Blog
Find advice and follow the college experiences of our current first-gen student bloggers.
Turkey Day Break!
With a much-needed break around the corner and finals just a ways away, I am immensely looking forward to my break this year. This semester for me, had challenges I didn’t even imagine I’d face, so to have a break longer than normal couldn’t have come at a more...
The Importance of Support
Happy Fall, everyone! As the semester is ramping up before break and finals, now more than ever I continue to rely on the amazing support system I’ve created over my time in school. I’m so incredibly grateful for the community that is around my school because it makes...
Balancing the Unbalanced!
As the weeks continue to fly by, college-life sometimes still feels...unbalanced. It's November! I thought I would have it all together but new obstacles seem to pop up. Maybe, it isn't solely college and more of the fact that I'm not entirely sure how to...
The Importance of Getting Involved
When I first came into college as a freshman, I knew I wanted to be a Biology major and thought I wanted to be pre-med as well. I took a freshman seminar class in the fall 2020 that was a roadmap for pre-health profession students, and this is where I quickly realized...
November: Tips, Tricks, and Turkeys!
The beginning of the end of the year -- November! I think every college student can agree to some extent that November is such a weird time for us. We are all excited about finally getting a much needed break, but it is also overwhelming because it is almost finals...
Thankful for? Scholarships!!
I applied for scholarships during my senior year of high school and was rejected. I didn't understand why because I had a great resume, great grades, and great references for teachers. I couldn't ask my parents to help me because they don't know how scholarships work...
My College Application Process
It wasn’t until my junior year that I realized I needed a plan after graduating high school – I always knew I wanted to go to college and that’s what my parents encouraged, but I didn’t know what the process entailed. I had many setbacks and feelings of discouragement...
Giving Thanks
As the year comes to a close, I have started to reflect on the time I've had at Illinois State. I remember being a scared freshman heading home on my first Thanksgiving break, ready to relax, see my family and get some much needed rest. However, his Thanksgiving break...
The Spooky Season of Deadlines
Happy Halloween, everyone! With the stress of midterms just starting to ramp down, it's been prime time to attend the fall festivities a college campus has to offer. At my university, there were plenty of fun fall events to get everyone in the spirit. Movie trips,...
Week 10 Already?
How is it already Week 10? It feels like this semester just started! It's about to be November and I don't know if I'm ready yet. In general, time flies, but when you are in college, semesters are a blink of an eye. Sometimes it feels like the blink of an eye is...