If I didn't have a lot of tools going into college, I'm a non traditional student. So not having study tools and not knowing where to study and having those things around. It kind of gave me a challenge and time inside of my classes. Project grads helped me tremendously with those tools. I enrolled in life success class, and also rolled in a math class. And they both gave me the tools in me say the journey to continue and to push farther and just believe in myself and guide me along the way, and gave me new mechanisms to use.
First generation college students have often undertaken a journey before they even start their first day of classes, representing their family that sometimes for generations was unable to break through barriers of access to higher education. This is random acts of knowledge presented by Heartland Community College. I'm your host, Steve fast. Today, we're speaking with two first generation college students and also looking into the tools offered that can help with some of the unique barriers that first generation students might have to overcome to succeed once they have started their collegiate journey.
Hi, my name is tear Randall. I am the Assistant Director for Project rise. Project rise is a federally funded TRIO program that supports first generation income eligible and students with disabilities in their journey at Heartland. Our main goal is to help students stay in school to graduate and to transfer to a four year institution of their choice. And at Heartland our gradual rise program has been here for almost 20 years, next year. So we've been supporting students for a long time in their journeys
of Kuwana. I'm a second year student at Heartland and I'm studying early childhood education.
What got you interested in wanting to study early childhood education?
I've always enjoyed children I found that's what I'm most succeed at is working with children. And it's like, I think if you can do anything for free, what would it be working with children.
I'm Tanya Isaacson. I'm a recently graduated student from Heartland. I am on the nursing track and I start nursing classes. Then about a week and a half.
Tanya, what was it like trying to wrap up your studies at Heartland this last semester, doing nursing with all the stuff happening with the pandemic?
Actually, I think it's prepared me well for what's to come being flexible and being able to pivot on a dime and flow from there. And everybody, especially project guys made it real easy to transition
to Euro Tell me a little bit about how project rise fits in with that, especially with first generation students, what are the things that you see students come in, and they might need a little bit of skill attention, or have specific problems that project rise can help with
coming in as a first gen student, there may be a lot of questions that needs to be answered. As far as the culture of higher ed services, things are available, kind of the know how. And so project rise does a great job of bridging that gap. And exposing students to what it takes to be successful and really igniting the power that they already have within themselves is there. And so all we do is just bring it out, show them how to navigate the system so that they can achieve their academic and personal dreams.
So Tanya, you're first generation student, what do you think your parents didn't go to college? Was that something that they would have if they wanted to? Why are you the first person in your family to go,
my mom always had aspirations to become a mathematician, more power to her with math. But she started her family, our little family early. My parents were divorced when I was young. By the time I was two, they were divorced. So she spent all our time working two and three jobs just to be able to provide for us. So college just wasn't an option at some point.
Did you think at any point in your life, that it wasn't an option for you? Or were you always pretty sure you'd go to college?
I had the dream of going to college. And I will say it was kind of jaded when I was young thinking, you know, college is just like high school. It's just expected and it's the next step. But then I started figuring out there's a lot of costs associated with that. And you know, you really had to work hard and put in the steps to be able to find funding for it. So I took my proverbial yellow gear off and 25 years later figured out, hey, my kids are grown and actually I can manage college. That
sounds like almost harder. After you'd waited that long. Did you need any knowledge or did you just finally say, ah, these kids are out of my hair. I can finally work on something I want to do a little bit
was more of Okay, now the kids are gone. I've went through some major life changes. And my work though I enjoyed it for many years. It kept bringing me back to the fact that I wanted to be a teacher and now In life circumstances brought me around to feeling like I really wanted to be a nurse, and help sick people. So I'm like, well, the kids are grown. Let me look into seeing what I have to do to make it happen. Because I never lost that passion for wanting to be a teacher
to want to tell me a little bit about your family. Did your parents Why do you think that they didn't go to college? Was it something that they had wanted to do? And the circumstance didn't allow? Or was that something that just wasn't their path?
It just wasn't their path. I don't think they were afforded the opportunity or the idea to go to college, they both for high school graduates. And so that's their path. But I always knew I wanted to go and pursue something higher.
What led you to Heartland?
Actually, I got a letter in the mail. And I decided to go up there and give it a try. Do a look around in it. And I was in love and I enrolled probably the next day,
talk a little bit for you to what your college experience was like? Was it what you expected? was a different? Did you find that there were any things that you had to adjust to that you didn't anticipate?
It was very different. I didn't have a lot of tools going into college. I'm a non traditional student. So not having study tools and not knowing where to study and having those things around. It kind of gave me a challenge and time inside of my classes.
