Sung Jin Lee, Class of 2022

I came to the states when I was three from South Korea. My dad started a two-year college and got an associate’s degree in the 90s, but his job now does not really reflect the education that he had in Korea. He had to pay his way through his associate degree himself. My mom only graduated from high school. We’re lower middle-class. Both of my parents are unaware of post-high school education in America. My mom can’t work because I have a brother with special needs that she spends the majority of her time looking after him. My dad stresses over making sure that the bills are covered. on top of that, my parents both cannot speak English well. Growing up, I had to translate a bunch of documents and figure my own way out while helping them as best as I can while balancing my social life as a growing kid and teenager trying to have fun. Helping with disability insurance for my insurance, trying to bridge the communication gap between every institution that tries to take advantage of my parents, and the discrimination that they face. I tried to be that bridge and the person they could rely on.

I came to Vanderbilt as my dream school and I’m currently the VP of Vanderbilt Questbridge. I live in Georgia and wanted to be close to my home because anything could happen at home. As a first-generation student, your situation is a little bit more unstable than others. I need to be there for your family and strike a balance between creating your future and paying homage back home. Combining this reality with being low-income means that I have been working a federal work-study job since first-generation freshman year. I’ve taken up to 18 credit hours every semester on top of this lab work-study. Balancing my course work with home life, extracurriculars, a social life, and the unchartered waters of college life has been quite difficult. My work and all of my requirements would have me staying until 3 in the morning at my job. Doing research and lab maintenance late into the night was a product of my busy schedule. First-Generation felt like juggling a lot of differently-shaped balls at the same time. When the balls are all different weights, shapes, and sizes, the juggling is really difficult. Home, friends, finances, relationships, work, classes, and more are hard to juggle. It’s hard enough to walk the tightrope as a freshman in creating and sustaining relationships. On top of that, I have to balance working through red tape for myself and my parents in the IRS. I had to find internships on my own.

I was fortunate enough to get guidance from my research PI freshman year, who was my work-study boss. He lent a hand to me to do research over the summer and offer a stipend to live and work with the team. I felt then that I was being supported for at Vanderbilt. A glitch in the Oracle Cloud system showed that my pay was cut off going into this school year, showing that my employment was inactive. No one told me, and I was going to submit my timesheet first week of September after my first pay period, and it’s all gone. I’m panicking because I have to pay bills and I almost emptied my bank account trying to pay for student insurance. I was stressing about asking my parents for help, and then my PI stepped in and he offers to write me a loan. If you need money, he says, you deserve it as a member of this lab who I trust. His support was incredible. I appreciated how much he cared, and when I tell this story to the QuestBridge folks, they welcomed me with open arms. They provide counsel, consultation, and guidance. I’m very thankful for my close circle of friends. Coincidentally enough, many of them are first-generation as well. I found myself gravitating towards people with similar experiences that are with me on the road less traveled. I think my friends are also a huge light in my life, from pre-med to Blair life. COVID has shown me the real people in my life that care about me and allowed me to find resources in this hard time. My parents are also emotionally and helpfully supportive.

You have to take the initiative to reach out to others and be proactive. It forces you to time manage better. It puts you in the deep-end. You have to learn to swim through those experiences, and sometimes these are harsh. After you get over that bump, you become a much more independent, strong, confident, and proud person. That’s the beauty of first-generation. You can really be that trailblazer, and go where nowhere in your family has ever gone before. Being first-generation means being Lewis and Clark. Knowing you don’t have previous perspectives means you don’t have pressure to follow a certain path. You have endless paths to follow. Even if your parents aren’t that knowledgeable about it, you have the opportunity to start. That’s what first-generation is. There’s also, of course, the pressure. You can pursue whatever you want, though, which is inspiring.

“I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” My favorite quote from my favorite poem, Invictus.