♪♪♪
Gloria: It'’s just amazing to
hear that I was not alone.
Michael: "“Not alone"” - instead,
surrounded by fellow students
experiencing the same
new and challenging chapter
in their lives.
That'’s what this First Gen
circle is all about at El Camino
College in Torrance.
Everyone here is the first in
their family to attend college.
Seranda Bray leads the group.
Seranda: When I was a first-year
student, there weren'’t first-gen
initiatives like this.
And so sometimes I did feel like
all, you know, this is just me
having this experience, everyone
else has it together, they know,
but I think it'’s really
beautiful when you get to see
like, oh my gosh, we are all
part of this together.
As first gen students, we have,
like, mad skills, y'’all
(laughs).
We come with so many strengths
and so many things that we'’ve
learned growing up...
Michael: Seranda is part
of a campus-wide
initiative helping
first-generation students
navigate the brand-new and often
intimidating college experience.
Help includes early steps like
signing up for classes,
scheduling office hours with
professors, even securing
financial aid and career
counseling.
Perhaps most important, quelling
any signs of discouragement or
self-doubt.
Seranda: And so what I share
with students is checking those
negative voices that sometimes
creep into our psyche, and also
reminding them that you have,
like, you'’ve earned, you'’ve
worked very hard, like, it'’s not
luck!
Elizabeth: It was hard, you
know, in the beginning
especially.
Once again, you feel lost, you
feel like an imposter, you feel
like you'’re not good enough, but
I'’m grateful for the resources
I have.
It'’s amazing to have this
community and these people who
are going through the
same thing as you.
Michael: El Camino College has
almost thirty thousand full and
part-time students.
More than half of them are first
generation.
It'’s a percentage similar to
many other community colleges
throughout California.
Francisco: For first-generation
students, and I'’m one myself, so
I could speak to it first hand,
the language of higher education
is in some cases foreign.
It'’s a foreign language.
So we have to somehow demystify
he college-going process.
Dena: Many students have a
deficit mindset.
I'’m coming in with all these
barriers and how can I think
I'’ll be successful.
I don'’t belong here.
This isn'’t for me.
♪♪♪
Michael: Dena Maloney, president
of El Camino College, says the
idea for a major First Gen
initiative began with her
faculty members.
Maloney, also a first-generation
college graduate, embraced the
plan, and soon enough, so did
the entire campus.
Dena: It turns out that almost
120 of our faculty members are
first generation students.
We help students see we were
first gen at one point.
We were in your shoes, and look
how far we'’ve gone and that'’s
how far you can go if you want.
Gloria: My career goal is to
open up a bakery.
Gloria: It helped me to know
that I wasn'’t alone, that I
wasn'’t the only student feeling
this, and it provided a
community, and for me that was a
huge, huge thing."”
Darrell: What do you have here?
Michael: Darrell Thompson is
another first -generation
college graduate and one of the
professors who helped
create the program.
He often brings that shared
experience into his instruction
- in this class, he'’s invited
students to share images they'’ve
captured reflecting some of
their challenges.
"“That block of time that
students have, especially
first generation students..."
Darrell: Being a teacher
is so rewarding
on its own, but to transform
these lives that they didn'’t
think were transformable, maybe
they weren'’t qualified or it
wasn'’t meant for them... It'’s a
really wonderful feeling and
it'’s super fulfilling.
"My Mom would put high school or
equivalent."
Michael: Brian Gomez went
straight from a small-town high
school to UC Merced.
But the adjustment was
difficult, and he dropped out.
Now, he says he'’s much more
confident as a student,
and after finishing at El Camino
he plans to return to the
university, get a master'’s
degree, and become a
college counselor.
Brian: They'’ve helped me out so
much.
If it wasn'’t for them, you know,
reaching out and picking me up,
I wouldn'’t be where I am today,
and I would love to do that for
other people in the future.
♪♪♪
Michael: Studies show programs
like this help students stay in
school and often graduate
sooner.
Because of its success, El
Camino was the only community
college receiving top honors
from First Forward, a nationwide
program started by the
non-profit Center for First
Generation Student Success.
Seranda: I would love to see all
115 community colleges in the
state of California develop a
first-gen initiative based on
our formula, or tailoring it to
your own campus.
Dena: All students should have
access to these kinds of
resources.
If we can make that happen,
it'’ll be fabulous.
Michael: These students say
college offers a chance to
change the trajectory of their
own lives... that of their
families'’ ...and even their
communities.
With knowledge comes power, new
economic opportunities...
and a better future.
Brian: I see that there'’s other
people that are going through
similar things as me, and it
made me feel confident as a
student because now I feel ready
for the world.
Elizabeth: If somebody tells you
you can'’t do it, prove to them
that you can do it and you are
capable and you'’re good enough
and you can do it!
♪♪♪