jasmine and jess

Jasmine, a first-generation student, discusses some misconceptions she faces at the university. People assume she knows what she's doing, but she's still learning and figuring things out. She also feels out of place compared to her peers who have more information and resources. Working while going to school limits her time for extracurricular activities. Overall, she faces challenges and struggles as a first-gen student. Hi, I'm Jess, and I'm here with... Hi, I'm Jasmine. I'm one of the first-gen students here at the U. All right, Jasmine, I just have a few questions for you. So what are some misconceptions that you face here as a first-gen student at the U? Yeah, kind of what comes to mind, like, initially for me is just, like, people assume, like, on campus, if you're going about your day or, like, pursuing a certain degree or career, that you kind of already know what you're doing or what you're looking for. But kind of pursuing higher education so far, I've noticed that a lot of people, yeah, just have that misconception that you know what you're doing. Even in your family, if you're the first one pursuing higher education, they're like, oh, this person's super smart, they know what they want, they know what you're doing. And I think that's a really big misconception that I face as a first-gen student because there's a lot of stuff that I didn't know that I was getting into, and, like, I'm kind of just learning as I go. So when I hear, like, people saying, oh, like, you're so smart, you know what you're doing, or, like, you're the only one who's going to school or, like, you're in college, and I'm here and I'm kind of struggling and I'm still learning and trying to find resources and figuring out, like, what's going on and, like, what I want to do and, like, all that kind of stuff. So I think the biggest misconception for me is, like, people assuming, like, I know what I'm doing, and I definitely don't. Do you feel like that hinders or targets your identity at all? Yeah, I think that I try and identify, like, with the students that I'm pursuing, like, higher education with. So for me, that's, like, pre-medical, pre-professional, or, like, biology students, and a lot of those students are very bright and successful and overachievers. So I do try and identify with that, but it is challenging for me as a first-gen student because there's a lot of information that they had either from family or just, like, being exposed to this, like, higher education community early on that I didn't really have access to or that I didn't know about. So it's hard for me to identify that way sometimes because I feel out of place, like, confused or lost or, like, just behind in general. I'm always hearing about a lot of my peers, like, performing really well and getting published in research or having, like, three different volunteer opportunities while they're going to school and taking classes and preparing for the MCAT and all those things. I'm like, how much time do you have in a day? I know. It's just crazy. And something else is since I'm first-gen, I have to kind of pay for school as I go. So paying for school out of pocket with some financial aid, I do have to work while I'm going to school, so that also limits my time a little bit. So, of course, I aim my career experiences and build my resume to help my pre-professional route, but it does take time, you know, after school, out of the day, and a lot of commitment. But it limits me from building other extracurricular activities too, so I feel like some people can't relate to that or they kind of forget that some students are working while they're going to school. And so that does limit my availability and time sometimes, so it's hard when all these people are doing all their extracurricular activities after school and I have to, like, go put on my scrubs and go to work. Yeah, so. Sounds great. Thank you so much for answering all my questions. Yeah, thank you, Jess. Of course. Perfect. Three minutes. We did it. Nice. Let's see. Amazing.