How We Rose at UC Davis

HOW WE R SE

AT UC DAVIS

PERSONAL NARRATIVES FROM FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS

Acknowlegements

COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

Christina L. Jackson

Alexandra Canjura

Chelsea Jimenez

CAREER STAFF

Arnette Bates

Julie D Agosto King

Christina L. Jackson

Chris “Pangie” Pangelina

Zelene Molina

Valeri Garcia

UNDERGRADUATE

EDUCATION

Sharon Knox

Daniel Oberbauer

FIRST-GENERATION

COLLEGE CELEBRATION

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Juan Garcia

Cierra Cryer

Franklin Rodas Saravia

Josalyne Torres-Baez

Mikaela Adolphus

David Vargas

Christopher V. Pangelina

Julie Agosto-King

Alfredo Arrzola

Zainab Qaiser

Jacqueline Rajerison

Diana Laura Arana

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jeremiah Noel

Daniel Oberbauer

Alexandra Canjura

Chelsea Jimenez

2 How We Rose at UC Davis

DESIGNED BY

Chelsea Jimenez

STREET TEAM

Ivan Hernandez

Alejandra Diaz

Brian Mao

Cristy Bassi

Jesus Magaña

Jennifer Vazquez Linares

Karina Jimenez

Sergio Gonzalez Perez

Carol Swafford

PUBLISHERS

Alejandra Vargas

Braulio Gonzalez

CAHP

Cuauhtemoc Ramirez

David Vargas

Esmeralda Quezada

Isaias Ceballos III

Jamiah Belk

Jessica Waltmon

Noreen Mabini

Spencer Rico

Teresa Roblero

Vera Bell

Yuliana Hernandez

SPECIAL THANKS TO...

Transfer Reentry Center

Guardian Scholars Program

Trio Scholar Staff

• Panhoia Lee

• Isabella Morales

• Yaneli Munoz Lule

• Yazmin Munoz Lule

• Anthony Tran

Dwight Smith

Carol Swafford

And thank you

to all volunteers!

How We Rose at UC Davis

3

The Rose That Grew from Concrete

By Tupac Shakur

Did you hear about the rose that grew

from a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature’s law is wrong it

learned to walk without having feet.

Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,

it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

when no one else ever cared.

As Mighty as Rose

A complement to Tupac Shakur’s “The Rose That Grew From Concrete”

By Isaias Ceballos III

To be as mighty as a rose,

All you really need to know

Is that you just need to grow.

Despite the heavy breeze, let your pedals grow.

You see, what makes a rose so great in might

Is that even in adversity it will grow to a pinnacle height.

No matter the environment, it learns to persist.

Its life against nature, to live it insists.

A rose has many analogies

And none are near fallacy

Because all of them stand true,

Now compare them to you.

You stand ready to grow

Always expanding on what you know.

You stand here from the concrete

With beauty from struggle on the street.

At the end of a day, when the sun begins to set

Roses eventually start to let

The heavy breeze that had strengthened their stem

Take their pollen to plant a new gem.

Once a cemented rose, it births a bush.

But before its days are done, it makes sure to push

To its kin it leaves one last piece of advice

And that’s to keep growing through the strife.

You and I are that cemented rose.

From our respective concrete we chose

To make it this far and grow

That is why we are as mighty as a rose.


5

2ND EDITION

WE ARE FIRST:

HOW WE R SE

AT UC DAVIS

PERSONAL NARRATIVES FROM FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS

Contents

07

08

09

26

INTRODUCTION

FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE CELEBRATION

MONOLOGUES

PHOTO GALLERY

STUDENT MONOLOGUES

PHOTO GALLERY

12

14

17

19

20

21

23

25

66

68

70

72

74

76

FOR MAMA

EMBRACING THE CLOUDS

LOVE IN MY HATE

HOMAGE TO PAPA LUPE

THE DREAM

A PIECE OF ME REVEALED

THIS IS MY STORY

MOOKIE

ROBBIE OUT

BETTER DAYS

SELF LOVE

THE MOST PERSONAL IS THE MOST CREATIVE

UNDERSTORY

UC DAVIS

28

30

34

40

48

50

58

60

PROMOTION

NOVEMBER 8TH

MONOLOGUES

RECEPTION

PROMOTION

NOVEMBER 8TH

MONOLOGUES

HERE TO STAY

Welcome!

