About half of Princeton’s undergraduates work part-time jobs for a variety of reasons: to help contribute to their financial aid package, to save up for personal/future expenditures, or simply to do something they enjoy outside of their schoolwork.

Two years ago, I received one of the most life-changing messages of my life: Congratulations! I had been accepted to Princeton.

The adrenaline kept me excited for days. I scoured Princeton’s website as I imagined my future life as a tiger, and I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming! After a week or so, it started to sink it. But at that point, I also started to feel some nerves.

Coming from a small town in northern Idaho where I had attended a public school, I had to question if I was really prepared for Princeton. Did they really mean to accept me? Not many of my relatives had even gone to college, and my excitement about Princeton was coupled with uncertainty. I was definitely no legacy student, and I had not been groomed since childhood to attend an Ivy League school. In fact, I didn’t know they even offered financial aid, which would have been a huge concern for me coming from a low-income family, until I attended the Princeton University Summer Journalism Program the summer before my senior year of high school.

Furthermore, I felt more questioned than congratulated by my community about why I wanted to study at Princeton. I had not anticipated having to justify why I wanted to attend an Ivy League school, and it got to me after a while. Not only was this new for my family, it was different for my community. Was this right for me? During the month of April, several questions kept fluttering through my mind: Should I say “yes”? Could I actually do the work? And could I afford it?

If you are wondering or worried about any of these questions as well, let me try to offer some answers. First of all, you can, in fact, do the work. The fact that you were accepted without having had access to all of the resources that other students might have had is a testament to your hard work and drive. In fact, the resilience that you bring is an advantage. What came as a surprising relief to me was the plethora of resources that are available to help freshmen adjust to the academic workload at Princeton. Between the special Writing Seminars tailored to help freshmen learn how to write at college level, the workshops and one-on-one tutoring sessions provided by the McGraw Center, and the enthusiastic willingness of my professors to meet with me outside of class, I felt that I adjusted rather quickly to Princeton’s expectations.

With respect to financial aid, I cannot emphasize Princeton’s generosity enough. By the time I graduate, Princeton will have invested well over $250,000 in my education, and this is truly empowering. I am so thankful. To know that the University and alumni care and believe in me as a student is incredible, and it has made me feel like I do indeed belong here. To be honest, there have been times when I have been stunned at the wealth of some of my peers. But I’ve also been surprised by how many friends I have met who come from low-income backgrounds similar to mine.

In sum, my take is that you should most certainly say “yes.” I’ve realized that the question is not so much if you fit the perceived profile of Princeton students, but rather how you can use a Princeton education in your life to achieve your goals. The question is how you will use Princeton as a way to make a difference, and the University indeed empowers you to do just that. Finally, to those readers who have recently been accepted: A huge congratulations to you!
 

Hace dos semanas, tuve la oportunidad de ser invitada a la First Generation Freshman Dinner, organizada por el Hidden Minority Council, Dean Valerie Smith y Vice President Cynthia Cherrey. Mi papel en esta cena fue el de juntarme con un grupo de freshmen y un miembro de la facultad, escuchar su conversación y notar comentarios interesantes sobre la experiencia de estudiantes de primera generación en Princeton y sugerencias que tenían para la universidad y cómo Princeton puede apoyar mejor a los que son de primera generación o de bajos ingresos.

Fue una experiencia poderosa escuchar las historias de estos nueve freshmen. Fueron súper intuitivos e inquisitivos, y su conversación me animó a reflejar sobre mi propia experiencia como una estudiante de primera generación y de bajos ingresos.

Ser de primera generación trae sus propios retos y preguntas. ¿Dónde me quedo durante las vacaciones cuando no puedo pagar el vuelo a casa? ¿Voy a encajar con personas que son más ricas? Cuando mi familia pregunta por qué la universidad es importante, ¿cómo les explico por qué estudio las artes liberales?

(Respuestas: 1. Los dormitorios quedan abiertos para estudiantes durante todas las vacaciones. Además, una cafetería queda abierta durante cada receso salvo el del invierno. 2. Te va a sorprender que es casi imposible determinar la clase social de estudiantes en Princeton. Cuando asistí a un evento de Princeton Quest Scholars por la primera vez, fue una gran sorpresa que unos compañeros que yo había conocido por años fueran de primera generación o de bajos ingresos. Si no le dices a nadie que eres de primera generación, nadie lo va a saber ni suponerlo. 3. Explicar una educación de artes liberales es más difícil y te lo dejo a ti. ¡Conoces mejor a tu familia!)

Sin embargo, hay una pregunta que quizás es la más difícil: ¿Pertenezco yo aquí?

Vengo de un pueblo pequeño en Wisconsin, donde crecí en una comunidad muy unida que enfatizó los buenos valores del Medio Oeste de trabajo duro, honestidad y familia. Desde kindergarten, yo estaba en clases con los mismos 35 compañeros. Íbamos a la misma iglesia todos los domingos. Hacíamos deportes juntos. Cada tantos años, algún amigo se fue, y otro estudiante llegó. Éramos todos de orígenes modestos. Mi padre era soldador. Mi madre es cajera. No asistieron a la universidad. Hay muy poco que me distingue de los otros de Rio, Wisconsin, y esto es un pensamiento que me ha perseguido por muchos años. Me pregunté ¿Por qué yo? cuando vine a Princeton mi primer año. No merezco esto.

Pienso que es natural para cada estudiante que entra por las puertas de Princeton preguntarse si él o ella pertenece en esta escuela. Pienso que es particularmente fácil para un estudiante de bajos ingresos o de primera generación creer que él o ella no debe estar aquí. Pero la verdad es que sí debes estar aquí. No importa tu pasado o tu origen, no eres un error. Para estar cómoda en Princeton, yo tenía que reconocer que ni estaba aquí a pesar de mi origen, ni por mi origen. Mi pasado es simplemente una parte de mí.

