I had the opportunity to interview a few first-generation college students from various colleges. The students were current students or recent graduates. Discussions were performed through in-person, e-mail, and phone interviews.
First, I interviewed Kevin H., alumnus of NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. He majored in Electrical Engineering. His career goals were to earn a professional electrical engineering license. He is now working as an engineer. I chose to interview him because though he was the first to attend college in his immediate family, he showed attempts to neutralize the challenge. Kevin reflected upon how his parents contributed to his college years, "my parents could not support me academically as they did not have the opportunity to achieve a higher education; however they did provided me with financial support throughout college." In response to whether he was socially active on campus, he offered an answer that is prevalent among commuter students. "Because the university I attended is located in my hometown, much of my social life did not revolve around the school’s campus. However, most of the time that I do spend on campus outside of class, I was studying with friends and classmates." For the remainder of the interview, we talked about level of academic aspirations and family/outside commitments. Such responses will very likely be integrated into my final research paper.
For simplicity, I am posting the interview of one student. However, many of my other interviews provided great feedback. I anticipate to incorporate the interviews of the other students into my final research paper. I found it interesting that for the most part, the students I interviewed responded that their parents did not guide them or provide advice toward their chosen career goals. Rather, their parents usually just advised them to pursue any career that was financially stable. This was the case for five out of six students. The interviews are definitely helpful; they bring a more interesting, personal perspective on the otherwise distant research journals.
First, I interviewed Kevin H., alumnus of NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering. He majored in Electrical Engineering. His career goals were to earn a professional electrical engineering license. He is now working as an engineer. I chose to interview him because though he was the first to attend college in his immediate family, he showed attempts to neutralize the challenge. Kevin reflected upon how his parents contributed to his college years, "my parents could not support me academically as they did not have the opportunity to achieve a higher education; however they did provided me with financial support throughout college." In response to whether he was socially active on campus, he offered an answer that is prevalent among commuter students. "Because the university I attended is located in my hometown, much of my social life did not revolve around the school’s campus. However, most of the time that I do spend on campus outside of class, I was studying with friends and classmates." For the remainder of the interview, we talked about level of academic aspirations and family/outside commitments. Such responses will very likely be integrated into my final research paper.
For simplicity, I am posting the interview of one student. However, many of my other interviews provided great feedback. I anticipate to incorporate the interviews of the other students into my final research paper. I found it interesting that for the most part, the students I interviewed responded that their parents did not guide them or provide advice toward their chosen career goals. Rather, their parents usually just advised them to pursue any career that was financially stable. This was the case for five out of six students. The interviews are definitely helpful; they bring a more interesting, personal perspective on the otherwise distant research journals.
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