Academic Growth as a First-Generation and International Student

This spring semester reminds me that every senior in high school is excited to send their college applications; some are nervous, and some are happy to finish high school and start their college education. I was one of them, too, but it had a different timeline; mine goes back two years to when I was a senior in high school. I got accepted into several colleges that I applied to, and at that time, I struggled to choose the right school. 

As a first-generation student in my family and an international student, choosing a school is challenging since I have no idea what to consider when choosing a school or deciding where to go for the next four years. I remember that I got accepted into more than twenty colleges nationwide. I decided to attend as many accepted student events as possible at that time since I didn’t know where to go yet. I visited several schools, one of which was Arcadia University. As a first-generation student, going to college is a dream. Arcadia made everything possible for me; every faculty and staff member is very welcoming, and I felt at home since my first visit to Arcadia during Scarlet and Grey Day. 

Being the first person in my family to go to college, especially in a foreign country, sounded so incredible to everyone, and I felt excited about this opportunity. But at the same time, I also thought about the challenges I might face along this journey. One of them being the academic challenges. I had to face the language barrier first; coming from a family that does not speak English at all made me slightly nervous at the same time. This required a lot of self-determination. I remember that during my first few weeks in class, I struggled immensely because I did not fully understand what my professors were talking about in class. 

Fortunately, Arcadia has a lot of fantastic faculty and staff who are willing to help you along the way, and all of them supported me during the transition. Even still, I needed time to adapt to the new culture, environment, and slang words that I never heard before. Even now, I sometimes wonder what to say to the phrase, “What’s up?”. Academically, I struggled with English class during my freshman year, but ultimately, I did it. I could not have done it without the support of my professor and the writing center.  Arcadia offers many resources to ensure that everyone can succeed academically and personally, from professors’ tutoring services to career education and mentorship. Many resources exist to develop your professional skills through on-campus jobs and research. Since Arcadia is located near many wonderful places, you also have an opportunity to volunteer or work off-campus. All of these helped me tremendously to become who I am today. 

So far, the academic achievements that I am most proud of were the first semester of my first year and the first semester of my second year; it does not mean I am not proud of myself other than these two semesters; I am still proud, but those two were the most challenging. Throwback to the first semester of my freshman year; I was so nervous then; for one, it was a transition to college from high school, and for another, I had no idea what would be coming up since no one in my family had gone through this process. But a few weeks later, I felt that everything was much better than I thought and that I could do everything. I should mention this: when I was in my first year, I was a commuter, so I didn’t have much time on campus, and I just started to live on campus during the summer after my freshman year. 

I’m also proud of the first semester of my second year. Transitioning from my first to second year was a big adjustment for me. I had just moved to live on campus, and I felt a sense of independence and needed to cook myself, so I tried to find a way to manage all of them simultaneously. Other than that, I also started getting involved more on and off campus. I began to do only one volunteer shift as a greeter at the front desk while researching with a faculty member at the Department of Biology and working in the library. When the fall semester begins, I will continue to do all of these and add a few more since more opportunities arrive from leadership positions and more opportunities in the hospital where I volunteer. 

My perspective on education changed when I started getting more involved on campus. I used to be a person who only focused on studying and never tried new things because I always thought I would not have enough time for that. I also used to believe that my life needed to be on the same path, following the same route as everyone else, but now I can see that if we follow different paths, it does not mean we do it wrong. Balancing academics, work, and extracurricular activities taught me many lessons, including developing time management skills and prioritizing tasks. 

To first-generation and international students, you have worked very hard to reach this point; studying away from your family and friends, coming to a place that some of you, including me, have never been to before. You’ve dealt with homesickness and struggled to make friends, but no matter what, you should remember that there will always be some people along the way who are willing to help you. I know it is complicated, and sometimes, it seems like this path is uncertain, but it is worth everything. 

Picture:

Here is the picture of my family and me when they came to the US on my graduation day and came to visit Arcadia.