I was a low-income, first-generation high school student. Both of my parents had a middle-school education. My father was a factory worker and my mother was a domestic who eventually stayed at home to raise her children. We had a garden that provided our vegetables.
Even though I took honors classes in high school, I didn’t know how the college application process worked and so I decided instead to join the military. I took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test and was set to enlist in the Air Force, but there was just one problem: I was 17 and needed my parents’ permission. My mother refused. She said I had to wait until I was 18, which was five months after I graduated from high school.
So I regrouped and began to consider college. I had exactly one criterion: the school should be no more than a day’s drive from home, but far enough away to dissuade family members from dropping in. My guidance counselor told me about North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh. I borrowed money to take the SAT and received a waiver for my college application fee. I applied only to NCSU, and I was accepted.
A few days before classes started, my cousin and I loaded a rental vehicle with clothes, toiletries, and my parents’ bedroom television, and went off to Raleigh. My first year of college was a struggle for many of the reasons that low-income, first-generation (LIFG) students at Carleton struggle. I had a work-study job, which was barely enough to cover my books each semester. So I picked up two additional jobs to pay for my books and extracurricular activities. I had never eaten at McDonald’s until I was in college.
I struggled with imposter syndrome. Many of my classmates had attended elite boarding schools or selective public schools. They were world travelers; I had never been on a family vacation. Their terminology, language, and experiences were quite different from mine. I did a lot of listening that first year. I was often silent.
My first trip home during fall break of my freshman year was also a challenge. I was no longer considered part of my community. I was the college-educated person. I was the smart one. My rural neighborhood no longer felt like home. The summer before my sophomore year was my last extended trip home.
I found my way at NCSU by connecting with others. During my first year, I was assigned a mentor who helped me acclimate to college. I became good friends with the vice president for student affairs and the director of multicultural affairs for the math and science department. I stopped by the African American Cultural Center every day. A friend and I made a pact to make the best of college because we couldn’t go home. We were our parents’ and our communities’ hope. We were put on a pedestal and neither one of us wanted to fall. We were afraid to fail.
These experiences have made me a passionate advocate for reducing barriers for LIFG students at Carleton. Last year, I asked Julia Strand, assistant professor of psychology, and Joe Baggot, associate dean of students, to chair a working group to explore opportunities and challenges for LIFG students. Their recommendations created a blueprint for serving LIFG students. Two of their key recommendations were to establish a fund that would meet the emergency needs of students and to identify LIFG faculty and staff members to serve as mentors.
The experiences of LIFG students at Carleton and other colleges and universities are similar, but the support they receive from various members of their communities can be vastly different. Carleton is a place that cares, as evidenced by its commitment to TRIO/SSS and Posse (federally and foundation-funded programs for students from disadvantaged backgrounds), and Carleton programs like FOCUS (for underrepresented students who are interested in math and science) and CUBE (for students who want help with quantitative skills and transitioning to college).
I often think about the 17-year-old student from South Carolina who was the first member of her family to attend college. I see her reflected in so many of our LIFG students at Carleton.
—Carolyn Livingston
Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students
Learn more about Carleton’s LIFG working group at: go.carleton.edu/lifg.