I was a first-generation college student

Anyone who has met me knows that I am obsessed with education. I really do believe that a strong educational foundation is the ticket to a better life. It certainly was for me. My parents were high school graduates with traditional working-class jobs. My dad was a truck driver who later became a car salesman, and my mom was a secretary turned stay-at-home mom. My grandparents only got through 8th grade before going into the workforce. There was never any expectation that I would attend college. When I expressed interest in pursuing education beyond 12th grade, my parents assumed I would go to the local community college for an associate degree or perhaps a trade certificate.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE our community colleges. I sent my daughter to one! But in my parents’ eyes, it was an end, not a beginning. This was not a choice among many; it was the only option available to me.

I didn’t question this pathway until my high school counselor intervened. He directed me to a summer program that allowed me to take classes at our state’s flagship university. I loved it there, so I started visiting my high school’s college and career center to learn more about applying to 4-year universities. I met a friend who was one year ahead of me in school, and he became my role model and mentor. Carl ultimately enrolled at that state flagship, and I decided that’s where I wanted to be, too.

So, I applied to that one university and no other. I didn’t realize that students were supposed to apply to multiple schools, and I didn’t know that the state flagship was a “reach” school. Luckily, I got in and followed my mentor through course registration and major selection. Carl is the number one reason I was able to get through college and continue to graduate school. Large public universities aren’t exactly known for their hand-holding and guidance, you know. So thank goodness for Carl!

I guess it’s not surprising, then, that I ended up building a career in education and college guidance. I want to help today’s students achieve what I stumbled into by accident. Luck shouldn’t define a student’s future opportunities. (Neither should legacy, but that’s a story for another day. Lol)

You can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, as well as Substack and Medium.

A version of this post was originally published in my LinkedIn Newsletter.