Claro que hay momentos cuando es difícil ser de bajos ingresos o primera generación en Princeton. Como ya dije, es posible que haya momentos cuando no puedes comprar un ticket para volver a casa durante las vacaciones, o cuando tu familia te pregunta por qué vas a la universidad. Sin embargo, hay mucha gente aquí en Princeton que te aceptarán y te ayudarán en esos momentos. Princeton ayuda a asegurar que no pierdas opciones ni sufras discriminación por ser de primera generación o de bajos ingresos (¡mira los programas de ayuda financiera e internos fundados por Princeton!), y eso es algo por lo cual estoy muy agradecida.

Traducido por PULP, Princeton University Language Project. 

View the post in English.

For the rest of the year, I’ll be keeping you updated on the items that I’m crossing off my bucket list! 

Two weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited to the First Generation Freshman Dinner, which was hosted by the Hidden Minority Council, Dean Valerie Smith and Vice President Cynthia Cherrey. My role at this dinner was to join a group of freshmen and a faculty member, listen to their conversation, and take notes on any interesting comments on the experience of being first generation at Princeton or suggestions that these students had about how Princeton might do a better job serving the first-generation or low-income community.  

It was a powerful experience to listen to the stories of these nine freshmen. They were incredibly perceptive and inquisitive, and their conversation encouraged me to reflect on my own experience as a first-generation, low-income student.

Being first generation comes with its own unique set of questions and challenges. Where do I stay over breaks when I can’t afford to fly home? Will I fit in with people who come from much wealthier backgrounds? How do I explain a liberal arts education to my family when they ask why college is important? 

(Answers: 1. The dorms remain open for students over every break. Additionally, one dining hall will remain open over every break except winter break. 2. You’ll be amazed to find out that it’s almost impossible to discern who comes from what kind of background at Princeton. When I attended a Princeton Quest Scholars function for the first time, I was shocked to find out that some classmates I had known for years were first generation or came from low-income families. If you don’t tell anyone that you are first generation, no one will know and no one will assume. 3. Explaining a liberal arts education is trickier and I leave that up to you. You know your families best!)

There is one question, however, which I believe is the hardest: Do I belong here?

I come from a tiny town in Wisconsin, where I was raised in a tight-knit community that emphasized the good Midwestern values of hard work, honesty and family. From kindergarten, I attended classes with the same 35 classmates. We went to the same church every Sunday. We all played sports together. Every few years, one of my friends might leave; every few years, a new student might enroll. We were all of modest backgrounds. My father was a welder. My mother is a cashier. Neither attended college. There is very little that distinguishes me from anyone else from Rio, Wisconsin, and that is something which has haunted me for years. I asked myself, Why me? when I came to Princeton for my freshman year. I don’t deserve this.

I think it is natural for any student who walks through Princeton’s gates to question whether he or she belongs at this school. I think it is particularly easy for a low-income, first-generation student to believe that he or she does not belong here. But the truth is you do belong here. No matter what your background, you are not a mistake. For me to feel comfortable at Princeton, I had to recognize I was not here despite my background, nor was I here because of my background. My background is simply a part of me.

Certainly there are moments when it is difficult to be a low-income or first-generation student at Princeton. As I mentioned above, there might be times when you might not be able to afford to fly home for the holidays, or when your family questions why you’re bothering going to college anyway. But there are so, so many people at Princeton who will accept you for who you are and who will be willing to help you through these moments. Princeton does its best to ensure that you will never miss out or be discriminated against for being first-generation or low-income (just look at the incredible financial aid programs and the slew of Princeton-funded internships and trips), and that is something for which I am incredibly grateful.

This semester, I’m studying abroad through the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, taking courses in ecology, animal behavior, and conservation.

Hello from Japan!

I am writing my blog entries now from my dorm room at Keio University, sitting by my window that overlooks the glowing city of Tokyo. Though the sun is setting here, I know that my family and friends across the world are just waking up along America's East Coast.

This is my third time going abroad as a Princeton student, so I am used to this extreme space and time difference. The summers after freshmen and sophomore year, I studied in China and worked in India, respectively, gaining exposure to the international perspective. As someone whose primary academic interest is international relations, I love to travel and experience new cultures as often as I can.

Though I am back in Asia once again, this is my first time actually spending a semester as a study-abroad student, and I will consequently be spending my longest time away from home. Four other Princeton students and I are taking part of a brand new Comparative East Asian Studies program hosted through the Woodrow Wilson School. The program includes study and internship across Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong, extending over the summer and spanning in total six months.

A lot of my friends back on campus questioned why I would devote so much of my time with Princeton living and traveling abroad. But I simply can't turn down the wonderful Princeton study abroad opportunities, especially when they are subsidized by scholarships and financial aid. More important, many of my greatest college experiences have come outside of the Orange Bubble, and outside of the United States. In my opinion, many more students should gain international experience while in college (it's one of the easiest times to do so), and I hope more departments adopt an international experience requirement similar to that of the Woodrow Wilson School.

This semester, and this new adventure abroad, has just begun. Things I instantly love about Japan are the foods, the hospitality, and the pop-culture. Though I’ve only been here two weeks, I’ve already learned so much about Japanese language and culture from classes and my new friends (from the latter, I've mostly learned fun slang terms). I’m stoked to see what Korea and Hong Kong have to offer over the next few months. You’ll continue to hear from me on this blog during my program, both about campus life and life abroad. For now, Sayonara!

An awesome tree near Tokyo, Japan.[/caption]