The College of Engineering at Texas A&M University is home to more than 20 percent first-generation undergraduate students. Here is a conversation with Luis Sanchez, a sophomore in general engineering at Texas A&M, about his experience as a first-generation college student.
Q: What’s it like to be a first-generation college student?
A: I feel like my experience as a first-generation student might be a little different than most. I’ve always really done what I have to do. I’ve always had the mentality of ‘Okay you know you’re going to do this and you know you want to go to college and you know you want to have a good job that can sustain you’ because I come from a low-income family, so it’s been different. I know I want to have that extra step to my parents’ education, so I’ve always had the mentality of ‘I know I have to do this, so I have to push through this regardless of what I’m going through.’ But sometimes I feel a little discouraged or a little doubtful and I remind myself ‘Okay, you’re doing this and you’re a first gen. You should be proud.’ It helps me push through – reminding myself that I’m a first gen and seeing that all my family is looking up to me and telling me ‘You can do this’ even though they don’t understand exactly how it is because they didn’t go through registration of classes or the struggle of studying.
Q: What student organizations are you involved in?
A: I am a mentor for the Century Scholars Program. Another club that I am in is the Energy Club. For the Century Scholars Program, each section is like a class, we have a section leader and there are four other mentors. I am one of them. What we do in the class is just show all the incoming freshmen the resources that Texas A&M has and also give them guidance and tips on how to get through different situations during the first year. We go out with our mentees at least once a month to get involved with them and build a bond with them and introduce them to the new lifestyle (of being a college student) since most of them are first-generation students.
Q: Why are you interested in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering?
A: I chose electrical engineering because I’m really passionate about the environment and sustainability. I want to go into the energy industry and renewable energy sources, in hopes of expanding solar and the wind turbines to more neighborhoods and cities, so that we won’t have to rely so much on fossil fuels.
Q: What advice would you give to other first-generation students?
A: I would tell a first gen that it’s definitely doable, regardless of your parents or everyone else who you’ve seen that hasn’t gone to a university. There are resources and people that can help you, and because other people have gone through it, they can help you through it as well.
Sanchez is a member of the Zachry Leadership Program which is a joint program between the College of Engineering and the Zachry Group that provides students with a broader and deeper level of personal awareness and enhanced leadership skills.