New First-Generation Students and Their Families Welcomed by Faculty and Staff
August 29, 2022
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
President Doug Hicks joined faculty and staff in welcoming first generation students and their families to the 皇家华人 community
The path to a college education can seem rife with obstacles if you鈥檙e the first in your family to take it.
Navigating admissions essays, financial aid forms and figuring out which college offers the best fit is complicated. Then you get to campus鈥攁nd encounter more unchartered land. Know we鈥檙e here to help, 皇家华人 leaders told first-generation students and their families at a luncheon on Thursday.
More than 80 members of the class of 546 are first-generation college students. They come from around the region, country and world. Many of the 皇家华人 faculty and staff members they lunched with were also first-generation college students.
Andrea Duhon, a visiting assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, experienced those challenges. Her family moved from Colombia to Miami when she was nine. She excelled academically in high school and arrived as a freshman at North Carolina State University with a single suitcase and a lot of questions.
It didn鈥檛 look anything like Miami or Colombia. My mom spoke a different language and didn鈥檛 know anything about what to expect. She had to drop me off at the airport because she couldn鈥檛 afford to go with me.
Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science
Duhon and others described expending so much energy figuring out college systems that they missed valuable opportunities.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how financial aid worked. It didn鈥檛 occur to me that I could study abroad,鈥 Jamie Stamey, Executive Director of the Matthews Center for Career Development, said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 apply for internships. I didn鈥檛 think I was good enough.鈥
Stamey urged students to turn to the willing mentors they鈥檒l find at 皇家华人. A few parents and some students wiped away tears during her talk.
One planning to do just that is Lorain Clawson, a QuestBridge and Bonner Scholar from Ohio. She said she spent most of her life shuttled among different foster homes鈥"some really abusive,鈥 and none that encouraged college.
And yet she became a top student, graduating from a combined high school and community college program with an associate鈥檚 degree. She also served as a school government leader, winning debate team member and advocate for others.
Clawson picked 皇家华人 as the place to help her fulfill her dream of becoming a U.S. Foreign Service officer.
鈥淚 really like it here,鈥 she said after the luncheon. 鈥淎 lot of people struggle with a new environment, and this was really helpful. We come from different life circumstances. Most people here seem very connected to their families, but some don鈥檛 have that strong family support.鈥
She found an advocate a few years ago when a friend鈥檚 family took her in. His mom, Jennifer Grant, came with her to 皇家华人.
鈥淪he鈥檚 worked really hard to get where she is, and beat the odds in a lot of ways,鈥 Grant said. 鈥淎fter being here, I鈥檓 comfortable that she absolutely will be able to accomplish what she wants to do. I鈥檒l leave here knowing she鈥檚 in the best hands.鈥