Did project rise help with those tools? Or what were some of the other ways that you found a little bit of help or found access to some of those tools that you didn't bring with you?
Actually, yeah, Project grads helped me tremendously with those tools. I enrolled in life success class. That's one of the classes that Tierra teaches, and also wrote in a math class. And they both gave me the tools. And I mean, say the journey to continue and push farther and just believe in myself and guide me along the way, and gave me new mechanisms to use.
Tanya, did you find anything that you didn't expect when you first started to take classes?
No, I kind of expected to be overwhelmed after being out of school for so long. And I was so nervous. Just being afraid to be in the classroom with peers that are so much younger than me. It ended up really great in Project fries, held my hand through a lot of it. And they have functions where you can interact with other members the project arise and really get to know people. So you're not alone when you step out and afraid of being the only one around.
So TR Can you talk a little bit about some of those programs and some of the especially for non traditional students. I think that that's probably something that if you reenter school, or you have taken a break, you might have a little bit of a problem wondering where you fit in when there are a bunch of 1819 year olds there as well.
The core of our program is our peer mentor program. And so all new students are assigned a peer mentor and we look at things as far as if they're non traditional, their major, their interests, things of that nature to pair them with someone that they meet with on a regular basis to help them answer difficult questions and be another cheerleader for them. So we're thankful that Tanya and Tawana are both peer mentors, and so they know the impact of that. So that's at the heart of our program. Some other services we provide include a ton of workshops, so things like confidence building, help navigating math, just a ton of different things that help students just pour back into themselves. So workshops, we do college visits, we have different cultural events that expose students to the arts to different things that just enriches their lives and just broadens their perspective. So those are some of the services we provide. But at the heart of it is the Peer Mentor Program and that constant interaction with someone that is also in the same boat as him as a student.
So Tijuana, you want to be a teacher. So as a peer mentor, did that come to you naturally, to be able to feel confident to help out some other students?
Yeah, it comes to me I Okay, optimistic, optimistic personality. So I enjoy uplifting people that had a peer mentor who always uplifted me. So I think that to push the program along, I wouldn't mind doing it and helping another student out, giving them you know, great advice and letting them know that even during the challenging times, I'm gonna still be here if we don't push through it together.
Tony, how did you feel? Especially having kids being a mentor for somebody else and sort of giving them advice? Were the were your peers that you were mentoring? Were they younger, were they about your age? What was the situation?
I have a vast variety of ages for the people that I mentor, and I've really been able to use my mothering skills with some And, you know, discerning when they need a little bit of tough love and when they just need, you know, somebody to talk to. And it's been great even those that I've mentored that might have been older than these, they've been real receptive to it. Everybody has something to offer along their journey. So telling part of my story helps other people. So I enjoy being able to help other people by telling my story. I've always said that Tamblyn Tierra are excellent at choosing who they pair you up with as mentees. And one of my mentees came to me and she was just having a really bad day, one day, well come to find out she was going through a divorce. And I've been through two divorces myself. So I was able to help her along that front and really give her peace of mind helping her have a sounding board and be able to clear some of that off her chest so she could study and focus. So she was also going into nursing. And you really have to have a strong focus when you're going into nursing.
know, you mentioned that you graduated Heartland you're starting continuing with nursing at Illinois State. What's your end goal with nursing? Which or do you want to do?
Actually, I took two little summer classes to get the nursing program started. And I've always had my sights set on two things I want to work bedside, but then I also want to get my master's and actually my doctorate and become a teacher of nursing as well. So I can do both in correlation. And then also I want to have a nonprofit organization that helps people navigate the system of health care to actually be able to make sure they have health care and don't miss out a lot of people are so nervous and don't know where to go to get started.
