" academically, while other students either traveled over the summer or did an internship. Another example is that sometimes wealthy parents or peers may intentionally or accidentally remind him that an elite school was not meant for someone like him. A way that this may be portrayed is that Martinez may be labeled as a pity-admit stemming from Affirmative Action. To some extent, Martinez admitted that this may be true, however, he felt like he was completely deserving of this opportunity because he had to work harder for his academic accomplishments.

All in all, his writing is quite inspirational and my short-summary simply does not do it justice. I highly encourage you to read his pieces, as it will give you either a better perspective on people born in a less advantageous position or if you are also a first-gen student, it may hit home with you.

Cheers!

URL to blogposts:

What I Remember About Orientation as a Low-Income, First-Generation Student
https://diverseeducation.com/article/153425/

The Opportunity of Being First-Gen

https://diverseeducation.com/article/121293/