First-Gen Voices: Creative and Critical Narratives on the First-Generation College Experience

http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/fgv/

List of Papers (Total 110)

Children of the Corn

“Child of the Corn” was a short script inspired by my family’s taqueria in Chicago. The story is intended to be a light comedy, but still addresses the issues of gentrification happening in cultural communities. Xiomara and her little brother, Abel, are working at their family’s restaurant when they discover a new yuppie taco joint has opened up across the street. While Abel is...

For Those Who Grew Too Fast

This volume welcomes you amid multiple global epidemics. It welcomes you home, hoping that these words provide visibility, comfort, introspection, and roadmap for pushing boundaries. We know we are tired, we know we are facing uncertainty at every turn, and we know that connection is wearing thin. This collection of words serves as an “I see you,” as an “I am with you,” as an “I...

“A Welcome, A Warning and a Wish: On Entering LMU through the ‘First to Go Program’ in the Year 2020”

"As many as you know, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has a powerful mission statement that includes three pillars that are often cited and recited: The encouragement of learning; the education of the whole person; and the service of faith and the promotion of justice. As I welcome you to campus, I welcome you into the recognition of this now shared mission statement as a joint...

The Stories We Tell

These voices you will hear in this edition of First Gen Voices were crafted and cultivated in a summer trip to the Dominican Republic, where our writers had the opportunity to workshop and reflect on their experiences being first-generation. The purpose? To share their work, mind, and feelings about the struggles and incredible experiences they have made. It is their strength...

Live. Tell. Resist.

This edition of First-Gen Voices features the stories and work of 24 first-generation college students at multiple higher education institutions. The aim is to disseminate a story about us, for us, and consequently, the dominant cultures that have yet to learn from our power.

Live. Tell. Resist.

This edition of First-Gen Voices features the stories and work of 24 first-generation college students at multiple higher education institutions. The aim is to disseminate a story about us, for us, and consequently, the dominant cultures that have yet to learn from our power.

Butterflies

Adinah Bolden is a Los Angeles-based graduate of Loyola Marymount University. She is a pop culture and history loving cynic who has overcome adversity in many matters to work toward leading a fulfilling and exciting post-graduate life. Like many young adults, Bolden has struggled with labels, identity, and personal growth, which she addresses in this narrative. On this First To...

Stephanie Smile

A young African American girl struggled to stay socially afloat in a predominantly white private school. Longing for a connection with a community of black scholars in college, she surprisingly grew very intimidated of her own people. Not only was she stuck in this limbo, but she felt insecure and unconfident transitioning to a four-year university as the first in her family...

What Keeps Me Going

Marco Ramirez has made it halfway through his college career. It hasn’t been the easiest for him, but something has helped him to keep pushing forward. As he reflects on his life, Ramirez is reminded what that something is: his love for his family and his passion for theme parks.

Border Living

As a Colombian-American, Michelle Quintero experiences the challenge of border living when she travels to Colombia after a long wait of ten years. She is faced with the struggle of feeling like an outcast in her own home. After numerous times of trying to fit into one culture, she realizes that she does not need to label herself with just one identity.

¿Oportunidad o Desafío?

Para los estudiantes de primera generación la universidad no solo representa una oportunidad de estudio, también representa un desafío, para Katherine Pichardo estudiante de primera generación la universidad ha sido todo una aventura, una montaña rusa de sentimientos y experiencias que comparte en este ensayo.

Shopping with Shannon

Throughout her first two years at Loyola Marymount University, Kay Hampton has struggled with feelings of isolation and loneliness due to her unique college experience. Working to put herself through college has polarized her from her fellow classmates. Fortunately, her mentor unintentionally changed her perspective of her journey for the better by sharing her story.

The Border Between Us

In a trip to the Mexican-American border, Cindy Dominguez comes face to face with the wall that separates thousands of families and is responsible for many deaths of those seeking better lives. Through this encounter, she recollects her own experience with immigration and reflects upon how much her life has changed. Reminiscing about her childhood in El Salvador, Dominguez comes...

Nunca será imposible algo que realmente deseas

With only a few months to go until her graduation from a prestigious Dominican university, first-generation college student Leidy Cruz reflects on her humble origins, and considers the drive and determination that have led her to the point of accomplishing her goals.

My Road to Success

Ana Laura is a young Latin girl with a strong desire to learn and get an education. This attitude has made her develop a personality that is not very accepted among those around her. With the constant feeling of not belonging, she never stops until she finds herself graduated from high school. In this stage of her life, she struggles between the two ideas of success handed down...

Compton

As Mario Canchola Jr. is walking through a street in Compton, he begins to reflect on his lifestyle, comparing his experiences in Compton with his experiences at LMU.

American Vampires

Adinah Bolden is a Los Angeles-based graduate of Loyola Marymount University. She is a pop culture and history loving cynic who has overcome adversity in many matters to work toward leading a fulfilling and exciting post-graduate life. As a part of her participation in a 2016 First To Go Abroad trip to the Dominican Republic, she was required to visit an outdoor vegetable and...

Butterflies

Adinah Bolden is a Los Angeles-based graduate of Loyola Marymount University. She is a pop culture and history loving cynic who has overcome adversity in many matters to work toward leading a fulfilling and exciting post-graduate life. Like many young adults, Bolden has struggled with labels, identity, and personal growth, which she addresses in this narrative. On this First To...

A Trip through Space and Time

Alvaro Gonzalez tells his personal narrative through an omniscient third person narrator. Gonzalez takes the audience on a journey through space and time to Mexico, the San Fernando Valley, and Downtown Los Angeles as he identifies important moments that shaped his life.

Faceless Sculpture

After embarking on her college career, Carla Ventura is forced to come to terms with an internal war. She reconciles her battles with depression, suicidal loss, and addiction, as she learns to reconnect with her inner child. Throughout all her semesters in college, she eventually begins to open a dialogue with herself and others in an attempt to resuscitate her childhood dream.

Wanting Out

Melissa Sandoval struggled to find her identity and feel a sense of belonging growing up as a U.S. citizen and being raised by parents who migrated from Mexico. Her story consists of different events in her life that have made her feel unwanted by the Mexican and American cultures she has been exposed to. What Melissa realizes as a college student is that she must find a way to...

There is Beauty in Struggle

“There is Beauty in Struggle” tells the story of a young woman trying to navigate the world while having certain circumstances pull her back from reaching her dreams. These stories show the development of growing up, learning to accept the struggles one goes through, and learning to use those struggles as a catalyst for change. The narrative begin with Brenda Quintanilla living...