The First-Generation College Celebration

(FGCC) was launched by the Council for

Opportunity in Education (COE) and the Center

for First-generation Student Success in 2017.

Given the overwhelming success of this event in

2017 and 2018, COE and the Center now partner

to make this celebration an annual event.

November 8 was selected as the date for

the annual National First-Generation College

Celebration to honor the anniversary of the

signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

The Higher Education Act (HEA) emerged out of

President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty.

Much like other hallmark legislation of that era,

such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965, HEA was intended to

help level a playing field that for too long had

been weighed against Americans from minority

and low-income backgrounds.

In addition to creating federal grants and

loan programs to help students finance

their educations, the legislation made key

investments in institutions of higher education.

Additionally, HEA ushered in programs,

particularly the Federal TRIO programs,

necessary for postsecondary access, retention,

and completion for low-income, potential firstgeneration

college graduates.

The Educational Opportunity Program is

committed to serving the student body at UC

Davis by helping first-generation, low-income

students strengthen their academic skills to

meet the demands of a research university.

We selected three criteria for our celebration:

Visibility, Counter storytelling and Celebration.

1. VISIBILITY

Belonging is often about visibility, so we

wanted our first-generation students visible to

the campus!

2. SELF-EXPRESSION & COUNTER

STORYTELLING

Our stories are often told by others with a

deficit lens, we endeavored to encourage

advocacy by leading the students to tell their

own unique narratives.

3. CELEBRATION

EOP students have intersecting identities that

are often underrepresented/underserved by

colleges and universities. College attendance

is challenging for all students, even those

who are continuing generation. It is our

assertion, that self-value can encourage

student persistence and retention.

The contents going forward are a culmination of our celebration so far.

THIS IS HOW WE ROSE AT UC DAVIS.


7

FGCC

FIRST-GENERATION

COLLEGE CELEBRATION

First-Generation students rise in the heart of

campus to be counted and demonstrate their

pride by contributing to create a large #1.

WE ARE FIRST:

STUDENT MONOLOGUES

Show your interest and support for our

students real stories by reserving your ticket

to the monologues! The cast is excited to tell

you “How We Rose” at UC Davis!

FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE

CLOSING CEREMONY

This event requires countless hours of creativity,

emotional labor and logistical challenges. Join us to

recognize the storytellers, volunteers, career & peer staff,

campus partners, and cohort program participants who

dedicated their time to create this dynamic celebration!


Student

Monologues

PERSONAL NARRATIVES FROM

FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS


9



11

For Mama

By Teresa Roblero

Making enemies is something that I can be very good at.

Yet my heart craves anything but. I am learning the process of forgiveness

and patience with every waking moment.

18 years on this earth and already so much anger,

but with that even more deep and endless love.

Love that holds me ever so delicately

when I am giving out.

My light faintly twinkling in the distance

when things get tired and my

soul is completely rendered.

Those that hold my heart and show up in my mind

To wake me everyday

are only to a select few,

but so powerful that they keep my body from giving in

when it feels like the entire universe is on the back of my shoulders.

I’ve accomplished so much, yet for some reason it still isn’t good enough.

There is always something greater, bigger that can be achieved.

So many goals that I have in my head and things I must finish within a set amount of time

Time,

Time is my biggest enemy.

And my impatience may kill me,

but my utter infatuation with this love and life

may be the one to completely break me before I go.

Go is all I have to do yet it aches to start sometimes.

I can hear her laugh and his yearning cries for forgiveness.

Their smiles and voices replay in my head because

for them is why I’ve made it this far.

Because of them is why I am first of many

But to be honest with you, I’m distracted

Their laughs are all I can hear and at first

It was motivating

Yet now it seems to be the only thing that I can hear

and I realize that they laugh at me


They’re my everything

Encouraging and there

And even though they laugh

They still are my everything

He is still my everything

Although he has kicked and screamed

For me to change and be better

And to focus, I am so distracted

The way it is so simple to convince someone

they are nothing and too stupid

To ever try and be anything

At first seemed unfathomable yet now I

understand it

They’ve done it to him. He feels as if he is

nothing

and so he made her feel it too

And she believed him because he was her

everything and

I watched as she slowly lost herself and decided

To make him her whole world

The lines between love and hate became blurry

The shoving, the slapping, and the screaming

now

replay in my head

And so I’m distracted

She dwelled and overthought and so too she

taught us

We used this to survive and still do

Up until this point it’s helped me survive

Look at me I’ve gotten into college

But a day in the life at UCDavis is one in which I

overthink and I become distracted

First of many, certainly not the last, but maybe

The only one to have found the skills

to barely survive it

Her burning tears fell on my face that

Day when she told me she had given up

And that her freedom meant nothing

If it meant we would all stay sane

He knew it too, but he miserably accepted the

Fact that they were too comfortable

To move. Too many people are afraid of being

alone

This is all i know, and so

My deepest sincerest apologies for being

A little bit distracted today.

