By: Claudia Stuart
The Student Alumni Leadership Council held a first-generation Terps panel on Nov. 7 at the University of Maryland.
This was the first event of its kind for the university. The panel included three alumni who spoke about navigating their academic journey as first-generation students.
“As a first-generation student, I had no idea what the college process was,” Brittany Johnson said. She graduated in 2011 and is now an advising manager for the department of computer science.
After high school, Johnson decided she would work retail because she struggled initially to navigate the process. Her mother told her no and that she would attend Prince George’s Community College and sign up for classes. After attending PGCC, she learned about the University of Maryland, where she later applied and was accepted.
Johnson said the process pushed her to be more independent and learn to get resources.
“I put myself out there and kept working,” Johnson said. “I didn’t know how to not fall into these opportunities.”
Hugo Cantu graduated in 2020 and is now Maryland government affairs manager for apartments and office building associations. He talked about a burden he faced on his academic journey; Cantu spoke about overcoming rejection. He called watching his friends get college acceptance letters while he received rejection letters.
Since his parents attended university in Mexico, it was different from the American college experience he was going through. He said he did not think he could get through the college process. Cantu ended up attending Montgomery College.
When meeting with an academic advisor at Montgomery College, he said, “I told her I wanted to go to College Park. She said, “I think you should check out Shady Grove.”
Leaving that meeting, he said he put his head down and got to work. He worked hard and was able to transfer to UMD. When he got into UMD, he said he wanted to major in business.
“College Park said, yes, you can come by, but not to Smith; you can’t come to the business school. So there’s another no,” Cantu said.
While he faced rejection, his mom was back at school getting her degree again, and he said this gave him that additional push. A year later, he declared his major in public policy.
Cantu emphasized that you cannot define yourself as who you were six months ago because if he did, he would not be where he is now.
Dr. Susan Martin, who graduated in 1990, is now a career and life coach specializing in empowering women. She expanded on believing in yourself and how it impacted her perspective beyond college.
“First-generation college students are resourceful, we’re resilient, we work hard, and that’s what employers love,” Dr. Martin said.
When you get your degree, employers know you have checked the boxes. She says it’s more important that employers know you are involved in taking on leadership roles, as it proves who you are.
The panel was a glimpse into the experience of three first-generation college students.These Terps were able to navigate new environments to achieve their goals.