Cristina G, On Leaving School and Returning Again

Growing up with a mother whose education doesn’t go an further than the third grade, I always knew that what I wanted most in the world was an education. The farther away it felt, the more I wanted it. I remember how one day in the third grade my mom sat me down to try and explain how she couldn’t help me with my homework, because she didn’t know how. I was terrified at first, thinking that she was going to pull me out of school. My worst fear at that age was that I was never going to make it past the third grade. I never realized how abnormal those feelings were for a kid my age. The fear of never finishing school still haunts me, especially since I almost quit school two years ago.

I left Humboldt State because I learned two things in one month that changed my life. I was told by several professors that I wasn’t cut out to be an English major and later on learned that my mom was diagnosed with cancer. At first I resisted my role as the youngest in a traditional Mexican household, dropping everything and becoming the primary caretaker of a parent, but my family kept coaxing me to come home. So I did, not only for their sake but for my own. I thought it was useless to continue school when I was convinced that I had all this passion for something I wasn’t even good at. I convinced everyone around me that I was going to go back as soon as my mom got better, but I had no intention of returning.

There were so many reasons that convinced me to return, but the main reason was my own sister. As the oldest, she had to deal with instilling the idea of college to our parents. When she got accepted to UCR and announced her plans to move out, it caused an uproar with my parents. My father was completely opposed to the idea; unless she was going to get married and start a life of her own, there was no reason for her to move out of the house. My mother couldn’t understand why she wanted to go “so far away.” All while asking, “Who would take care of the kids?” (The kids being my older brother and I at the time.) After a long talk with our mom, my sister was able to help her understand the necessity of a higher education. From then on, my mother was the biggest support system my sister had, and I got to reap the benefits of it all. I realize now that just because Humboldt wasn’t the right school for me, I shouldn’t have made it the reason to consider dropping out of college, especially not after my sister paved an easier route for me to get to college.

Irene R.: Needing Family Support to Advance in my Career

Neither my mother nor father graduated from college. When I was growing up my family would consistently tell me that I was very smart and they would tell me that I would be someone when I grew up. My mother was my biggest supporter. Although, my mother (a single mother) encouraged me to go to school I realized that I had to work and help my mom with paying rent and bills. In my last 3 years of high school I had 2 jobs I worked at a clothing store at the mall and I worked at a pizza shop. In the summer I would also work at a super market near my house so I would have 3 jobs in the summer my family and friends always made jokes about it. So early on I learned that I needed to work in order to help my family. When I graduated high school I figured that I could work longer hours (make more money for my family) and take some college classes. Once I got a job that was full time and paid me more money I put school on the back burner. I regret doing this I wish I would have just continued going to school after high school. Now I am married, have a 3 almost 4 year old son and I have a job that I love I’ve been there for 8years. I have been supervising for 7 of those years. Recently, when a management position became available I was told by the Director that the reason I did not get the position is because I do not have a degree. My heart was crushed. I could not believe it I thought that my work all these years would speak for itself. But when you are working with government a contract that does not matter they want to see a degree behind the individual. My job and my spouse are really behind me in my quest to obtain my degree. I cannot say that it is easy but come on how much satisfaction does one get out of easy work. I cannot wait till the day that I obtain my degree from Cal State Fullerton

I think my biggest supporter is my husband. He has taken on a lot of my household duties so that I can concentrate on getting schoolwork done. Also, my friends from high school all have their bachelors and are all in the teaching field so they have volunteered to help me out. I just need to take them up on their offers. One thing that I feel that I have sacrificed the most since the time I started taking classes is spending time with my son and husband. In the past I used to come home from work and play with my son, color, draw, play basketball, watch him ride his bike and many other fun activities. Now I come home and get on the computer. At times I feel really guilty but I know that my husband is now playing and spending more time with my son and I know that my schooling will help my son in the future and I hope that I am one of the reasons why he decides to obtain his degree when he gets older. I feel that my son will not have a choice when he gets older it will not be a choice it will be more like the next step after high school the next step is University. I will do all I can to support my son and have him not worry about money instead have him focus on his studies.

Steve Clifford: To-Do Lists and Success

To-do lists saved me this weekend.

I knew I had several things on my plate that had to get done, and I was able sit back at my desk and rattle through all of those things in my head pretty easily. But when it came to actually doing them, it was so much easier to get waylaid by Facebook, or by the sudden urge to sharpen every pencil in the house, or by my dog’s clear need for a walk (even though she refused to move from her pillow or open her eyes when I walked in with the leash). Procrastination is a cruel master/mistress (pick your preference), because the pressure to get those tasks completed remained in my head even as I avoided them, making me more guilty and increasingly anxious.

