First-Gen College Student
By Inaleigh Johnson
Ina is a first-gen Master of Arts student at SFSU where she plans to research how graffiti acts as a part of the urban landscape. Bringing enthusiasm to all she does, Ina shares her experience as a womxn getting a higher education with our SciGal readers. She can be found on Youtube as Inaleigh Johnson.
I am a first-generation college student. Being a first-generation student means that neither of my parents earned university degrees. In my case, my mom graduated high school, while my dad did not. My parents' experiences in education shaped my k-12 experience. I attended elementary through high school in a “nicer” part of San Jose from where I lived in South San Jose. Throughout my entire public school experience I was told to lie about where I lived in order to go to a school in a richer neighborhood. Attending school in a more affluent district allowed me to go to school with and make friends with other youth who were expected to, or often pressured to go to college. I hated high school because I felt like in that setting the purpose of learning was to do well on tests. I also found it difficult to engage with content that did not seem relevant to me. I did have older friends who were in college and told me all about the great things in college like choosing your own classes, learning radically different subjects, and meeting new people. Hearing how different college was from high school helped convince me to apply to college. There are probably a lot of factors that determined my own decision to pursue higher education as a first generation college student, but going to a school with students with access and mobility definitely influenced my desire to pursue education.
Due to the high cost of out of state tuition, expensive flights and moving costs, I knew I could not afford to go to school far away. I applied to State schools across California including Cal State East Bay, Humboldt, and San Francisco State. As I mentioned, I grew up in San Jose, so I spent a lot of time taking the Caltrain to San Francisco, and of course I fell in love with the city from a young age. I decided to go to San Francisco State. I made this decision ultimately because I wanted to live in San Francisco and be a part of the community here.
When I moved to San Francisco I got a retail job that consumed my first year and a half of college. I was 18 and did not know how to have boundaries, so I often worked extra shifts, stayed late, and had no consistency in scheduling. Because I was working so much, and going to school full time, the free time I had was limited. Because of this, I had a hard time engaging in activities outside of work or class. But I LOVED learning. I took Introduction to African American History with a teacher who was a Black Panther and Introduction to Latinx Literature with a teacher who was a part of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. I loved learning, reading, writing and discussions! I loved everything about classes! But as soon as class was over I was the first one out the door to catch the bus to go to my job or home.
A struggle I had my first semester was that I had no idea what my grades were, and I was too nervous to contact my teachers. I worried that I wasn’t doing well and I was not comfortable enough to connect with my teachers in their office hours or email. Looking back I wish I had felt more comfortable emailing teachers or attending office hours when I had questions. Eventually I began to believe teachers when they said that they wanted students to come to office hours. After a few years, I began to feel more comfortable asking for help.
I found a lot more direction during my second year of college. I changed my major from Political Science to double major in Geography and Latinx Studies. I also got a less intense job that I met some great friends at. I was going to art shows, meeting new people, and I felt like I was beginning to find my community.
By my third year of college I was learning a lot about myself, and understanding who I was more. I felt closer with friends I made through jobs than friends I met through school. I had a difficult time making friends in the Geography department, and I felt pretty disconnected from the department overall. I became more connected to the department when one of my teachers asked me to be a Teaching Assistant (TA) for a Geography 101 class. I loved being a TA and I think the experience of being a TA actually empowered me to consider graduate school!
In my fourth year of college I learned that a geography degree is not very marketable and that there are not a lot of jobs for geography majors. This motivated me to apply to the Geography Master of arts (MA) program at SF State. The application process was confusing (and expensive)! I talked to some grad students in the program, many of them were men who gave me bad advice, or who I just did not connect with in general.
Unfortunately, my first year in the geography MA program was interrupted by COVID19 and I am just starting my second year in the program. Luckily, I have felt supported by the professors in the program, but connecting with other students continues to be a challenge for me.
Being the first person in my family to go to college definitely impacted my college experience. I think the challenges I faced are common among first generation or low income college students. These challenges include: learning how to ask for help, navigating the college system unsupported by my parents, and having a hard time connecting with other students in a department. Despite these challenges, I have been empowered by learning from teachers and other students at SF State, and I continue to feel supported by my community in San Francisco. Despite the many challenges in higher education especially for first generation college students, there are also many benefits, and I definitely encourage people to pursue college!