Whether you are first generation or your parents went to your college, whether you are local or from abroad, there’s one thing all college students have in common: feeling scared and confused the first week of school. I am a first-generation college student. My whole life I was pressured by my community to go to a UC but I fell short on financial help and turned to community college instead. The application was easy, College of Alameda has a beautiful campus, diverse programs caught my eye, and I quickly enrolled.
When I arrived on campus for day one with my backpack that was provided by EOPS and my map, I headed to our newest building, the H-Building for my morning class. Three floors full of eager but sleepy students and I was on the first floor, front row of the classroom. The only preparation I had for college student life was my high school AP classes but now thinking back, I feel like my previous schools have overdramatized how harsh college would be. Especially community colleges since they go unappreciated for the amazing opportunities and services that they provide for their students and staff. I sat down and listened to my professor who greeted us in many languages to get us all comfortable, and we discussed the syllabus. My professor left us a small writing assignment to gauge where we were in terms of writing and reading. When I signed up to be in English 1A, I thought that I would be expected to understand all the material. I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of our class activities would be reading and discussing articles with one another. I was just expecting the typical boring English class. Piles of essays due, reading book after book, and reading logs but I’m glad to report that English 1A is very interactive and fun.
The next day, I showed up on the first floor of the same building again to my Psych 1A class, where we read over the syllabus and were all shown a picture of spirals going in different directions and with all sorts of colors. My professor asked how we thought the picture was connected to psychology and we raised our hands and gave our thoughts. In all my classes, I’ve never felt bored or unsafe. We were always moving around and doing something in class. I even visited the lovely library. It was a very beautiful building, very quiet inside, with nice and attentive staff. Even today, I’m excited to show up to Psych 1A to see what we’ll be discussing in class and draw diagrams of the brain. Our professor even reminds us to bring our colored pencils and markers for a fun activity. Definitely not the boring, two-hour lectures I was led to believe that I would have to endure for my college years. Nothing could’ve ever prepared me for the friendliness of the people and the professors.
Before week 1 started, I had come to campus to get my Student Education Plan set up with one of the many friendly counselors at the Welcome Center. Being there as a—at the time—future student made me nervous. That’s when I encountered one Marvin Thompson, the friendliest person I’ve met. We sat down and discussed over the course of many meetings what classes I would take, when those classes would be in session, and when I would be graduating. It made me feel relieved that I was getting on track and planning my future and made me realize that I had chosen the right path and campus for me. Even after that, when I signed up for EOPS and attended orientation, the leader and organizers made me feel seen and even more welcomed at the campus, as well as helping me financially.
College of Alameda has given me every opportunity to pursue my education and career goals without the stress of debt or feeling uncertain about my decisions. Community colleges are designed for that; they help people pursue their education and make them feel like they are in control of their future! Experiencing this first-hand at College of Alameda was incredible and I had a blast meeting everyone.
It’s now been two months since the fall semester started and I can’t believe how fast it’s gone by. I now know where exactly to go for all my classes, I've learned my professors’ names and I now know what to expect when I walk into their classrooms. Even now, I still find myself walking into the Welcome Center to sort out a problem or to meet with my academic counselor to make sure I’m on track. Now I feel confident and proud to say that I am a student at College of Alameda!