First Weeks of College

My first week at UC Santa Cruz was challenging in adjusting to the routine of college. The work load changes in college and you need to be able to prioritize what you want to see completed. It’s very easy to think that by not fixing small problems before they become bigger, things will get better on their own. By procrastinating, the situation becomes worse before it becomes better.  You are also exposed to a lot of campus resources the first weeks of college, and finding your interests seems difficult with so much going on. College campuses want their students to be engaged in their communities so there are always good opportunities to get plunged in to something you enjoy.  Exposure to many resources along with meeting a lot of people your first weeks of school happens really fast and before you know it you have already completed your first week of college. 

I didn’t know what to expect from college life, but so far it has been an awesome experience. Every situation is new for first generation students, so any type of expectation isn’t real, because no one before you has attended and graduated from college. The cool thing about the transition to college is that there is an abundance of support offered. I always wanted to go to college, and receiving support from family and friends has really made it easier for me. College is also a time in your life to celebrate all your accomplishments so be proud of your journey to college and make the most of the time you have in school.  After finally taking my first leap into college I hope to continue learning about topics that interest me. I look forward to continue meeting new people and look forward to exploring new careers for my future.

-Alejandro, UC Santa Cruz

What I Like About Santa Cruz

I liked the community UC Santa Cruz has. It's not just one big campus; it's split into lots of colleges. For example, I had a lecture with my whole college and it's pretty cool doing homework with your building and going to class with your new friends. I loved how it was really hot the first month of the quarter, there was a beach near by and trees for shade. I liked how my writing teacher gave me a whole page of what she wanted specifically from her students because I thought professors were going to be hard on us. I also like how there are academic advisors at every college who are going to be there for you until you graduate.

I would not do anything differently if I had to do my first quarter again because I took advantage of everything available to me. I attended a lot of tutoring sessions to get the grades I needed. Especially when it came to 3 hours review sessions before midterms and finals, I turned down plans with friends to make sure I had everything reviewed and covered. All the time I put into going to tutoring and review sessions paid off because I got more than I expected from my grades. I'm very proud of myself.

I met my myspace friend in my writing class. Her name is Stephanie, and I believe it is fate that we ended up in the same university, college and class. Because of her, I met her roommate. I've met 3 awesome trustworthy girls that I believe will be by my side until the day I graduate.

If I could give myself advice, I would say to not go home as often. Next quarter, I am planning to only go home 2-3 times a quarter or less. During Fall 2011 quarter I went home almost every other weekend and for a moment, it was every weekend due to a death in my family. Although I should be there for my family, I want to focus on my studies. I also want to stay in Santa Cruz more because it is such a hassle to transfer to 3 different buses then BART home. Although it is cheaper than driving, the cost adds up. So staying in Santa Cruz will help me focus more and save a lot of money. I am attending every event my college put for the students to make sure I am enjoying every moment of my first year. So with that, I already feel successful and I am also very joyful with my experience.

- Stacy, UC Santa Cruz '15

My First Quarter at UC Santa Cruz

What I liked best about my first quarter at UC Santa Cruz was taking an introductory course to Latin American and Latino Studies with Professor Hector Perla. I learned the most from this course because it taught me about the relationships wealthier countries such as the United States and European countries have with poorer Latin American countries. I found this very interesting because Latinos, and Latin Americans continue to be affected by the policies wealthy countries impose on their native countries. It also opened my eyes to how important economics is and how much it affects our daily lives. Taking this course allowed me to realize that as much as I am passionate about Latino Studies, I’d rather major Business Management Economics because it is more stable than LALS and it will allow me to learn how economic policies affect people, especially poorer communities that are usually comprised of ethnic minorities such as Latinos.

Aside from this, I really liked the relationship I established with Professor Perla because we were able to discus topics that were interesting to both of us. We had lunch one day and were able to talk about our experiences at UCSC, which was very helpful to me because I was able to see things from the focal point of a UC professor.

Next quarter, in order to be a more successful student, I am going to stop procrastinating as much as I did fall quarter. I’m going to manage my time better and not go home as much as I did before so that I can focus more on my academic success and myself. I’m also going to make a stronger effort to talk to my professors and teaching assistants (TAs) outside of class so that I can get more help and establish stronger bonds with them. I’m also considering joining a club for Latinos in Business. It may help me to feel more like I am part of a community. This is something I lacked fall quarter.