But in one of my procrastinatory excursions, I decided to make a list of all of those things that needed my attention this weekend. It felt like working, after all, even if I wasn’t getting anything done. But with that list in front of me, suddenly I found myself motivated. I could prioritize and complete those tasks that needed my attention first. Cross them off the list. Then I hit the next batch of tasks. Cross ‘em out. Suddenly, all of those things I’d been feeling guilty/anxious about doing, but had avoided, were done. And with my list of crossed out items, I felt accomplished, successful, and ready to face the new week.

Unfortunately, cleaning out the garage didn’t make this weekend’s list. Maybe next weekend.

How many students know that something as simple as a to-do list that prioritizes their goals and responsibilities for the week can be enormously satisfying and productive? How many of them know how to break down an assignment for your class into its components, or to transfer elements of a syllabus to a weekly priorities list, and use that as a guide for their work? Organizing ourselves often doesn’t come naturally with all of the demands on our attention, and this is especially true for students who may be feeling overwhelmed as we approach the final weeks of the semester. Sit down for 10 minutes and create a to-do list for the week, or just for tomorrow. As you get in the habit of defining and prioritizing your work, you will benefit from the assistance and will feel more in control of your life and responsibilities.

Daebie T. on Linking Up with Counselors

I know that the iFALCON attributes could lead me down the road to success. I can say I’m pretty organized with new ideas always in my mind. The only thing I think I need to improve on is my link ups. I think I should make more connections to people around campus because I know that it could help me a lot one day. I just don’t know why I don’t do it; probably because of my busy schedule working full time and being a new mom. I actually need some academic support because I know I will be facing more challenging subjects, especially when I’m in the nursing program…Counseling will benefit me because, even if I know what subjects to take every semester, guidance from a counselor will show me what’s really important first. So, do I falcon? Yes I do!

Janette V. on Family Support

I come from a little town in the south of Mexico, my little Coatzingo. Coatzingo is a very conservative town. To be a “good girl” you only have to get married virgin. I wonder if any of them had dreams of being professionals. I remember that the “profession” for women was to learn how to cut and sew, be religious teachers, and the rich girls could become secretaries. We didn’t have much to choose from. Girls couldn’t go away from her parents unless they left the house because they were getting married.

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted something different. I didn’t want to be just a wife and a mother; I had a dream to be famous. I wanted to be a singer or a actress because that was all I knew by television. Nobody ever talked to me or asked me what I wanted to do; my parents only graduated from six grade because they both became from poor families. My dad wanted to go to the city to attend the university, but he was the only son in the family and didn’t let him go. When my dad came to the U.S., his dream was to have their children go to college and have a profession, even though none of us speak English; we knew that our first barrier was to learn the language.

I got married when I was 16 years old and my dad was very sad because he saw his dream had ended. I dropped school for a year and started working at a restaurant as a cashier. That job made me realize that I had to follow my dream if I wanted to be different from my parents.

After a year I talked to my husband and told him that I wanted to go back to school; fortunately he told me that he would support my decision because he only graduated from six grade also and he didn’t wanted me to be ignorant. It has been a long path because I didn’t want to leave my children alone, so I just took one class per semester, but now they all go to school and I have more time for school. I am very fortunate to have a husband, children, parents and sisters who support what I’m doing. My husband takes care of the children when I need to do homework; he works at night and sometimes he wakes up early to take them to school because I have an early class. My children let me do my homework; my oldest daughter reminds me of tests, classes, homework, and they are always asking how I did in my tests.

I wanted to be an accountant, but now I’m thinking of becoming a math teacher and helping other children fall in love with math. No matter what I want to do, my husband will always support my decision. My success is going to be the success of ALL of my family because I’m the oldest daughter, and the first one to go to college. I want to become an inspiration for my sisters because they too dropped out of school and my dream is to help them achieve their dreams.

Andrea G.: On Linking Up with Financial Aid

The financial aid department was very crucial for me, with the funds that allowed me to be able to afford my book fees, enrollment fees and other basic living expenses. I was unemployed and with the economy it seemed that everyone was going to the local fast-food restaurant for extra work. This made it impossible for me to get hired at even the lowest paying jobs. Having not enough money is very stressful and makes it hard to concentrate on your studies when you are worrying about how you are going to pay your bills and still attend college…Without the assistance of financial aid it would be almost impossible for me to take a full course load and get good grades if I also had to work full-time.

Link Up with Financial Aid at http://cms.cerritos.edu/financial-aid/.

Peter U. on “Organize”

“Even with the amount of work that Katrina is putting into her education, she can improve on organization. She missed out on tutoring sessions, summer programs, and an academic advancement program. Unfortunately it was unbeknownst to her. Possibly she might have been like a race horse who only sees a partial frame of vision and doesn’t see the whole picture. I think in her case she was so intent to go to school and to her job and to her study groups that she didn’t have time or didn’t see those potential programs.”