by FGLI Vanderbilt | Oct 10, 2020 | Faces of FGLI
Lia Okenkova, Class of 2023 Being FGLI to me means feeling a deep sense of pride for braving the journey it took to get here, often alone, often filled with doubt. However, it’s also recognizing how difficult it was for my parents, who came to this country in...
by FGLI Vanderbilt | Oct 10, 2020 | Faces of FGLI
Maeva Makendi, Class of 2021 Being first-gen/low-income means overcoming insurmountable odds. I was born in Cameroon and moved to the United States when I was 8 years. In all those years my family’s socioeconomic status has ranged from poor to working class....
by FGLI Vanderbilt | Oct 10, 2020 | Faces of FGLI
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...
by FGLI Vanderbilt | Oct 10, 2020 | Faces of FGLI
Toby Irenshtain, Class of 2021 Being first-generation means being confused. It means not knowing what you don’t know, not knowing who to ask, and feeling underrepresented in the general student body. Oftentimes, this identity manifests in feelings of not...
by FGLI Vanderbilt | Oct 10, 2020 | Faces of FGLI
Kya Lin, Class of 2023 Being first-generation means not having anyone in my family truly understanding what I’m experiencing and having to work through a lot of the emotional, academic, and mental struggles without my parents. On the flip side though, apart from...