If I had a chance to speak to myself in September when I entered UCSC, I would have told myself to invest more time and effort in the work I completed and to not go home as much as I did. In high school I had everything under control, but I became lazy over the summer. Looking back, I would have told myself to not let go of the driven student I was in high school. After completing my first quarter, I feel that I am beginning to settle down to the person I was before college. I’m a lot more motivated than I was last quarter and am very excited for the winter. I know I will be more successful this quarter and will enjoy my time at college a lot more.

- Margarita, UC Santa Cruz '15

Reflections on the First Quarter at UC Santa Cruz

As soon as I entered UC Santa Cruz I realized that I was going to have a new life not only academically but in any aspect. I don’t know if I was or I am still fully prepared for the “college life” however, I know I will soon get there.

Being the first in my family to go to college has been tough because I do not have a person in my family who can give me advice. But I consider myself fortunate because I am part of the program EOP-Bridge. EOP-Bridge has allowed me to have a mentor to whom I can ask questions about my classes or anything else. I practically have a mentor who gives me a lot of motivation to keep striving for a better academic success and I honestly consider myself lucky. My mentor Gary always gives me advice and every time we have our check-ins I tend to write his advice down on my notebook to a point in where it became a habit. When I find myself without any motivation I refer back to my notes. Even though he’s major is business I can say all of his mentees, including myself, find his advice very powerful.

The classes were not close to being easy, but I managed to go to tutoring and ask questions to my professors. I had a good experience my first quarter of college not only because of my mentor, tutors, and professors but also because of the friends I made in Santa Cruz. We all managed to motivate each other while we were too overwhelmed with our classes or even our personal lives. Having good people around me who also wanted me to succeed made me appreciate them even more and acknowledge their support. I know that I have only spent a couple of months with them, but I can already see that what I’ve heard is true “You find your good friends in college”.

If I had the opportunity to change some things around this quarter I would definitely do it. I regret not being more involved with my school in volunteer activities or clubs. Even though, I did not volunteer as much as I wanted this quarter, I am proud to say that I was chosen to attend the annual “Student of Color Conference” also known as “SOCC.” SOCC is a conference in where State Universities and UC’s students come together and discuss solutions to problems that may be occurring in the schools as well as in our communities. The conference took place in UC Davis and we had workshops with different themes. I felt so empowered in the conference due to all of us students who were ready to change things around. I will never forget those three days, because those three days allowed me to know that there were other people striving for a change as well. And I am heading to change things around such as my future and my community.

Sometimes I wonder if there is a formula to find success in college, and if there is one I hope I am following the right steps in order to find the solution to succeed. I know I made some mistakes this quarter, but I have many plans for this upcoming quarter such as being more involved. I hope I can balance my academics, clubs, and other things. I also wanted to mention that if it wasn’t for Zuhair Saadat I probably would not be attending UC Santa Cruz. Thank you, Zuhair for giving me the opportunity to visit UC Santa Cruz, and realize that it’s the place for me. Thank you EdFund for believing in me! And once again thank you to all my professors, friends, and family who supported me you are all appreciated.

- Nelly, UC Santa Cruz '15

Working Hard at UC Santa Cruz

My name is Nelly and I have been studying in UC Santa Cruz for almost two months. The transition to college has been really challenging. But because I have the opportunity to be a member of the Bridge Program through EOP the transition has being more easier. Through the Bridge Program I have a mentor with whom I check in every week about my academics and anything else that I may need help with. The Bridge Program helped me with the transition to college, because I had the opportunity to move in a week earlier. During that week we had an intensive writing class in where we had the opportunity to see what was ahead of us. The mentors and staff gave us advice about midterms, clubs, and other topics. This program has been really helpful, because I’ve learned how to manage my time in school.

Being away from my family has not been easy because I’ve always been close to home. I was really homesick during the first weeks. My friends really helped me out by being there for me every time they would see me upset. My roommate and I have a really good relationship and we have kept each other motivated throughout this journey. Now that I am away from them I come to realize that being far away may be one of the toughest things in college.

Academics are really challenging but I was expecting that to come my way. The Bridge Program has provided me with tutoring for my classes which have helped understand my classes and the main concepts. Coming to a big school I thought it was going to be difficult to interact with my teachers, but I was wrong. I have a class of 300 students which is named Latin American and Latino Studies the professor is so engaged with its students. He always tells us to strive for a better future, and to reach our full potential. It may be a big class, but I honestly do not feel like a number. I feel like the teachers do care about every student.

