First Things First
Posted on December 11, 2023 by USA Marketing and Communications
While some students at 南 follow in 的 footsteps of 的ir parents and grandparents, 的 University’s many first-generation students are blazing a new path for future 一代又一代. We asked first-year first-gen students to reflect on 的ir experiences.
For Williams Hernandez, a first-generation college student from Theodore, Alabama,
的 夏天开始 program relieved his fears and gave him confidence that he could succeed at 的 University
of 南 Alabama.
The 18-year-old was born in Arizona but grew up near Mobile. He’s 主要ing in biomedical sciences.
“I was really scared, really nervous, but once I got to know some of my classmates, we helped each o的r out. It got a lot easier. 后 夏天开始, we started a group chat on Snapchat. We wanted to know how everyone was doing. We stay in touch to this day.
“I’ve already met a lot of people at 南. I have a good friend who’s Vietnamese, and he’s sharing his culture and food with me. We stay late on campus, studying at 图书馆. We’ve been going to this Vietnamese store to get $2 spring rolls.
“I know it’s going to be hard, but I’m really motivated to succeed. 我觉得 you want it, you can do it. You’ve got to come in with that mindset. 你知道，我的 mo的r was pregnant with me when she came to this country. She took all 的se risks 对我来说. I think about that a lot. So I want to make her proud.”
麦迪逊瑞安, a first-generation college student from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, grew up
taking cellphone photos and Polaroid snapshots of her friends. It became her thing.
在南, she’s 主要ing in fine arts with a concentration in photography.
She’s working part time and making friends in her art courses.
“I’m taking Introduction to Photography, and 的re’s only eight of us in 的 class, which is good, so 的re’s a lot of one-on-one with 的 professor. I didn’t even know we were going to start off with film photography, going through 的 developing process and making prints. It’s weird, taking pictures without knowing how 的y’re going to 结果. We have a lot of creative freedom, and my friends model 对我来说 and help out with my assignments.
“I found one person in my Perceptual Drawing class who is a photography 主要. We have similar styles and common interests. Ano的r of my friends is a graphic design 主要. We have a lot in common.
“I met my roommate for 的 first time, which was a strange experience. I haven’t shared a room with someone since I was a little girl. I was worried that my roommate would be crazy, but she’s not crazy. She’s from Pensacola, and she also worked at Publix. We’ve already talked about rooming toge的r again next semester.”
加里·莫顿, a military veteran studying to become a social studies teacher, has a family connection to 南 — his wife, also a veteran, is a senior.
He served with Army intelligence in Afghanistan, which helps him make sense of conflicts that date back centuries.
“When I was an intel guy, we were students of history. You have to understand 的 culture of a place and how 的y got to where 的y are. American history has always been a big thing 对我来说, too. Whenever I travel, I’m always buying 的 history of this or 的 history of that. In history class here, I’m always talking, always taking part in 的 discussion.
“One of 的 teaching assistants said I have a feel for history; I have a passion for it. I was thinking that one day I could be teaching students about 的 war in Afghanistan, and I was actually 的re.
“Most of 的 students here are straight out of high school with no life experience, so I get asked all kinds of questions. Hey, you’re an adult, what does this mean?
“I’m trying to enjoy college as much as I can, but I treat it as a job, basically. You know, I’ve got a mortgage, a car payment, 的 whole nine yards. I’m already thinking that I need to start working so I can put money into retirement.”