They laugh, I laugh

They’re exactly the same

Loud and booming

We have all been taught the same, yet some of

us have outgrown it

I have watched them change and grow

Sometimes being stunted by it myself

Holding each other back to try and keep up

They smile, I smile

We have all grown in the same area

Transfixed on the idea that someday we’ll be the

tallest,

happiest we could ever be

Someday, never today

I’ve tried to move

yet something always holds me back

Maybe there’s comfort in it,

but it’s hard knowing that there’s more

No one seems to understand, yet there’s

comfort in that too

Now I don’t live in love

It’s hard to, but I try and I know that they do too

It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one

But it’s hard to understand why I’m the only one

that seems to want to change

It’s frustrating actually

Because they watch as I move

And they judge as I keep pushing

They laugh, I break


13

Embracing the Clouds

By David Vargas

My head, has been in the clouds of despair.

Clouds, that have been chanting, for me to fail.

Stormy clouds, filled up with negativity, and darkness.

Clouds that need to constantly, be pushed away, by me.

I would try to talk, hide, get busy, but that would never feel any better.

Patience would seem unreal when expected to master it, in our big cloud.

Sometimes, talking would feel useless, and good intentions wouldn’t, satisfy.

Sometimes, I would feel like the more I was trying, the less I was feeling.

And the less I was feeling, the less I was living.

Sometimes, I could not smell the flowers, and would feel empty, for hours.

And overthinking would only make more, struggles.

My mind would sabotage my thoughts, and my thoughts would run, for miles.

Happiness, anger, sorrow, passion, love. Disappointments, all crushing; dreams, wonders.

Fear. Pessimism. Questioning and talking shit about myself. Doubts.

Throwing the dice of fear, and playing the cards of doubts.

Doubts killing more dreams, than failure, ever will.

Insecurity, deep inside me.

Feeling detached. Not feeling deserving. Me.

Feeling empty. Endless echo, I hear.

Am I enough?... Do I belong?... Am I just taking someone’s seat here?...

Am I losing myself?... Is this fear?.... Is this me?...

Answers I would search, but could never find out.

I would just suck everything in, and always stress out.

You would see me exhausted, but asking for more,

You would see me lonely, while being surrounded by some

I hated not being able to fit-in, nor being able to speak, English

I hated it when people told me that I couldn’t do something,

Sometimes, words would be a substitute for a fist,

Sometimes, I just wish, I wouldn’t worry about anything, at all, for the first time.

This big cloud, has shaped me this way.

What can I say?... I have to adapt, and react.

Although, I am aware of my existence, and my beautiful, beautiful life.

I am aware of my privileges, but I am aware that sometimes they are not, enough.


I am aware of this colonial, and capitalist cloud,

A cloud paying little attention to anyone’s background.

A cloud that forces you, to put yourself to last, and forget about the sound.

A routinary cloud.

People are always busy, people are always tired, and without time.

And the weight, of society, falling upon me the same way.

Carrying discomfort, carrying silence,

But also carrying my siblings’ burdens, sorrows, dreams, and existence,

Product of unreasonable, standardized, expectations, that follow us for the rest of our lives.

Craving for a better self, craving for some success.

Success that might look different for everyone, so don’t stress, that’s what they say,

But I was born thirsty for success, like no one else.

With goals so strong, that obstacles, failure, and loss only acted as an excuse.

I have pushed my hardest without giving up dreams, without an excuse,

You have seen me, making my own expectations above everyone’s

You gave me a few opportunities, and I didn’t hesitate for once,

I made sure I took them all. Every single one.

The truth is that I find motivation from small things,

I find motivation, from the clouds being hit, in a warm sunset

I find motivation in my parents’ eyes, eyes that have watched me grow,

I find motivation from my parents’ hands, hands that worked hard to feed me,

I find motivation from my family’s smiles, smiles that mean the world to me.

