First-generation students face extra barriers in college
Hilda Viviana Gallardo, a 22-year-old anthropology major, will become the first woman in her family to graduate Saturday. Her parents, Hilda and Miguel Gallardo, said they are proud their daughter will have better opportunities than they had in their own lives. Photo by Devin Sizemore/Nevada Sagebrush
When Hilda Viviana Gallardo earns her diploma Saturday, she will become the first woman in her family to graduate college.
“It was my dream,” said her mother, Hilda Gallardo, who did not finish elementary school.
Hilda Viviana Gallardo’s mother grew up in Mexico and started working when she was 12 years old to help support her nine siblings. When she was 14 years old, she begged her parents and older siblings to let her attend school when they moved to the United States, but she didn’t have time because she had to work and help take care of her siblings and siblings’ children.
“I say my family is not going to suffer what we suffered because we worked so hard,” Hilda Gallardo said.
She later received her GED and Teacher’s Aide Certificate. Her husband, Miguel, never had any schooling and often worked about 18 hours each day as supervisor in a warehouse so their four children could have a better life. All of their children have graduated from or are in college.
“I feel very proud of her and very happy that she will go far,” the soon-to-be-grad’s mother said. “I think she’s going to have a better job than what we have.”
Hilda Viviana Gallardo is part of a group of first-generation students that make up roughly 40 percent of the student body at the University of Nevada, Reno.
“It brings a lot of pride, knowing that there’s not too many women in my extended family that have even been able to finish high school,” Gallardo, a 22-year-old anthropology major, said. “To be able to get this far, it’s quite rewarding to know that a lot of hard work has been put in and I’ve faced a lot of obstacles, but I’ve been able to accomplish it.”
First-generation college students endure several challenges that their peers may not, according to UNR faculty who research and work with first-generation students. Students whose parents did not attend college often receive extra pressure, have trouble navigating the higher education and financial aid systems and find it difficult to balance home and school obligations.
Hilda Viviana Gallardo, the first woman in her family to attend college, will graduate this week. Photo by Devin Sizemore
First-generation students are often deemed the family “hero,” which is a lot of pressure to bear, said Rita Escher, director of student support services, who’s worked with first-generation students for the past 20 years.
With the goal of opportunity in mind, parents often push their children to choose career paths such as doctors or lawyers because they identify those professions with wealth, Escher said. Those majors might not be appropriate for the student, which can create family problems or result in low grades in classes.
Gallardo had to convince her dad to accept that she wanted to major in anthropology and become a teacher because he initially didn’t like the idea. She said he wanted her to choose a profession that made more money, but now he fully supports her.
Because parents who aren’t college educated may not realize that there are other choices aside from the obvious, more prestigious majors, first-generation college students often need extra advising to finish their degree.
Low-income, first-generation students are four times more likely than other students to drop out of college in their first year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics’ Beginning Postsecondary Study. Nationally, about 11 percent of low-income, first-generation students earn a degree after six years, compared to about 55 percent of the general student body.
Gallardo is graduating in four-and-a-half years.
At the University of Nevada, Reno, first-generation students have a higher success rate than many other colleges, partially in credit to the TRiO Scholarship program. The program offers low-income, first-generation college students and/or students with disabilities academic support, advising and financial aid.
Of the 175 students in the TRiO Scholarship program each year, 62 percent of them graduate, compared to UNR’s general student body average graduation rate of about 45 percent, Escher said.
Although Gallardo is not considered low-income or part of the TRiO Scholarship program, she said she’s needed the same support that the program offers.
Gallardo’s two older brothers are both college graduates, which gave her role models and helped introduce their parents to the higher education arena.
Gallardo said she had trouble navigating the system because her parents could not help her. She turned to the Center for Cultural Diversity and her sorority, Kappa Delta Chi, for people to relate to, networking and learning how to find resources like financial aid and tutoring.
Ellen Houston, who helps low-income, first-generation students at the Center for Cultural Diversity, said finding networks and resources would have helped her in her own college experience.
Houston, also the first in her family to attend college, said she missed tutoring, financial aid and other opportunities because she was unaware of resources.
“I didn’t know how to be an advocate for myself,” she said. “(College has) just opened up a whole world of options and opportunities for me. So I want to offer those same things to my students. I want them to have that chance.”
First-generation students are often minorities with lower academic levels, according to The Pell Institute. Students who are at lower academic levels are usually less involved in extracurricular activities, which could hurt chances at financial aid. First-generation students are also more likely to work full-time in order to fulfill unmet financial aid.
Balancing work, school and family obligations is often difficult for students who have parents that can’t relate.
Gallardo found it challenging to make her parents understand that it was better for her to study at the library, rather than at home because the library offered a focused environment and more resources.
Houston said she’s had to call parents to verify that their child has class as late as 10 p.m. because parents don’t always believe that.
“Odds are so against you,” Escher said. “(But) your education can open doors for you. Education really has the framework for our future.”
Jessica Fryman can be reached at jfryman@nevadasagebrush.com.
First-generation college students are:
- 64 percent are female
- 54 percent are minorities
- 14 percent have a disability
- 16 percent were not born in the United States
- 38 percent have dependents
- 30 percent are single parents
- 74 percent are financially independent
Source: The U.S. Department of Education’s 2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid
- 11 percent of low-income, first generation students earn a degree after six years
- 55 percent of the general student body earns a degree after six years
Source: The National Center for Education Statistics
Click here for a list of 2008 UNR candidates for graduation.
Click here for a story about where UNR grads decide to live after they graduate.
Click here for an audio slidehow of Hilda Gallardo explaining how her daughter fulfilled her dream.
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December 24th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Thanks for the great tips.