In 2023, it was reported that 20% of Latinos in the U.S. aged 25 or older held a bachelor’s degree. While Latinos were technically never barred from obtaining a higher education, outward forces — including racism, poverty, and other uncontrollable factors — have kept many from reaching this accomplishment. Due to the sacrifices made by thousands of parents across Latino communities, my generation is working hard at continuing to make that number rise.
In 2019, a study by the National Center for Educational Statistics revealed that 51% of Hispanic and/or Latino students were the first in their families to attend college. In the same study, it was also discovered that 28% of white students and 37% of black students were the first in their families, meaning that it was more likely for a Hispanic and/or Latino student to be first-generation. This is a badge that I wear with honor, dignity, and respect. I am a first-generation college student, and I am very proud to be one. However, two things can be true at the same time; while I am proud to represent my heritage in this way, I would be lying if I said that it didn’t come with its challenges.
In 2022, I embarked on what has certainly been the most eventful four years of my life. I’ve always had big dreams of moving far away for college, living alone in a big city, and learning how to be an adult on my own time. However, when college applications became a real thing and I found out how expensive it is to move far from college, I decided that it would be best to stay close to home. This is a decision that I still thank myself for making because I do not want to know how much harder this would’ve been without my family close by. But even with my childhood home being only a thirty-minute drive away, I still have felt lonely and lost at times in the terrifying halls of university. Being a first-generation student means many things, but one of those things means traversing territory that you have never seen before. I’m sure the same could be said for many of my peers, but it’s harder when you have no one to give you advice or direction. I love my parents, and their knowledge is very valuable to me, but they couldn’t help me here.
The challenges that ensued in my first semester came in the form of finally feeling the burden of education. I’ve always been a smart kid, not to toot my own horn, but prior to college, everything came easily to me. Hard curriculum, tough professors, and juggling multiple classes with multiple assignments for each one started to weigh heavily on my mental health. The hardest part was that I felt like I couldn’t go to my family with these issues because I didn’t want them to think that I wasn’t cut out for this. I didn’t want to disappoint them. That was my first mistake. I want to stress how important it is to lean on others when you feel the weight of the world falling on top of you. As a first-generation student, your parents might not understand, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t help. The same can be said for siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. And especially the friends that you will make during your time at college, too — first-gen or not. I wish that I hadn’t worried too much about disappointing people and had focused more on the accomplishments I was already making. It would’ve saved me many tears and sleepless nights.
What has kept me going this entire time, and will most likely guide me in what is next, is the joy of knowing that I am making the sacrifices that gave me this opportunity worth it. I think a lot about my parents at my age and how different their lives were from mine. Everything they did– and continue to do– was to ensure that their children could have what they never could. This threshold I am soon to cross was only possible due to their support and sacrifice. They remind me often that I also did some of the work as well, focusing hard on school and doing more than what was expected of me throughout middle and high school, but to me, I would be nothing if it were not for them.
A few weeks ago, I was in the car with my dad, and he told me that watching me get my degree made him feel as if he was also getting a degree. Hearing those words come out of the man that I had always deemed my hero made my heart melt because I feel the same way. My degree was never simply for myself but for all the people who have helped me get here, especially my family. Being a first-generation college student has been one of the most difficult things that I have done in my life, but I know that when I see my family’s name on that document, it will have all been worth it.
Soon, I will join the 23% of Latinas who have a bachelor’s degree, and to me, there is no higher honor. The number of Latino/Hispanic students has risen exponentially over the past twenty years, and I can only hope that that number continues to grow. Being a Latina first-generation student means so much to me, and I am proud of every single one of us.