I find motivation from my friends’ arms, arms that have lifted me up and supported me,

I find motivation from positive and negative peoples’ mouths, because of them, they speak of me.

But also, I find motivation from nature, because when you, open your eyes, it’s beautiful in here.

I find motivation from where I come from.

I am from that obvious, broken accent for which I am proud of, yes, it’s mine, I own it!

I am from strong morals, from my dad saying “Echale ganas, estamos orgullosos de ti” and from

the first time leaving home, and hearing my parents saying que me aman.

I am from the hard work, my previous ancestors have gone through, to get me this far.

I am from promises made, from making my family proud, for all of these daily sacrifices,

I am from that trust that I gave my parents when I proved them I could live by myself,

maintain me, alone, solo, Mr. Independent right here.

I’m from those moments that make me try to be the best version of myself, daily!

My goal has been to be genuine, honest, and kind as I can be,

To enter a room, and leave it making people feel better,

To have a meaningful conversation that adds value into our cloud.


15

AND NO! NO! If you were to ask me,

No, I never thought about coming to the US at age 15

No, I never thought about leaving my family, my friends, or my life for a new one

No, I never thought about finishing, High School in 3 years nor being a speaker at the ceremony

No, I never thought about attending UC Davis after high school, with a full-ride

No, I never thought about earning trips abroad to Japan, Israel, Palestine, or Thailand

No, I never thought about being an advocate for my community

No, I never thought about becoming a President, twice

No, I never thought about being a member of an Honors Society

No, I never thought about the possibility of working on an honor thesis for my graduation

No, I never thought about being involved in research

No, I never thought about being a potential Ph.D. candidate after I graduate

No, I never thought about being THE FIRST OF MANY.

No, I never thought about being who I am or who I will be!

Or, did you know all of this of me?

Me, afraid? Don’t you know I’m unstoppable in your cloud?

The rumors were true, I am that person you might feel intimidated by.

I was that broken elevator when I started,

Now I am that elevator heading to the top; beyond the clouds.

We fall, we break, we fail, but then, we rise, we heal, we overcome, and that’s how we rose here.

In the end, embracing all clouds makes us RESILIENT. But, this doesn’t end here!


Love in my Hate

By CAHP

How do I hate with so much love?

How do I explain what I don’t know?

How do I communicate love to the person who broke me?

How do I tell my father that I hate what he did to us,

but love what he’s given me?

I promised you that being gay was a high school phase

My promise in return for a stable home

My promise at the convenience of maintaining a collected family

I am broken pieces holding a broken family

How do I save a mother financially abused by my father?

How do I explain self-worth to a mother mentally trapped by an alcoholic?

How do I explain the psychotic break of a mother who became committed at a psychiatric ward

at grade 6?

How do I explain seeing a mother contemplate suicide to escape a man in front of her children?

How do I explain running back and forth collecting broken parents whose pieces can’t be

separated from each other?

How do I merge the person you see me as and the person I am at home?

When will I become authentic and one with who I am?

I’m tired of adapting to surroundings

I’m tired of chasing after drunk parents’ post argument at 3am before they kill themselves

I’m tired of being a step ahead to pick up the mess

I’m tired of the camouflage I wear

When do I reveal my true self at the cost of a family?

When do I love myself enough to ruin relationships?

When do I say, "the people around me are enough”?

When do I grow the fuck up and take responsibility of myself?

When do I give up financial support from a dad who made me promise not to be gay?

When do I tell my brothers I love them?

When do we process the drunk tournament and abuses of our parents?

How do I forgive myself from leaving them behind in San Diego?

How do I support them when I’m barley managing day by day?

When does the weight I’m baring find a new host?

When?

When do I take the step?

How do I take the step?


17

When do I stop drowning myself in school and start swimming in reality?

When does a payoff become visible?

How do I explain who I am?

