Haroutunian 1

Arthur Haroutunian

English 101

Professor Batty

14 March 2019

The Pioneers (First Generation Students)

There are vast groups of different types of college students and this includes the issues

they all face. There is one I am personally apart of which is the first generation of students in

there family. The issue that I will be focusing on is the lack of knowledge first generation

students have about college and how to solve this issue. The reason that this lack of knowledge is

such an issue because students aren’t aware of the advantages and opportunities they have, the

resources they should use which in turn will help them decide which classes they should take.

This issue can be solved by taking the classes and workshops provided by colleges, here is why.

One of the reasons involve the advantages by taking these classes would be a foundation

layout. By that I mean taking these classes will give you a chance to discuss with a counselor or

teacher in these courses about what you wanna do and how you wanna do it. One of these classes

that we have here at Valley College that does this is counseling 21. In this class they discuss

Majors, schedules, and show you how to manage your time to be able to complete your goals.

Many people would over look this class and say that it just goes over the basics and everyone

knows that, if that were true why would these classes exist? These classes were made with all

students in mind it would be wise to use it. These students should use these classes to there

advantage by setting there foundation as well as evening the playing field with the other students.
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Another reason the students should take these classes so they become aware of the

opportunities they have. These opportunities for example can be FAFSA, EOPS, and ASU. These

are programs that can help pay for college as well as books. This is apart of issues first

generation students face due to there family not knowing that they are able to apply and are most

likely eligible. In an article by Education Post Caroline Bermudez talks about her experience

about being a first generation student.This allows us to see the views of someone who has went

through the experiencing of being the first. ”Being a first-generation college student means

accepting you will do a lot of things without help, such as filling out financial aid forms or

making campus visits(Bermudez).” These are some of the many reasons why these classes exist,

they are to help you arrange these things and try to tone down the difficulty of college for you.

Now there are some arguments with some validity one being that these classes are a

waste of time and you can figure it out yourself. In an article by scholar edge they mention some

issues with these kinds of classes.”These classes can set unrealistic expectations as well as being

an overall waste of time(Jason)”. Although these classes may set expectations and take a little

time the pros out weigh the cons. For example, the expectations, at the end of the day you set

your own expectations, no one can decide what you are gonna do and what to expect but you.

Next, the argument is that it is a waste of time. Yes these classes take a little time but most are

like one day courses which is worth it when you look at the benefit it provides. These classes are

very helpful in the long run and these students need to utilize it if they desire to be able to have a

more smooth ride with getting into the whole system and beginning stages of college.

On top of all these advantages and opportunities that we created for the students they

students are not aware of is the resources they can use to make there college time easier.One
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example of this is the library database which offers hundreds of thousands of scholarly articles.

Another would be all the tutoring groups, the writing center, EOPS, and many others. An issue

that comes along with these resources is that people do not know how to find them. If this is an

issue you face it can be solves by asking a teacher, another student, or your counselor. People

will find out about these opportunities through there teachers, emails, texts, and flyers. Using

these resources leads to student growth which is apart of the core values at Los Angles Valley

College. The reason this is important to these new students is that it tells them a lot about what

LAVC has ton offer for them, “The college creates a learning-centered environment that offers a

broad range of academic pathways and services in an atmosphere of academic freedom and

collaboration response to students, faculty, staff, and community. This supports students’ growth

to fulfill their educational goals through innovative teaching and learning(Board of LAVC

Trustees).”This is a key thing for all the students cause it allows them to ask what resources and

paths do they have to take which in turn will allow more exposure to the already provided

resources.

In conclusion by taking these classes it will help the first generation students by, showing

the advantages they have, listing the opportunities they have, and finally noticing them of the

resources they can use to increase there success in college as well as there overall personal

experience. If this group does not take action and take these classes they are doomed to be

uninformed and miss out on many opportunities because of not taking these wide variety of

classes. These classes were made to help students ,why not give the students an opportunity to

find out for themselves.

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Works Cited

“On Being First in Your Family.” Education Post, 29 May 2015, educationpost.org/on-being-

first-in-your-family/.

“Apply. Compete. Succeed. BLOG.” Pros and Cons of Campus Visits – Are They Worth It?,

scholaredge.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-campus-visits-are-they-worth-it.

Mission Statement: Los Angeles Valley College, www.lavc.edu/about/Vision-Mission-

Statements.aspx.