Dara back a little bit to the mentoring, it was mentioned that you help pair up the mentors and the mentees? What's that process like for you? What are you looking for to match up the right students with the right student mentor,
at the base of it is in our hiring of peer mentor. So being able to know which peer mentor we hire brings to the table. That's number one. And then from there, I do intake appointments with students when they're coming into the program. And so I get this chance to get to know more about them, and about their journey. And from there, I'm kind of listening to see, you know, what do they need, who can I pair them with that will help fill this gap here. So it may be a student who was really shy, and I may have a peer mentor who is a little bit more outspoken. And so in that pairing, you can see the person that's more in their shell kind of come out a little bit more, since it is a one on one interaction, they have a chance to just build that relationship and grow. And sometimes it's a student who's in a specific major. So like Tanya is nursing. Sometimes I paired her with nursing students, because I know it's rigorous. And it is a discipline journey. And so I know that Tanya has been successful in that. And so I know that paired her with someone in that major will only help them again, looking at the big picture and how we can connect those dots. I believe project rise to be a family. It is a community of individuals from all walks of life who have a shared goal of a pursue in higher education. In that connection, we find friendships, we find empowerment, we find inspiration, we find purpose. And project Gries is a great facilitator of all those things. And there's no other program like it to me, it's a place where students voices are lifted up, students are always at the center of decisions. And I pray that this around for years to come because I have personally seen the the impact it has had on students lives, on their family's lives. And on the investment, you know, that students want to put into themselves, you know, because in that there's a great return to the world as they continue to be their fullest and most grandest version of themselves. Project rise is so special,
what is it meant to be first generation student and how you felt about the road that you've taken once you started? Tony, if you want to start on that,
first of all, it means a lot to me to be able to go my mom and dad are so proud that I was able to continue on a journey they weren't able to take and my children both decided that school wasn't right for them right out of high school. So I'm also a role model for them and my son is just itching for me to get done. So we can help him out in the ways he's able to help us out right now. So he can start his journey back to school. That means a lot to me to be able to inspire my children to go back to school.
So Tawana, tell me a little bit about what the journey has been for you and what it's meant to you to be a first generation college student.
The journey has definitely been interesting and inspiring along the way. It means a lot to be a first gen Mission College students, I get to reach back and bring whomever along with me who probably have challenges, like inspiring my nieces to go to school, then continuing in higher education. I'm very passionate about that.
Was there anything in the process of going to college and approaching your degree that you didn't expect, that has been a benefit to you that you didn't think you get going into it?
Networking has been big. Since I've been in school, broadening my horizons, doing and trying out new things, as helped me and continue to inspire me as being a first generation college student.
During this pandemic period, when it comes to school, a lot of people have just sort of gotten to this place where they're not sure what to do. You know, I don't know if it's because so much of the instruction is online, or maybe they were thinking about going to college somewhere else. And then they don't know what they're going to do there because they can't be on campus. So some people are just putting off going to college. Do you have any thoughts about that, and what you might say to somebody that is considering going, but they're just not sure, because of the way things are happening this particular year,
I always encourage people to do what's best for them. Depending on what type of learner you are. For those who are putting it off, you know, I'll definitely try to tell them, this, we are going to be in this pandemic for a while to to give it a try. This has been the smoothest transition for me, because last semester, we were on Zoom. So it wasn't too much of a challenge because I will still a friend and meet with my teachers every day. So you know, I would definitely encourage them to give it a try.
But Tanya, what would your advice be to somebody that's not sure if they want to start college and they're, they're unsure about the situation or the they don't know what to do, but they don't necessarily have another strong plan.
I would definitely say now is the time everybody is so understanding what the transition, and the teachers are so helpful and understanding your situation. I would say just give it a try. Start it out and just stay in contact with your teachers. They've all been really great and helping you get through it all know, one that I was scared to death to go to online classes. I have even said many times I'm not going to do online until I absolutely have to which would be about master's level. Well, there was another plan. And it worked out so if me the one who is technologically advanced can do this and still excel than anybody can do it. So there's it's nothing to be afraid I'm just because it's online.
So Tierra I know that we're talking about all the things that have to change and that are different because of of pandemic and online instruction. And normally every year we have a celebration of first generation college students at Heartland this year, how are some ways that students and their families and the Heartland Community and anyone can celebrate first generation students?
A great way if you are unfamiliar with the stories of first gen students is to go to youtube type in first generation college students. There are so many stories out there. So there's a big thing and just being educated about the journeys of those, there are some great websites that post information about first gen students in the support of it. And project rise is doing their best to still keep the celebration going alive, even in the midst of the pandemic. This conversation right here is one way to amplify the stories of our students. But if you follow us on Facebook, you will also see information about famous first gen alum, as well as just some encouraging words for students who are first gen and like I said project rise is that, that place for them to feel supported. And so as always, we are recruiting students into our program. And so that's another way just more exposure about what we do so more students can apply to the program and and get the support that they need. All of our services are free. And so it's really a student just taking time to fill out the application precedent, and we will connect the rest of the pieces.
Thank you all for taking some time today to do this. I appreciate it. All right. Dr. Randall is Assistant Director of Project rise at Heartland Community College. tuwana Beal is a first generation college student and project rise peer mentor. She will graduate in spring of 2021 Tanya Isaacson is a first generation college student who is a project rise peer mentor and a Heartland Community College fall 2019 Grad. She's now a nursing student at Illinois State University. If you'd like to hear other interviews on education, mentoring, or other topics, subscribe to random acts of knowledge on Apple podcasts, Spotify, iTunes, or wherever you found this one Thanks for listening
