The First to Walk the Stage
First-generation students share their stories of navigating college
Story by Aiden Luhr
Illustration by Grace Matson
See “Other Resources for first-gen students” at the bottom of this page!
When my parents left after helping me move, I was sad. My chest felt tight but I didn’t cry. I wanted to. I felt lost because this was such a new experience for me. A slow, shuffling gait plagued me in the coming months as I adjusted to my new lifestyle. It took me until late November before I overcame my homesickness at Everett Community College (EVCC). I missed my family, home and friends.
My home is Petersburg, Alaska. It’s a small town, with less than 3,000 people, a rich maritime environment, wildlife and a temperate rainforest. When I moved into my dorm in September 2021, I felt excited. Still, for the first time in 18 years — I was alone.
High school didn’t prepare me for financial literacy. Alaska does not require a financial literacy course. Where is my money going? What kind of loans do I have to take out? These were all of the things I was asking myself.
I still ponder these thoughts as I sit calmly in an upstairs mirrored, conference-like room at the Ethnic Students Center at Western Washington University. I wondered if anyone else had the same questions I had. As it turns out, a couple of other people shared my thoughts.
With her hands placed calmly in her lap, Western junior Bella Nuqui sat across from me and, affirmatively, shared her experience regarding the lack of preparedness for college during high school.
“My high school didn’t even educate us on community college. It was a lot of figuring it out on our own,” Nuqui said.
Despite this, Nuqui attended community college anyway.
“I loved it there because high school really wasn’t for me. I just didn’t like it. A lot of the people there, I just didn’t really vibe with… and honestly, it was very anxiety-inducing being at high school, especially after the pandemic,” Nuqui described.
Nuqui mentioned how she wanted to begin Running Start as early as possible. Essentially, Running Start is a program where students can take collegiate-level courses in high school.
“I did running start. I was really grateful for it because I was able to experience what college would be like before actually getting there, which helped. After all, you are kind of thrown into it.”
Nuqui attended Rogers High School in Puyallup, Washington. Nuqui contemplated how her high school handled preparing their students for college.
“They did a ‘What is FAFSA?’ it was like a PowerPoint and my English teacher did it and that was it,” she said. They didn’t have any other events or anybody who was gonna be helpful in that area.”
For any student, it can be hard to find helpful resources. As a wide smile spreads across her face, Nuqui tells me about her biggest supporter.
“[My mom] likes to call herself my assistant. She didn’t go to college, my dad didn’t graduate high school [and] my brother went to WSU. [My brother] started there and dropped out winter quarter. So I think my mom has just been trying to educate herself as best as possible, to help me and take away some of that stress of figuring it out.”
In the 2021-2022 academic year, 40% of students who attended college and went into debt left with no degree or other credentials, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
In regard to unpreparedness for college, schools don’t communicate well enough when it comes to all of the various items you need for the next phase in your life. Having to figure everything out with my parents, who never went to college, is difficult. For me, the process was long and mind-numbing. It would get to the point where we would all get frustrated at each other because nothing made sense.
Sharing a similar sentiment, Nuqui believes schools aren’t doing a good job of being transparent with incoming students.
“It just felt like schools didn’t communicate as well either. It was like we were having to figure out what it was instead of being able to know. We looked into Facebook groups, to see what it is [that] we needed to be prepared for,” Nuqui shared.
Based on statistics from College Data, in the 2023-24 academic school year, the average price of books and school supplies for students attending public college was $1,290 and $1,250 for private schools. The estimated cost for the 2024-25 school year at Western was $1,224, regardless of whether you qualified as in-state or out-of-state.
Repping a white sweatshirt reading “Western” and a black scarf draped over her shoulders, first-year student and elementary ed major Jasmine Montano spoke about her experience and the pressures of applying to college.
“My plan was to do community college for two years and I was in a program for teacher academy and they gave me my certification for the Paraeducator certification, so I would’ve gotten a full-time job at an elementary school, getting $28 an hour. My goal was to first help my family, but then I kept getting people saying, ‘Why don’t you just apply to C.’ Because I didn’t even try applying to any university. This is the only university I applied to.”
From there, Montano went to a summit camp through her teacher academy program that inspired her to come to Western.
“There were a lot of educators of color there. One of them was a professor, the secondary education dean of students, and she came to talk about Western and she inspired me. Seeing that there could be a professor who was of Mexican descent and who has a doctorate because I’ve never seen a teacher that looked like me.”
With the help of the professor, Montano applied to Western in April 2024.
“I felt like it was a sign for me to go, and it’d be dumb to turn down the opportunity. Even if it was financial needs, she [the professor] said that I could come live with her or she could help me moneywise,” Montano said.
