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Hosted by the First-Generation Student Association, in association with the Student Alumni Relations Committee, the April 11 panel featured Rafael Molina \u201917, Ibeth Alvarracin \u201923, and Olivia Blaney \u201923, M.S. \u201924, all of them the first in their families to earn college degrees. Clark defines a first-gen student as someone without a parent or guardian who has completed a bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For current first-gen students, the panel was an opportunity to hear directly from people who have lived with the same questions, stresses, and successes \u2014 and who emerged stronger for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The panel kicked off with a conversation about what it was like starting out at Clark. Molina, who majored in economics<\/a> and history<\/a> and is now a senior consultant at EY<\/a> and a member of the Hispanics Achievement and Celebration of Excellence Committee at Quinsigamond Community College<\/a>, spoke about struggling to navigate a system he didn\u2019t grow up in. \u201cI did not understand the American education system in general,\u201d said the Dominican Republic native. \u201cI didn\u2019t know I had to take all these tests … it was a cultural clash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Blaney, who majored in environmental science<\/a>, support from campus offices was vital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe first-gen office offered summer funding scholarships, which allowed me to get more involved and do internships I might not have done otherwise,\u201d said Blaney, who recently secured a position as a sustainability coordinator at Eversource Energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Alvarracin, a clinical surgery assistant preparing to enter veterinary school, majored in biology<\/a> and Spanish<\/a> at Clark. She recalled leaning hard into faculty connections. \u201cI created very strong relationships with a lot of professors,\u201d she said. \u201cThere were many times I had imposter syndrome<\/a>, but it was the advice from professors with similar stories that encouraged me to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All three panelists had stories about wrestling with imposter syndrome. Blaney reflected on struggling in science classrooms. \u201cI felt like I wasn\u2019t smart enough or supposed to be there,\u201d she recalled. \u201cBut making connections and seeing where we\u2019re all at in our careers helped me feel like I belonged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Alvarracin, those doubts reared their head during senior year. \u201cI was like, \u2018I\u2019m not going to finish this degree. Why did I do this?\u2019\u201d she recalled thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sitting down with faculty mentors helped to alleviate the feeling that she didn\u2019t belong, something she also experienced during her master\u2019s program. \u201cMy advisor told me, \u2018You got into this program for a reason. You can do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molina offered perspectives from both sides of the college-career transition. \u201cImposter syndrome never really goes away. You learn to handle it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re probably doing way more than you give yourself credit for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Post-grad life has challenges, too. Alvarracin described the stress of facing rejections when applying to veterinary school and recalibrating her expectations. \u201cRejection is okay,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to happen multiple times in life.\u201d It was through her perseverance that these rejections eventually transformed into triumph. Alvarracin finished her master\u2019s degree in animals and public policy from Tufts University\u2019s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine<\/a> and is planning to start veterinary school in Puerto Rico next fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molina described working in various jobs before finding his footing. \u201cEven being the first in my family to have a degree, I still felt unworthy,\u201d he added as each panelist nodded in agreement. \u201cBut school isn\u2019t the end of your evolution. You have to keep exploring. We’re young as hell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molina felt he didn\u2019t apply himself as best he could as an undergraduate, so a graduate degree was about redemption. He received a management degree from the Harvard Extension School<\/a>. \u201cI wanted to prove myself wrong,\u201d he said. \u201cJust because you didn\u2019t do great back then doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll be in the same boat now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blaney completed her master\u2019s in environmental science and policy<\/a> through Clark\u2019s 4+1 Accelerated Master\u2019s Degree<\/a> program. She advised the students to be persistent, which may mean working in various positions before landing the job that\u2019s right for them. \u201cThe experience really does matter, even more than I expected,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The panel wrapped with the question: What advice would you give to first-gen students? Each panelist broached the subject distinctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t give up,\u201d Alvarracin said. \u201cNot following the traditional path is okay.\u201d She encouraged students to reach out to people in professions that interest them, even if just to narrow the fields they want to pursue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molina broke his response into three points: \u201cOne: Embrace your story. Two: Get good mentorship. Three: Invest in yourself. Keep evolving and learning. Don\u2019t follow just a paycheck or a trend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blaney emphasized perspective. \u201cYes, it\u2019s serious, but it\u2019s not that serious. A bad grade won\u2019t derail your life. Just send that email. Reach out.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alumni panel offers first-gen students advice on navigating career search <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":21039,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"var(--clarku-color-gray-300)","story_headerImg":21039,"section_label":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[223],"displayed_author":[229],"featured":[494],"topic":[232,252,119],"class_list":["post-21035","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-clark-community","displayed_author-justin-schwartz-27","featured-secondary","topic-alumni","topic-alumni-stories","topic-student-life"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"man](\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/37\/Panel_4_11_25-44-1024x683.jpg\")
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