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Being first isn't easy. It requires courage, determination, and resilience. This is especially true when we're talking about a first-generation college student, someone who is a pioneer in their family when it comes to higher education. Imagine what it would be like to navigate the entire college process, from application all the way through to graduation, with no experienced person around to guide you along the way. Sounds daunting, right? But for each first-gen student, undertaking that journey isn’t just about getting a diploma. It's also about rewriting the narrative of their lives, and that's something worth sacrificing for.

In honor of this year's National First Gen Day celebration on November 8th, we talked to four first-gen �պ����� College of Arts and Sciences students about their own challenges and successes, along with what being first means to them.

Name: Gable Williams
Year: Senior
Hometown: Hartford, VT
Major: Visual Language and Communications (IDM)
Minor: American Sign Language

When Gable Williams (shown above) first came to college, they thought it was going to be very similar to high school—but soon learned that was not the case. “I was still trying to keep the same kind of schedule that I had when I was in high school,” they say, “but that did not work out.” After starting out at Johnson State and Community College of VT, Williams found their footing and transferred to �պ�����.

As the first person in their family to attend college, they didn't have any one to guide them through the process or give them an idea of what to expect. “If I’d had people to explain to me what it's like, that would have been amazing,” Williams says. But because they’re a first-gen student, their family didn’t have insight into the process, leaving Williams to navigate everything solo. “My dad tried to get an associate degree when I was kid, but he had to drop out and wasn't able to go back,” they say. “I've always hoped that I would be able to get a degree because it’s really important to my family that I have a better experience and better opportunities than they did.”

Williams, whose mother is disabled, spent the last couple of summers working as a support person, job coach, and manager for a pair of companies (Vermont Association of Business Industry and Rehabilitation and HigherAbility Vermont) that work together to help Vermonters find meaningful employment. They’re hoping to convert their experience into a full-time job with one of the organizations when they graduate in December. “My family is very excited for me to be able to graduate. Every time I see my dad, he's like, I'm so proud of you,” they say, “and my mom is the same.”

Name: Nayantara Dutta
Year: Senior
Hometown: Cohasset, MA
Major: Psychology
Minors: Communication Sciences and Disorders, Special Education

Although she grew up in nearby Massachusetts, Nayantara Dutta, whose parents emigrated from India, wasn’t initially looking at �պ����� as the first step in her academic and professional journey. After hearing about it from a friend, they discovered that not only does the school have a great psychology program, but that it’s a research university as well—two things that were high on their list. “It filled a lot of the boxes I was looking for in my academics,” they say.

But the application process wasn’t easy. “The main challenge for me was a lack of resources,” Dutta says. “You don’t know where to direct your questions or even what questions you’re supposed to be asking. There’s just no one with experience who can tell you.” So, with the help of a couple of fellow first-gen friends, they muddled through, figuring it out as they went along and hoping they weren’t missing anything.

Dutta acknowledges the sacrifice their parents made by coming to the U.S. “It feels like I’m carrying a lot of people with me, being the first in the family to complete a lot of these milestones,” they say. “It’s been hard, but it’s a more powerful and joyful accomplishment because of that.” Dutta is currently applying to grad schools for developmental psychology and, not surprisingly, their parents are extremely proud of them. They’ve also discovered a fitting way to pay it forward. “I have a younger brother who’s a senior in high school right now, so he’s starting his college applications,” they say, “and now my mom is always asking me questions!”

Name: Joseph Goodwin
Year: Junior
Hometown: Falls Church, VA
Major: Classics

Joseph Goodwin’s path to �պ����� was untraditional in more ways than one. Not only is he a first-generation student, but he also spent several years in the military and working for the Department of Defense before reevaluating his path. “I asked myself, is this what I really want to be doing?” he says. “I had the GI Bill because of my time in the military, so it seemed like a good time to finally go to college."

Majoring in Classics was a natural choice, as Goodwin has been interested in classic languages and literature since he was a kid. Unexpectedly, this ancient area of study quickly taught him something brand new. “When I came to �պ�����, I thought I would get data to back up my dogmatism,” he says. “But instead, I’ve learned to be more open and understanding of nuances and complexities and that sometimes we don't have the answers—and we need to be comfortable sitting in that space.”

For Goodwin, finally getting a college degree is the culmination of a dream he’s had since childhood. “I'm going to be the first one in my family to get a bachelor's degree and it's an awesome thing to get to be part of something like that, something people from my background don't often get to be a part of,” he says. “I've gained an appreciation that higher education ought to be a thing for anyone who wants it, not just as a way to achieve social mobility, but also as a way to develop empathy and context for what it means to be human.”

Name: Jasmine Perez
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Belleville, NJ
Majors: Environmental Studies and Political Science

For Jasmine Perez, coming to college was a bittersweet experience. “I feel like I outgrew New Jersey and wanted to change of scenery, but it was also difficult saying goodbye to my parents and my family,” she says. “Being away from them has made me appreciate them and all the things they do for me so much more.”

Her parents, who emigrated from the Philippines, did not attend college but were determined to grant their kids the opportunity to do so. Perez picked up on that early in life and soon made their dream her own. “I think a really big factor in being a first-generation student is not only the pride you have for yourself, but also the pride that your family has for you,” she notes. “That's one thing that really fuels me—not just my passion for what I study, but my parents’ pride in me. I never hear the end of it, in the best way possible!”

It hasn’t all been easy, though. “One thing that surprised me about coming to college is how solitary it can be because you're navigating this space under your own circumstances,” she says. “There’s an absence of experience among your own family, so you can't lean on them the way folks who aren’t first generation can.” Luckily, Perez has found support in the �պ����� first-gen community. “It's a pretty small group, but I think that closeness makes the community so much stronger,” she says. “We can share experiences, and they really get things I just can't talk about with other people.”

After graduation, Perez plans to pursue grad school with an eye toward a career that allows her to explore the relationship between the environment and policy making. But in the meantime, she has a message for her fellow first gens: “We work so hard, and all that work does not go unnoticed. It's amazing to see all we are accomplishing and how we're able to persist despite  the challenges,” she says. “I'm really proud of us.”