Alexandra Bernadotte was the first in her family to attend college. The Haitian-born first-generation American remembers the day her acceptance letter to Dartmouth College arrived, and the celebration that followed. “We treated the moment almost as though we won the lottery. We thought OK, we’ve made it, this was what the dream was about,” she says. Bernadotte’s parents had moved to the United States when she was very young, leaving her to grow up with her grandmother in Port-au-Prince. She eventually joined her parents and sister in inner-city Boston, and from that point on had been instructed that getting into college was the path to a better life in this country. But, she says, even though she was accepted to the college of her choice, the real challenge was yet to come. “We assumed the most difficult part of the journey was over… But I completely bombed my first year at Dartmouth. I failed academically, socially and emotionally.”
Bernadotte learned a lot from her first year at college. She sought help, bounced back and graduated. But most low-income students in college aren’t so lucky. According to a recent New York Times article, roughly 25 percent of college freshman from poorer backgrounds will end up getting their diploma. Bernadotte founded the national nonprofit Beyond 12 to try and increase that number by providing high schools and colleges with more information so they can better prepare low-income and immigrant students like herself for a successful postsecondary education.
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Tag: first generation college student
The First Lady’s Advice is Something That Every Young Person Should Take to Heart
They’re both tall. And lean. And wear their hair above their shoulders. When it comes to having things in common with Michelle Obama, Nene Sy, an 18-year-old student at The Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem, is strikingly similar to the First Lady. But perhaps most significant is the fact that they are both first-generation college students.
Sy recently got the chance to interview Mrs. Obama for the fifth annual Women of the World Summit, Yahoo Shine reports. The bright-eyed young lady, whose parents are from Mali, is headed to Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania on a full scholarship to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor and was able ask Obama about her pursuit of higher education.
“I grew up in a working class family, and I knew from an early age that I had to get a good education and I had to be serious about it if I wanted to achieve my goals,” Obama (who grew up in the South Side of Chicago and attended Princeton and then Harvard Law) told Sy. “I know how important it is for other young people, particularly young people of color, to know that they have to own their education.”
“Know that you can do this,” Obama added. “I want you to push all the doubt out of your head…it starts with how confident you feel about yourself…You can’t do this alone, nor should you…Don’t be afraid to ask for help.”
MORE: This Extraordinary Student Got Into All of the Ivy League Schools
As the Daily Beast reports, Sy has had her share of adversity. At 11-years-old, her mother gave birth to premature twins who eventually died. Sy told the site that watching the doctors trying to save her baby siblings was what inspired her to become a surgeon.
“Put in the work and don’t be afraid to fail or make mistakes,” Obama said. “I say this to my girls all the time: Greatness comes from learning from those mistakes. Walk proud, work hard, and be confident.”
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