{"id":69,"date":"2017-08-30T20:57:10","date_gmt":"2017-08-30T20:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/firstgenvoices\/?p=69"},"modified":"2019-06-19T15:47:44","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T15:47:44","slug":"claiming-first-gen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/firstgenvoices\/2017\/08\/30\/claiming-first-gen\/","title":{"rendered":"Claiming ‘First-Gen’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Though my mother worked as a teacher and earned a Master’s degree in the Philippines, I still claim myself as ‘first-gen.’ For while she was ‘college’-educated, her experiences and expectations were vastly different from mine in the U.S. I’d have questions; she couldn’t answer them. I’d be confused; she couldn’t provide clarification. She knew nothing about going to college in the U.S.\u00a0 Where she was from, there was no such thing as FAFSA, drop-add, Blackboard, or any of those other ‘college’ terms.\u00a0 There was no such thing as sororities, learning communities, or email logins.\u00a0 I claim first-gen, because I am first-gen.\u00a0 I had no one to learn from.<\/p>\n

Even further, I was first-gen Filipino-American. Born in the United States but brought up in both Filipino and American customs, my school experiences were all ‘first’ territory. Growing up, I toggled between expectations as an American student (with a strong focus on social activities) and expectations as a daughter to strict, Filipino parents (with a strong focus on purely academic activities). Nonetheless, I stepped into ‘college life’ slowly and allowed myself the time to enjoy the journey.\u00a0 I joined a student organization my 2nd semester, I joined the dance team the semester after that.\u00a0 I declared a major; I learned how to change my major.\u00a0 I enrolled in Elementary Statistics; I learned I hated Elementary Statistics.\u00a0 I wrote; I learned I loved writing.\u00a0 But I learned the most about college from people – students, professors, advisors, front desk workers, etc.\u00a0 I learned to talk to people.\u00a0 I learned to listen to people.\u00a0 For the people you meet in college, are the ones you’ll learn from the most.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Though my mother worked as a teacher and earned a Master’s degree in the Philippines, I still claim myself as ‘first-gen.’ For while she was ‘college’-educated, her experiences and expectations were vastly different from mine in the U.S. I’d have questions; she couldn’t answer them. I’d be confused; she couldn’t provide clarification. She knew nothing … <\/p>\n

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