so I graduated from here Washington college in May of 2017 and right now I am pursuing my bachelors my major was biology and right now it still is I'm pursuing my bachelor's at governor state and I'm also working at advocate I grew up with two siblings two sisters my parents they both did not get a college degree but they did finish high school they grew up in Chicago went to Chicago Public Schools my older sister she graduated high school and went straight to the Marines and then my younger sister she currently goes to Northwestern University and growing up I was pretty much an average student but I was still really good at school I just wasn't at the top of my class but probably like a B average was what was my norm it was always expected for me to go to college but it wasn't a big deal if I didn't that wasn't something that I feel like my family was very adamant on I'll say it was definitely hoped for but it wasn't like oh you have to go so that definitely did shape how I performed at high school I feel like and what my expectations were afterwards you my motivation to go to college to get a degree in the field where I can make a decent amount of money and then that definitely changed over time I really realized that it was very important just to gain knowledge and to increase you know your self value so to just not walk around not really familiar with what's going on around you and just to have a skill that kind of makes life work better for you and those around you so that ended up being the reason why I stayed in college and why I felt like it was just important that I got this information and it's knowledge more than a degree you my biggest obstacle when going to City Colleges of Chicago was finding out my grandfather had cancer and ended up having to get put on hospice so we were living together so basically it was really hard trying to balance you know knowing that he's dying and wanting to spend time with him they're also wanting to work and make money they're also wanting to go to school and do well in school so it wasn't a lot of time just a lot of free time to balance so that was definitely hard definitely a step back that came along because a lot of times something is gonna give so either you know I have to tell him like oh I have to go do homework can we hang out and sit and talk with you or you know or I have while I just stopped studying or while you know something is gonna end up lacking and what you did but you know everything happens for a reason and I got past that so you know strategies that I did use I would say were to deal with that obstacle were things such as trying to do homework while I was at work so luckily now a lot of things are digital a lot of the homework is online and I worked by a computer so I also had work-study at that point in time as well where the hours are a little bit more you could be more flexible with it and also I was right in front of a computer so a lot of times I was try and get my homework done while I was there that way when I got home I could focus on everything else or other things those those were one of the tactics you I was definitely one of those students who was nervous about asking for help I wasn't really comfortable talking to my teachers about anything but class so but there were lots of times where I needed help so that didn't necessarily benefit me there was a specific time where just everything just was not panning now my understanding of the class work so it was math it was a math class and it was just so much work happening at once and then also with my schedule so I did end up telling the teacher and I say you know cuz he was like oh he would he would say things like oh did you do this or did you do that and then I finally just kind of came out and told him like I have been struggling you know with with finishing these online homework assignments there's so many of them and he told me that he could give me an extension and I'm also that I could come to his office hours and things like that and it definitely definitely helped and it was actually really funny because he was the incident where I wish I would have asked for help sooner because I had taken his class earlier on in my college career and I dropped it because I felt like I had fallen too far behind I missed a couple of classes and it was just a Saturday class was one day out of the week and I just feel like I felt like I couldn't come back so I just dropped it but later on when I was in his class he mentioned it and said you know you just disappeared but you could have came to me and we would have worked something I was like oh man I kind of wasted that that credit or that time by dropping it instead of just acting like oh you know is there anything he could do to help me you throughout my whole career here at City Colleges I've been going to work and going to school and there was a specific time where I actually was in place and I was in a play here along with going to school and going to work so definitely had to really sit down and think about how I was gonna prioritize my time one of the tactics that I did was I made sure everything that I tried to do I had to do was in the same vicinity so I looked for a job I got a job like really literally down the street from here Washington I'm the play was at Harrow Washington and like if I just wanted to study and I made sure I did it at the school if I needed to print something I try to make sure most of my time was spent in the loop by the school that way you can just get things done faster and quicker just by getting out the way cuz sometimes you go all the way home you don't you get tired you know and you just say okay I'm not gonna do it but if you finish your homework while you're already at school or you stay and just say I'm gonna go to a computer lab get this done then you're more likely to do it you know instead of going home and they say oh let me pull all this out you know it's more likely you're gonna take a nap or watch the office so so that's hard dealt with that you there was a moment where I did have some doubts my major was biology and there was a specific class was a teacher where we weren't getting along and I wasn't able to understand the material I wasn't passing on quizzes so and when I tried to ask questions it just made me feel like I wasn't keeping up or I wasn't understanding it because I wasn't smart enough however after talking to other people and really thinking about the different science classes that I had in the past and why I liked it I realized that it was more than just me not being good at science why I was struggling it was more of the circumstance and a hole so I did take time away from that class and then came back and tried it again with a different teacher why I feel like I had more time and more comfort to ask questions and things like that so it did go well and I did get back in and now I have my associates in science so you I used the number of different supports I used tutoring I used the advising Center I used a computer lab I used my friends I use my family my church I used my co-workers and those were pretty much the supports that I used while I was here studying you one of the supports I used was tutoring which was one of my favorites I used to go at least once a week and it was so great because city colleges has so many different colleges and it doesn't matter where your home college is or where all your classes are you can go to any of them so I did I went to the one harry s truman sometimes and sometimes I went to Harold Washington I've been to all of Harvey for tutoring and just depending on where I was sometimes I would I live by Kennedy King and I love Harvey so that made it convenient to go there if I was at home if I was I meant went to here Washington so if I was already there I would go there and they