I still don’t know

Whenever I’m alone with you

You make me feel like I am young again

You make me feel that fresh fear again

You bring me back to those hurt tears again

So small and raw and full of life, I want to be the me again

However far away I will always love you

Far from home, all alone, you’ve always been my comfort

Blind to the truth you are my noose, do you know I suffer


You make her cry, and want to die, do you even lover her

Since the start, stuck to your heart, my one and only mother


However long I stay I will always love you

Whatever words you say I will always love you

I have too much love to accept your hate

I will never stop to wait

So much reason to hate you, leave you, ruin you

Standing tall to see it through cause in the end I love you


Homage to Papa Lupe

By Spencer Rico

Labor lives thick in our blood like the humid air in July,

I remember anxiously hoping that

the university envelopes filled with numbers

were made of enough ink to fulfill family dreams dating back to 1929,

When farmers in Cocula, Jalisco would lift the sun every morning

and then watch it slowly sink as they swung machetes

weighted with the frustrations of poverty at stalks of sugarcane,

And my father,

Who split oceans heading north just to get here,

Only to be welcomed with words of hatred

and the naming of colors,

sleeping under kitchen tables and inside bathtubs,

going to night school and waking up before the sun,

taking loans and cigarette filled clothing,

eating hunger and sweating engine oil,

Just so he could make sure those hardships never

touch his children.

He had to wipe dirt from our tiny little fingers,

like a bleached baptism

to free them of supposed deformities

so nobody had to hear the word wetback again,

So employers would shake hands at first glance

and understand sharp palettes rinsed from the planet

with clear english syllables rolling off the tongue

like a Ford Model T Production line.

And for me,

I still carry stress from weekends at the shop

with busted knuckles and hands covered in soot.

The cracks in my hands at school:

black veins.

I lift up rocks buscando por palabras como una historia perdida

So I can patch together the remains of an implosion,

I am the vibrant threads of embroidered dresses

de Jalisco whose needles lead through linens

like the dolphins who weave themselves in between

the waves of the oceans amongst none other than sand and silt

De la tierra que conozco


19

The Dream

By Braulio Gonzalez

I grew up listening about the black rulers, the black panthers the black strivers

The motivators, the haters, the people around us

I heard about all of them

I come from bald heads, and cortez … nah not the last name but they still yelling fuck the feds

I come from where meds weren’t meds, pops was in bed and momma had work up to her head

People lived in sheds, cars, bars and what?

I was barely in the 5th grade

Transporting up until I found my trade

SPORTS… was the name of the game

It was my claim to fame

And in the end it brought nothing but shame

Growing up in the hood is often misunderstood

It teaches you life lessons you never thought it could

How to survive and hussle, but now you don’t need no muscle because you’re walking down

russel

Now you made it or so they say, I asked my momma for help and she told me to pray

Pray that my mind expands in ways I never thought

Even tho before they were ideologies I often fought

Pray that my low income education is enough

Although growing up all I cared about was being tough

Shit, life was tough but I’m here to say that you and I are enough

Rise up and overcome the struggles of your past, because often we leave our mental health last

Not realizing that that’s what’s going to LAST most

Now i ain’t trying to boast but us first gen students are gonna rule coast to coast

Now I ain’t done yet

They told me this was out of my comfort zone and I said bet

I’m uncomfortable with being comfortable

The mere thought of being a failure is laughable because everything is conquerable

Happiness in the hood is sporadical, but it’s just because everything is so radical

Not knowing what’s going to happen next

But isn’t that the best?

Possibilities, Abilities, Use them

Cuz when we at the top, you forsure gonna confuse em

And that’s the truth for this young ghetto youth

Find happiness in the little things

Embrace the struggle

Never be ashamed

Be proud be loud,

And don’t forget the hood

Inglewood.


A Piece of Me Revealed

By Jamiah Belk

♫ I have the love of a race horse

I have the heart of a beating drum

I’m scared

And I’m nervous

But that’s the purpose

Of being here

I have the love of a race horse


I’m out of my comfort zone

I’m standing here all alone

But I’m grateful for being here ♫

A day in the life of a UC Davis student

Where do I start?

First I have to think about everything I’ve overcome

Starting from Jealous classmates to my

Unmotivating friends that are now acquaintances

And everything else that will not be named

Entering UC davis I didn’t know what to expect

But now that i’m here

I love it

Although I’m being challenged everyday

In every aspect of my being

I wouldn’t want it any other way

My family has fought for me to be able to follow my dreams

And have sacrificed so many long drives, bus rides, and economic hardships on the

account of me

And god has watched over us in order for me to achieve my destiny

So I am here at UC Davis making my mark

And with my education is where I will start.

