Hi, I’m Annie Huong,
the creator of this blog!
I am an optimistic first-generation college student who wants to help other students who define themselves as first-gen by sharing stories, tips and resources. I created this blog to act as a safe space for students like me with hopes of fostering a community for students to unite in their journey. Thousands of students globally are going through similar experiences as they attend college and they are faced with financial concerns, mental health issues and academic worries.
Photo by Victor Lam.
My Story
I am a prospective senior at Drexel University studying Communication with a minor in Marketing. I was born and raised in Philadelphia by two hard-working immigrant parents. My parents have navigated through America and made a living through cooking and selling food native to them in my own community. During my free time, when I'm not working hard in school, I enjoy helping my parents at their restaurant, spending time with friends and trying new things.
As I’m entering my senior year, I began to reflect on the last few years of college. College allowed me to grow as a person in ways I did not think were possible, I was able to build new relationships and figure out what I want to do in the future, but I wished I had done some things differently or known more about the college experience before attending.
My College Experience
Coming into college, I felt completely lost. I didn’t know what I wanted to study, switched my major three times before finally deciding to major in Communication. At the start of every term, as ice-breakers, professors would make us introduce ourselves and ask to say our major and what we wanted to do after college. I thought to myself, how is it that all my classmates know what they want to do after college, but I didn’t? It wasn’t until my fourth year of college when I figured it. It took me longer than I had initially wanted to because I didn’t have much knowledge about the endless career paths in the world. I learned that as a first-gen student, I didn’t have the same resources as my classmates whose parents went to college. I couldn’t talk to my parents about college because they never attended. Thus, because of that, I really was not aware of all my options.
First-gen students face many obstacles. By surrounding myself with people who understand my situation and have similar experiences, I found I was not alone
Why a Blog?
I decided a blog was a great platform to allow me to display all my research and findings on the topic I am most passionate about. This will enable me to share my perspective on first-generation students through writing and with a community that resonates closely with my experience. A blog is commonly used to create a safe space and a community. I hope to create a safe space filled with experiences, lessons learned and resources for those first-generation students who find it.