have different hours and you also get a variety of different teaching styles so that was great and I got a different variety of people teaching me sometimes it was a teacher sometimes it was a student and having both of those were really was really helpful it was very helpful tutors very helpful for me also it just forces you to do your homework and to stay on it you know it's very motivating to have someone there like okay this is what we're gonna do is harder to get distracted I get easily distracted so when you have someone there to keep you on focused it's definitely easier to get your homework done to you know to get stuff done so there were times I would go to a tutor and you just have to get whoever is available and it didn't always work out so for a second you know I didn't get frustrated not with them personally but just we're going to tutoring cuz I'm like you know I don't want to waste my time cuz you're short on time but what I did was I talked to my teacher about it you know saying well I'll go to tutoring but I'm not really getting much from it and they recommended a specific person and actually asked for a specific person so and they have in certain tutoring facilities they have that person schedule so I try to line it up so I can get that person and try them so it's just about realizing who okay let me look for this person or you might want to ask about that person like okay is this a student did they graduate already you know and just say like what might be a good fit for you because we all have different learning styles to you I definitely used office hours during my time here it was very beneficial because you got to hear from the professor themselves what they were looking for so I made me use this torch the time I'm taking tests big tests or quizzes because it's not like MyMathLab but you could just keep trying and keep trying and you have to get the right answer the first time and it's nothing to tell you like oh you know you didn't get it right and wrong so before a big test I always go to office hours just to make sure we were on the same page I was try and do that and that also showed the professors that I was interested and that I was struggling a little bit or I wasn't as confident and they were also kind of check in with me during while they were talking to make sure like I understood it like during class so just building that relationship also just hopes just helps the learning process to go smoother I feel a you I use peers and classmates to help me as far as studying and finish our homework I think a good tactic to finding that perfect study buddy is listening for people who are asking the same questions or that person who is really enthusiastic about answering questions but you just want to make sure you all are like-minded people and that you know you're also humble enough to ask for help from those two around you so yeah you I would define success as setting goals for yourself and not only achieving them but exceeding them you I think the purpose of a college education is to expand your knowledge on different topics and to learn more about yourself in the process you the best thing I would say it's just the amount of support they make it hard and kind of impossible to give up because it's just so it's no excuse because they have so many resources for you I love going to City Colleges of Chicago just because you're all over Chicago and they're all accessible to the CTA they teach you about Chicago you get to learn how to navigate the city get to network with other people is super affordable and it's just really beneficial I just think and they're very organized as well I just feel like it's very you don't have to get the runaround and figure things out most of the people you talk to they know what they're talking about and they're gonna guide you in the right direction you just have to talk to them so that and like I said I never talked about when I lost my computer when I broke my computer and they were able to let me rent one for free I thought that was awesome so and you can read rent books out textbooks so you don't have to necessarily buy them cuz a lot of the teachers will put them in the library for you and you can just go to library and do your homework you know a study so it was just it was a breeze it was a great time so I think that's why I like the CCC's because of those reasons you I think provide more financial assistance outside of financial aid I think it's a lot of students who are kind of that middle ground where they they don't they're taking care of it on their own but they their parents make too much for them to have enough coverage from financial aid but they also are paying out of pocket which still makes it hard so I think just more financial assistance maybe more scholarship notification stuff like that you my concluding message for incoming students would be take advantage of this opportunity at City Colleges take advantage of the different schools don't think that you just have to go to one that you can only take classes at Harrow Washington take advantage of the u-pass they have free market days pay attention to what's going on around you because there are so many opportunities and perfect ways to network and also just stay focused and never give up but even if you don't do well in a class just don't give up keep going also I would say my biggest lesson is to just be humble I learned that a lot from CCC because when I first graduated you know you want to go away go to a four-year you know have a big trunk party and you know just have that college experience but just understand that know yourself and what you need and then you don't have to compete with anyone else this is about your future and everyone's path looks differently and it's okay that you made your path to success or degree may not look like someone else's so I think if we always keep that in mind it's no way we could feel so I feel like that's the biggest thing that take away you I think my most influential teacher was definitely my theater teacher because she was also my director and the play I was seeing at the time and she was very influential to me because she treated me like an adult she definitely broke that boundary of okay I'm a student and you're an adult you're a teacher you know she talked to me like up here she treated me like a peer and she also criticized me and told me where I could grow and I appreciate that a lot of people you know once you're done with them one should they're out of your class you kind of just leave them alone you don't talk to me more but she made sure that after I left her class and was done dealing with her that she gave me positive feedback and ways that I can grow so I felt like that definitely shaped me and I definitely thought about it from there you I think letting them know and checking in on people specifically that you see are struggling or you notice I think just breaking that boundary of saying like you know what's going on to anything I can help you with specifically because some people are just shy and they just don't want to be the first one and say it or they don't know what your expectations are so just letting us know like yes I see that you're struggling or you know what's going on is there a way I can help you know if you can you what makes a good effective tutor to me and someone who watches you and sees what mistakes you're making so first a judge where you are with the material and then corrects you and they're also someone who's really familiar with the material and it's helpful if they're familiar with the teacher as well so I did like going to students who had been in my class before cuz they know what that teacher expects so someone who's familiar with different teaching styles and also someone who can break it down and be patient with the student