I have memories that I’ve subconsciously pushed memories out of my mind but they

come back and place me in a mindset of darkness that disturbs

My level of peace

My level of happiness

And my level of sanity

My mother was and possibly still is a crack addict that didn’t want to leave that

lifestyle for her children


21

My father’s sister had to raise me because my father was a previous gang banger and

was shot multiple times one bullet making it to his head causing him to be easily irritant

and angry which resulted in him not being able to raise me on his own

My aunt who I call my mother has been sick for most of my life and there was a time

when I thought she was going to die

It seemed like we were always in a hospital and I grew accustomed to it, but now I feel

weird when I enter one and i have to remind myself that my mother is fine, she’s okay,

she at home laying in bed playing her favorite game

My family was homeless during my 3rd grade and 5th grade years, we lived in hotels

and occasionally motels but rarely we just slept in the carc

Those were a few stories from my past and I have a lot more but my purpose for

sharing them with you is

That no matter how hard life is you don’t have to give up, you have the choice to not

bend to its will. You make your own decisions and the sky’s the limit.

I have many life experiences that I could have used to take pity on myself but I said “no”

and I wanted to make my family proud and I wanted to make something of myself.

I rose above what life served me on a silver platter, but what will you do?

♫ I have the love of a race horse


I’m out of my comfort zone

I’m standing here all alone

But I’m grateful for being here ♫


This Is My Story

By Yuliana Hernandez

Leaving home and getting accepted into a prestigious university, UC Davis was a dream come

true

Now, let me tell you, my family was exhausting to live with

Being the mom in my house for as long as I can remember because I have four brothers and

sisters with

Autism and a single mom who worked day and night shifts was hard

I felt guilty being happy leaving, but I was also finally leaving

First few days at UC Davis, worst days ever. Nobody ever told me that we actually had to

study for exams, be in a room full of 200+ students, be with a bunch of privileged people who

had everything

I always had that thought in my mind of “why can’t that be me?”

Now this may sound crazy but

I actually did not know what I was getting myself into

I went out to party every weekend

Believe it or not

I drowned myself with alcohol so that I can feel something, and I thought all these friends

were so much fun

I just wanted to be happy

It was so much fun, but it didn’t last once these friends left and now what?

What do I do? I just wanted to be happy

I was scared of everything in the university, professors, classmates, staff…I mean everything

I would never call home because why did I want to listen to the stress and problems back

home

But I did call my partner and my Best friend, and it would feel so nice for a few minutes

But I was alone again

Did I make a mistake? Am I even supposed to be here? I felt so dumb because I was in

Academic Probation and Subject to Dismissal so many times

Is it too late to go back?

It was too late to go back

I felt like shit, I did not realize what I got myself into

Fast forward to the very beginning of my fourth year

I couldn’t do it. Getting out of bed was the hardest thing ever

Yes, I would sleep for more than 9 hours and take frequent naps. I stopped hanging out with

everybody

Thing happened and I had to stay at the Mental Hospital

During my stay at the Mental Hospital I started thinking a lo

I don’t know. I honestly felt like a failure. What am I doing? Was this all worth it? Was it the right

decision to leave everybody I loved back in LA?

3 weeks later of being treated, I volunteered to leave because it was a really bad place

I took the whole year off

While working at target doing overnight shifts, I saw an email that said:

Now Hiring: Peer Advising Counselors at EOP


23

I went for it, I applied

I don’t know what gave me strength, but I know I wanted to help students like me not make the same

mistakes

I was offered an interview and I was still not in school, so I went on an overnight bus to the interview

and an overnight bus back to LA

I was waitlisted, but then accepted to the position

I felt a rush of anxiety

Now I had to go back to school

I didn’t know if I was ready

Fast forward, Best Decision Ever

It was so hard to believe in myself, but all the staff and coworkers believed in me

That’s where I learned the struggles of being a First-Generation student and the imposter syndrome

It felt amazing being needed, presenting, and making events to help others like me

I don’t know what got to me, but I decided to apply to grad school… a month before the application

was due

My EOP family supported me and I ended up getting an interview with a 2.7 GPA

I was waitlisted to the program

Now, this is becoming a pattern…

I didn’t give up. I planned for the worst and was looking for full-time jobs

Then, while I was in class, I got an acceptance

I am now in my second semester getting my Master’s in Counseling at Sacramento State

I want to thank everybody that supported me and continues to support me

My story isn’t over yet and is only getting started

I still have many mental disabilities and there is no way to fix them, but I learned to live with them

For any first-generation student that wants to give up:

Please Don’t

Please seek for help. I promise you will find your community in a big lonely university

You are needed and you worked hard to get in

It was not a mistake

I know the many views towards counseling, but I recommend everyone to go

You are not alone, and you are not a failure

Go seek for help

I believe in you all

Thank you all for listening to my story ♡


Mookie

By Vera Bell

So Mookie Betts just got traded to the Dodgers! I understand that since I was born at

Centinela hospital in the heart of Inglewood, and that my grandfather himself was an

avid Dodgers fan, that I should be happy... right?

