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♪♪♪

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Gloria: It'’s just amazing to 
hear that I was not alone.

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Michael: "“Not alone"” - instead, 
surrounded by fellow students

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experiencing the same 
new and challenging chapter

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in their lives.

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That'’s what this First Gen 
circle is all about at El Camino

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College in Torrance.

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Everyone here is the first in 
their family to attend college.

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Seranda Bray leads the group.

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Seranda: When I was a first-year 
student, there weren'’t first-gen

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initiatives like this.

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And so sometimes I did feel like 
all, you know, this is just me

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having this experience, everyone 
else has it together, they know,

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but I think it'’s really 
beautiful when you get to see

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like, oh my gosh, we are all 
part of this together.

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As first gen students, we have, 
like, mad skills, y'’all

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(laughs).

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We come with so many strengths 
and so many things that we'’ve

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learned growing up...

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Michael: Seranda is part 
of a campus-wide

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initiative helping 
first-generation students

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navigate the brand-new and often 
intimidating college experience.

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Help includes early steps like 
signing up for classes,

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scheduling office hours with 
professors, even securing

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financial aid and career 
counseling.

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Perhaps most important, quelling 
any signs of discouragement or

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self-doubt.

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Seranda: And so what I share 
with students is checking those

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negative voices that sometimes 
creep into our psyche, and also

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reminding them that you have, 
like, you'’ve earned, you'’ve

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worked very hard, like, it'’s not 
luck!

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Elizabeth: It was hard, you 
know, in the beginning

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especially.

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Once again, you feel lost, you 
feel like an imposter, you feel

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like you'’re not good enough, but 
I'’m grateful for the resources

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I have.

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It'’s amazing to have this 
community and these people who

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are going through the 
same thing as you.

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Michael: El Camino College has 
almost thirty thousand full and

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part-time students.

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More than half of them are first 
generation.

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It'’s a percentage similar to 
many other community colleges

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throughout California.

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Francisco: For first-generation 
students, and I'’m one myself, so

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I could speak to it first hand, 
the language of higher education

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is in some cases foreign.

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It'’s a foreign language.

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So we have to somehow demystify 
he college-going process.

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Dena: Many students have a 
deficit mindset.

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I'’m coming in with all these 
barriers and how can I think

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I'’ll be successful.

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I don'’t belong here.

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This isn'’t for me.

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♪♪♪

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Michael: Dena Maloney, president 
of El Camino College, says the

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idea for a major First Gen 
initiative began with her

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faculty members.

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Maloney, also a first-generation 
college graduate, embraced the

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plan, and soon enough, so did 
the entire campus.

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Dena: It turns out that almost 
120 of our faculty members are

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first generation students.

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We help students see we were 
first gen at one point.

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We were in your shoes, and look 
how far we'’ve gone and that'’s

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how far you can go if you want.

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Gloria: My career goal is to 
open up a bakery.

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Gloria: It helped me to know 
that I wasn'’t alone, that I

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wasn'’t the only student feeling 
this, and it provided a

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community, and for me that was a 
huge, huge thing."”

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Darrell: What do you have here?

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Michael: Darrell Thompson is 
another first -generation

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college graduate and one of the 
professors who helped

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create the program.

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He often brings that shared 
experience into his instruction

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- in this class, he'’s invited 
students to share images they'’ve

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captured reflecting some of 
their challenges.

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"“That block of time that 
students have, especially

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first generation students..."

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Darrell: Being a teacher 
is so rewarding

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on its own, but to transform 
these lives that they didn'’t

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think were transformable, maybe 
they weren'’t qualified or it

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wasn'’t meant for them... It'’s a 
really wonderful feeling and

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it'’s super fulfilling.

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"My Mom would put high school or 
equivalent."

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Michael: Brian Gomez went 
straight from a small-town high

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school to UC Merced.

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But the adjustment was 
difficult, and he dropped out.

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Now, he says he'’s much more 
confident as a student,

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and after finishing at El Camino 
he plans to return to the

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university, get a master'’s 
degree, and become a

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college counselor.

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Brian: They'’ve helped me out so 
much.

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If it wasn'’t for them, you know, 
reaching out and picking me up,

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I wouldn'’t be where I am today, 
and I would love to do that for

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other people in the future.

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♪♪♪

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Michael: Studies show programs 
like this help students stay in

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school and often graduate 
sooner.

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Because of its success, El 
Camino was the only community

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college receiving top honors 
from First Forward, a nationwide

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program started by the 
non-profit Center for First

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Generation Student Success.

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Seranda: I would love to see all 
115 community colleges in the

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state of California develop a 
first-gen initiative based on

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our formula, or tailoring it to 
your own campus.

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Dena: All students should have 
access to these kinds of

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resources.

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If we can make that happen, 
it'’ll be fabulous.

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Michael: These students say 
college offers a chance to

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change the trajectory of their 
own lives... that of their

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families'’ ...and even their 
communities.

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With knowledge comes power, new 
economic opportunities...

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and a better future.

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Brian: I see that there'’s other 
people that are going through

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similar things as me, and it 
made me feel confident as a

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student because now I feel ready 
for the world.

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Elizabeth: If somebody tells you 
you can'’t do it, prove to them

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that you can do it and you are 
capable and you'’re good enough

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and you can do it!

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♪♪♪