InterviewYasemine Akduman 1. How does it feel being a first generation student? a.

It feels really good to know that I am taking charge of my future and making my family proud. 2. Does being a first generation student give you more pride and honor or stress? a. I put the stress on myself and not my family but I definitely feel the pride for representing my family. 3. What challenges might have you run into throughout your educational career? a. Not necessarily having an academic support system, knowing how to apply to college and the scholarships, stressmaking the Akduman look good, knowing what to dohow to pay for things and how to get help 4. Did your parents help or support you? a. Yes, always, they had always pushed me to do my best and reach my goals 5. Do you find a connection to continuous college students? a. Definitely, they know how to do and FGS would have to dig their way through, look for extracurricular activities and also FGS has a disadvantage to getting into a college because of no alumni in family 6. Would you consider this a part of your identity? Why or why not? a. As a FGS, I get to create my identity whereas if I were a CCS, I would feel the need to follow my familys footsteps. 7. Who have you relied on when you run into trouble during your educational career? a. I cant rely on my parents which caused me to rely on myself to get help and also hindered my abilities to possibly to achieve higher scores academically. 8. What differences do you see between you and continuous college students? a. Family support, financial support, work ethic- had to work a lot harder to get to where I am today vs CCS has more resources to get to where they are today 9. Were your parents from another country? a. Yes, my dad is from Turkey 10. Can you tell who first generation is and who is not? If so how? a. I cant always tell but when I know that they are a FGCS, it is a lot easier to pick up the similarities. 11. What is first generation student to you? a. If both your parents havent earned a degree of any sort and if their parents received a degree in another country then they are still CCS 12. What are some advantages that you have? a. Create your own identity, dont live up to those pressures as much, strong work ethic, able to rise above your current social class, develop own morals, able to make our own decisions, more independent, more determination to succeed and rise above the lack of education, setting higher goals 13. What is success to you? a. Being truly happy and knowing that youve touched people you know in the world around you.

Akduman, Yasemine. Personal interview. 26 Mar 2014.