ROCHESTER, N.Y. — College for any student is hard, but being the first in your family can add another level of pressure.
“The lack of guidance like yeah, they, they know some things, but they're not going to help you,” high school senior Zamaria Harmon said. “You really need that support.”
“They don't know what it's like and you're kind of the first person and I'm also the oldest sibling, so just kind of like first for everybody,” high school senior Haidyn Scollon said.
Seeing the struggles both their families have experienced to give up their educational careers has left Scollon and Harmon to make their sacrifice worthwhile.
“My mom actually was in college and then she got pregnant with me and had to drop out for financial reasons,” Scollon said. “And then my dad just wasn't interested. He's a mechanic, so he didn't need to go to college for that.”
“My grandma was sick, so my mom came back from California, and had to work to support,” Harmon said. “Take care of her grandma and then she had me. So she just works to support the family and keep the house and everything.”
They view their entry into college as not only a continuation of their schooling but a break in the family cycle.
“She’s the whole reason why I started working so young and having two jobs,” Harmon said. “She was so happy to see me, like trying harder and trying to make this family stand out more and help us, like, get that rich life that we want.”
With little to no guidance from their families, they have turned to outlets such as St. John Fisher’s College Bound program, giving a glance of what is in store for their future.
“It's first an opportunity for them to envision themselves on a college campus, which I love the opportunity for them to stay here,” assistant vice president of admissions Stacy Ledermann said. “They really can see themselves as being a college student. As well as what the colleges and universities are requiring them to submit. Many students think they'll never be able to afford a four-year college education. So we want to open doors to see how they can put their best foot forward and apply for colleges and universities.”
Providing relief from financial aid, college campus life and college readiness, the program has provided a space for first-generation students to connect with others who are also navigating the academic system.
Students like Harmon shared her own story of being the first in her family in her college essay.
“My essay is about the hardships that I have faced,” Harmon said. “Growing up with a strict Black mother. It's a letter to my mom, but it won't be going to her. She will not see this. And I thought I did this because ... it just shows a lot of character development in me. And through our relationship, I feel like the college application readers, they get to see who I really am.”
The Center for First-Generation Students shares that students whose parents do not have a bachelor's degree make up more than half of all undergraduates in the United States. Finding this issue hit close to home for many, the College Bound program officials hope this is a stepping stone for many who want to break the chain in their own lives.
“You get to meet all the people that are in the same boat as you like,” Scollon said.” We're all first-generation college students, so it's cool to see we're all so different. We're all the same, too.”