Produced by The New York Times, “Ivy League Trailblazers” outlines life as a first generation ivy league college student. Often times stories are shared about students attending college for the first time, but this story features students who are unique to their prestigious university. The video tells the stories of three first generation students and the struggles they face in school.
I found the video interesting because each student talked about how they felt they had to hide their identity as a first generation student. Their classmates had parents who attended or money to get them to school. One student even lied about where she was from because she didn’t want her professors and classmates to think of her differently. She told people she was from New Jersey because, “anyone can be from New Jersey.”
In the film, one student talked about how he was saving money to buy a plane ticket for his mom to visit him. She had never been able to visit him so he wanted to make sure someone from his family can see him graduate. This moment stood out to me and made me reflect on my own college experience. I assumed that all students at ivy league schools used their parents money to pay for school, when in reality some students work at the mess hall or bookstore to pay for expenses.
Reflecting on my own reality, I am thankful that my parents were able to help me pay for some tuition. I am grateful for my opportunity to work and go to school at the same time so I can afford gas for my car and rent for my apartment. I may feel like I am struggling, but I should consider the lives of my classmates because there are some struggles that I will never have to deal with.
JRN4100 