My high school did not exactly prepare me for the “college” life, but I know it prepared me more than other schools would have. I have made the library my second home I stay in the library until I am able to finish my homework. I think what has helped me out trough out the transition has been the strong support system outside and inside of school. The strong support system that I have has motivated me to do better academically.

I know nothing is perfect in life, so why question the difficulty of college? I trust myself to give my full potential in school, and hopefully obtain good grades. Thank you EdFund for giving me the opportunity to experience the college life. I promise I won’t disappoint you.

- Nelly, UC Santa Cruz '15

First Year at Santa Cruz

My transition to college was pretty difficult. It almost seemed or it still seems like I am the only one struggling with how the college system works, the way we sign up for classes and the flexible schedule but I know I’m not the only one. Being the only daughter in my family to strive for higher education while the rest of my siblings are working just so we can stay as a family financially stable is very difficult especially when you know that you are miles and miles away from them and there is nothing you can do for them. The reason why I chose to go to college was because of my family, because I want to help them and get a career so they do not have to worry about financial needs anymore. I always remind myself why I wanted to be in college and it makes me so much stronger knowing I will be helping my family in the long run.

This summer I prepared to move out. When I was younger, I always wanted to move away for college and that was the only thing I can think of. Until the summer before college started, was when it actually hit me that I won’t be at home to help with anything besides doing well in school for them. Leaving my parents, my first niece and my grandpa who is really sick is what saddened me the most. Spending time with my family as much as I can before leaving to college is what I did over the summer. Although I am closer to home than the rest of my peers and floor mates, no one will ever understand my difficulty of leaving home.

This quarter at Santa Cruz, I am looking forward to getting closer to my Resident Assistant and my floor mates. I am hoping that I will be able to balance school especially when you have to study double the amount alone with my fellowship, family and clubs. I hope I can maintain the work load and be able do and finish my work in time and not last time. I hope I can get used to being independent.

- Stacy, UC Santa Cruz '15

Study Trip to UC Santa Cruz

Attending Spring Spotlight on April 21st at UC Santa Cruz was not only insightful, but very fun as well. Zuhair, the Ed. Fund Program Assistant, Nelly, an LPS-Richmond student whom I befriended quite quickly, and I met at the Richmond BART station and drove to Santa Cruz to be welcomed by faculty and volunteer workers. We were directed to the Cultural Center for refreshments and then we sat and listened to a presentation about UC Santa Cruz, its colleges, and important deadlines for admitted students. Next, we were paired with our tour guide who showed us a dorm room, the quad (from which you could see the ocean), and one of UC Santa Cruz’s five dining halls and one of its five libraries. The tour guide was really funny and charismatic, so he made the tour very enjoyable. We learned that UCSC was rated one of the most beautiful campuses by Forbes Magazine and has some of the happiest and healthiest students. While I was there, I felt like I was at Yosemite because the school looks like a national park. UCSC is also the largest of the UCs in terms of land, with the least amount of students. I liked this because even though the school is big, I felt like I was at a small school like Saint Mary’s. Everything felt close-knit.

6:30pm came around and we had the pleasure of sitting in on an introductory course to Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) taught by Assistant Professor Hector Perla. This was probably one of my favorite things we did at Santa Cruz because I am considering majoring in Latin American and Latino Studies and then becoming a professor. I found the lecture very interesting, except I was unfamiliar with a term the professor used: “neo-liberal” which he later defined for me. He ended lecture early and we had the pleasure of meeting him. I spoke to him about research opportunities at UCSC and the LALS major. He told me that the professors in the LALS department are passionate about what they do and care a lot about helping students achieve their goals. He also informed me that in three to four years they will offer an LALS Ph.D program which will be perfect timing for when I graduate with my bachelor’s degree. He gave me his business card and said that I could get a copy of the course syllabus if I emailed him. I plan on enrolling in his class this fall.

The visit to UCSC allowed me to make my decision between attending Saint Mary’s College and UC Santa Cruz. Many of the resources I thought wouldn’t be available to me at UCSC are actually there. I was scared that at UC Santa Cruz I would get lost in a pool of students and not get the help I may need. After visiting the school, I can see that UCSC is a great fit for me, and what I wish to accomplish in the future.

- Margarita, UC Santa Cruz '15