The first-generation students of Kent State
Kent State journalism major and first-gen student Krista DeFini chose the university for its nationally ranked broadcast journalism program and knew a degree would help her stand out from her peers to future employers. DeFini said that what might’ve been an exciting experience for other young adults was instead a trying time for her.
¨My dad and I got into it quite a bit because I wanted to go to college,¨ DeFini said. ¨He’s more of a traditionalist where he´s like, ´you don’t need a degree to get a job.´ He looks at college like it’s a scam, so there was a lot of stress on me sticking to my guns.¨
Like Defini, all throughout highschool, I was frequently asked the question of what I´d do once I graduated. For my peers and I, the answer seemed quite obvious: attend college. Although my dad did go to college, I would be the first of my five siblings to actually go to a university and make it to my senior year.
The process of sitting in a library for hours, applying for student loans and touring different colleges was tedious, but I was thankful that I had my father to walk me through these steps. To me, the initial steps of finding a university that I liked and everything that followed it seemed like a common event that parents did with their children upon graduating from high school, but later I came to realize that it was a privilege that a lot of first-generation students did not share. According to a 2021 article from U.S. news, Kent State had a total enrollment of 27,716 and 36% of those students were first-gen.
Defini´s father´s viewpoints of college not being wise for his daughter was only strengthened when her older sister Maria found a full-time job right out of highschool at a salon in Brecksville. Despite not having any family to talk to about what to expect at college, Defini was able to find moral support and encouragement from her grandmother, which she said helped motivate her to continue pursuing a higher education.
¨My grandmother always says whenever I talk to her, ´look out world! Krista´s coming,´¨ Defini said.
Earlier this year, Kent State was awarded as a First-gen Forward Institution by the Center for First-generation Student Success. The college was recognized for its commitment to improving the experiences of students who are the first in their families to attend college. The CFGSS is a company that uses evidence-based practices, professional development, and knowledge creation for the higher education community to advance the success of first-generation students.
Although fellow journalism major Hannah Davis can relate to having to figure out most of the college process on her own, her parents did support her ambition to continue her education.
“Neither of my parents finished college and none of their family went, so they really pushed me to go,” Davis said.
One program that helped Davis and other first-generation students at Kent is Kupita/Transiciones. This free program helps incoming and transferring African American, Latinx, Hispanic, Native American and multicultural students navigate their college career with mentors. It was created in 1988 and is overseen by the Student Multicultural Center. Members get to celebrate their culture and are introduced to others through different activities such as talent shows, festivals and student organizations.
Davis said that she was grateful for this program, due to the fact that none of her friends back home were able to understand the pressure she felt as a first-generation student.
Alumna Danasha White, who was a mentor for the Kupita program and a first-generation student, said she regrets not taking advantage of the program as a freshman.
¨I didn’t get involved until my junior year,¨ White said. ¨I´d much rather have been a mentee than a mentor. I feel like I didn’t know anything, but I met a lot of people through that and Black Kent Students United.¨
According to the education and career advice website WhattoBecome, 50% of the college population in the U.S are first-gen students. Knowing this fact, first-generation student and academic diversity director Melanie Jones for I Am First said that she felt that there was very little knowledge of what it’s like to be a first-gen or what that even means. Jones, who has been the director for three years, said that although the program´s demographic is mainly first-generation students, so much of the program has exceeded that audience.
¨It’s so important for us to know who our students are, how to help them grow and how to eliminate the stigma surrounding first-generation students,¨ Jones said. ¨I want students to be proud and this program to me means empowering our community and that’s why we invite everyone, not just first-generation students and faculty to the celebration.¨
White grew up in Twinsburg with her two brothers and grandmother. Not having her parents present to talk about the daily stresses of highschool, White said she expected as much for her college future. Fortunately, she knew a few close friends from high school that also went to Kent State who helped her navigate the college life, but soon found another problem. White was encouraged by her family to go to kent, but felt pressure to not choose the major she wanted.
¨There was a time where I wanted to change my major, but people kept telling me, you have to graduate in four years, you have to graduate in four years,¨ White said. ¨They couldn’t really relate. Everyone assumed I wanted to be a doctor or a nurse. None of them would ever know how stressful college could get. I don’t regret going to college, but I was just so focused on making everyone else happy, I didn’t really enjoy it.¨
While in college, White discovered that she enjoyed cooking. This led her to selling food during COVID-19, which to her surprise, was very successful. Although she found her passion, her family also did not approve of this new venture.
Another issue that White and other first-gen students face is figuring out how to apply for or get financial support. Defini not only had to figure out FASFA, but also had to pay for her education by herself.
¨My parents didn’t pay or sign off on my student loans,¨ Defini said. ¨Everything that I´m doing is out of pocket. I worked all throughout my college experience, which is why I was never able to stay in the dorms. I started out working 30 hours a week at Target, which then progressed to 40.¨
Defini, who initially went to Tri-C, transferred to Kent with a scholarship. She said that although she works so much, she still sometimes forgets how much she went through to get through college. Davis, who´s parents were initially wary of how much tuition would be, they soon decided to help her pay for her undergrad year.
¨Applying for FASFA was a bit of a learning curve for all of us, but we figured it out,¨ Davis said.
Although Davis´ parents offered to help her pay for college, they said that she´d have to figure out her own way if she wanted to go to grad school. According to a Whattobecome article, 25.4% students were considered independent, with 38% employed full-time. White said that she also had to figure out the loan route along with her grandmother.
Because of her, Davis said that her siblings have decided to follow her footsteps and go to college. She said she’s proud that they have a guide and someone to talk to about what the pre and post-college life will be like and want her future kids to also pursue a degree. White, who just gave birth to her first son Darrion this year, said that due to her bad experience with college, she would not repeat history with her son.
¨Obviously if he wants a job that requires a degree, I´ll encourage him to go, but I definitely won’t force him to,¨ White said. ¨I´m not even in a job currently that relates to what I went to school for, so I don’t want him to feel the stress of what I went through.¨
White currently works as a life insurance agent and although it’s not health related, she says her knowledge of the field has helped her with customers. This year, 5,000 students will graduate from Kent State, some of these students being first-gen. As the first product of my parents to graduate, I can say that I’m happy my siblings won’t have to struggle looking for someone to talk to about the difficulties of college. I can relate to the feeling of not knowing what to expect at college, but I can never know what it’s like to not be able to express to my parents the daily pressures of college or just not being encouraged to go to school. The obstacles of students at Kent State all may appear similar outwardly, but they all differ in how they got through college and what challenges they faced. First-gen students in America battle many hurdles, but their stories are one of many that deserve to be told.