Through Future Woodring Scholars, a first-year interest group through Western’s Woodring College of Education, Montanto found other people in similar situations as herself.
“I get to continue my education interests and learning about it while having people who are also interested in it,” Montano shared. “That’s how I made a lot of my friends, and I also get a mentor through that. I feel very grateful that I have mentors that I can run to with any questions or concerns.”
Most students don’t know what first-gen truly means in the grand scheme of things. I was very confused. It wasn’t until my second year at EVCC when my mom texted me, saying how there is an event/celebration for first-gen students. She was like “You should go to this, because you should be proud of being a first-gen.” I went and it ended up opening up my eyes to how important being a first-gen is and why I should cherish it throughout my life.
“Sometimes students don’t find out unless they are informed or paying attention, and the term first-gen doesn’t have any meaning to them unless someone explains it or shares a definition of what it is. We try to introduce students to the varying definitions on the Career Services Center First Generation students page,” WWU’s Career Counselor team said via email.
June 2024 is a time in Montano’s life that she will remember forever and a moment that can remind us why “firsts” in life are special.
“I graduated from high school. That was a big moment — not just for me, but for my whole family because my father figure is my uncle [and] he was very proud because he didn’t even finish high school, so it felt like a really big thing. I’m grateful that I could make them proud and my whole family showed up,” Montano said. “My sister was proud of me and now she’s feeling more motivated to continue higher education.”
Being a first-generation student is important to me because I’m going to be the first person in my family to attend college and graduate with a bachelor’s degree. I’m trembling at the thought of graduating because of my current feelings — drowning beneath the pressure of being the first person in your family to graduate college, sweaty palms and all is exciting and terrifying.
“At the end of the day, you’re here for a reason, and it’s to make your family proud — it’ll be worth it at the end,” Montano said with a smile on her face.
For freshman and secretary of the First Year First Gen Club Luz Alcala, she found solace in advisor and Western alum Andrea Tafoya during her time at Ferndale High School. Tafoya is currently the Migrant & Latinx Liaison specialist at Ferndale.
“I was really close to [Tafoya]. She’s the one that guided me the most and the one who pushed me to do more stuff,” she said.
Asking for help can be an intimidating thing to do and is something that Alcala wrestled with when trying to find her next school after graduation.
“I was… really confused because I feel like I wanted to do everything. I was embarrassed or afraid to ask for help,” she said.
When it’s time for tax season, do you think there’s anyone who pays with a wide smile on their face?
Alcala giggles at the thought. “I’m still confused. I’m trying to pay on time so I don’t have late fees. But I don’t know anything about taxes, to be honest, and I’m gonna have to do mine, but I’ll probably have to go and pay someone with the process,” Alcala said.
Some may feel lost, but Western has plenty of resources available for first-gen students, something Alcala found very beneficial compared to her high school.
“Use the resources that you have. The staff is really willing to help you [and] I feel like in high school… they just scare you. They really just scare you,” she said.
College can be a stressful time in our lives, but it’s important as first-gens to find time to take pride in our accomplishments, which is one area that we struggle with.
“They often don’t give themselves enough credit for the skills and strengths they’ve gained during their time at Western through coursework, part/full time positions, volunteer opportunities, etc,” said the Career Counselor team via email.
The Career Service Center, located at Old Main 280, is open Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Career Counselor team recommends students incorporate career exploration into their class schedule. WWU has a one-credit Career Preparation course (MGMT 315) offered during the fall, winter and spring. The course is available to all students with no prerequisites.
As I sit here today, three months from closing this collegiate chapter, it hits me like a storm that I’m the first to walk this path, and there are plenty of people out there who are walking the same path as me and are on the verge of passing the finish line.
Other Resources for first-gen students (via Career Counselor Team)
Offers helpful insight to parents and family members to better understand the college experience your child is going through.
Definitions for all language, acronyms and phrases that may be confusing on first glance.
Student-led club that is committed to empowering first-gen and first-year students. Meet every other Thursday at 5 p.m. in the Viking Union 740 (Multicultural Center)
Schedule an appointment to meet with a Career Counselor to discuss career-related plans, empowering students to make decisions and move forward in their careers.
Appointments can be done in-person, virtually and over the phone.
An easy and effective way for students and Western alumni to connect and share knowledge.
Students and alumni can submit questions at askaviking@wwu.edu. Ask A Viking uses Western’s network of alumni to pair them with a student that is best fit based on the questions submitted.
Students, staff and faculty share their voices, discussing their first-gen student experience.