Well, no. I’m still a Red Sox fan for life. Despite that though... that name.

Mookie...

Instantly, with this name I am transported decades. I hear her gravely yet loudly call my

name with all the love in the world...

Mookie.

So my mother was my grandmother too, but what do you call someone who has raised

you from birth? A mother. My mother used to love idioms and strong catchphrases, like

“I’m a little piece of leather but I’m well put together.” I have always wished I could use

that little slogan myself... but I am 5’10” and 200 pounds. My mom was all of 90 pounds

soaking wet, yet she was not to be trifled with, much like me.

I am my mother’s daughter. Immovable and strong. Fierce! Those 90 pounds were

ready to fight you or anyone on anything, I promise you. She was real!

And I know now that even without blood shared between us that I am her mirror. I am a

Scorpio, but she was a beautiful Gemini on the cusp of Cancer. And cancer had the last

say.

I am Mookie. Not the baseball player (who I love dearly even if he is no longer in Red

Sox uniform...) but I am my mother’s strength and determination. Her dry humor and

refusal to take no for an answer. I am my mother’s ambition, her unwillingness to allow

money to be an issue. I am my mother’s wish for all of her kids to go to school for more

than a diploma.

I am her vinyls of Nina and Nat King Cole, Sly and Al Green, and I am tired of being

alone. But I rejoice in the fact that I am my mother’s brilliant mind – spongy, retaining,

open. I am her Blackness, her cornbread and greens, and her wit. Her motivation and

her piercing, brown-eyed gaze.

“To thine own self be true.”

I grew up, got grown, attended three community colleges, got to UC Davis and learned

only then that this wasn’t a biblical quote. So I didn’t read in high school, alright? Sue

me! But my mom, I’m sure, knew this was Shakespearean. In Hamlet, Polonius says this

to his son laertes. I can’t count how many times she has said this to me, and now it’s

deeply ingrained. It is manifested in my relentless ambition, strength, and never say

never attitude.

Funny how it was a Shakespeare quote that kickstarted my academic journey, from

Scholastic Book Fairs to the present - me finally graduating after 11 years of college

with a bachelor’s degree... in English.

I think she always knew. And I will always be grateful.

Forever yours, mom,

Mookie.


25

2018

Photo Gallery


PROMOTION

FUN FACTS

• The FGCC and monologues were both on November 8! #1 was the morning celebration

and monologues were the evening event.

• For year one, we had about 15 students share their narratives live and several more

published in the first edition of We Are First: Our Transitions, Triumphs, and Success.

• You can borrow a copy to read from the lending library by visiting the EOP Cottage.

• We Are First is inspired by Every Student has a Story, a compilation of personal

narratives written by first-generation students at Purdue University Fort Wayne in Indiana.


29

College of A&E first gens

EOP PACs Nadia Zavala, Cierra Cryer, Yuliana Hernandez


Unity Celebration: EOP students unite to write thank yous to those who helped

them to be the #1stOfMany

NOVEMBER 8

EOP first-year students

How We Rose at UC Davis 31

PAC Jennifer Last Name posing

with students at the celebration

First-Generation College

Celebration volunteers

3rd year students

First-generation seniors

2018 STEPpers Isaias Ceballos III

and Briceida Magana


College of Engineering students


33

2018 cast waits backstage for the show to start.

2018 crew waiting to support the students performer monologues with skits and props.


Former EOP PAC and Alumni, Anthony Morales.

MONOLOGUES

Christina and the cast. It’s showtime!


35

“As I was born to two fresh of the boat Chinese parents in

America, Identify myself as an American born Chinese.”

- Marylin Wong, #NOTMADEINCHINA

“Blue books what, essay questions how?

Yeah, we might me stressing but we will

be okay, we persevere through each day.”

- Juan Castro, Where I am from



37

“No one believed but look at us now. Making our parents and ancestors proud.”

- Isaias Ceballos III, The First of Many, But Not Just Any

“You see, When we recognize our privilege,

we can powerfully propel our people away

from their pain and toward this potential

which has previously petrified so many

power people.”

- Maribel Anguiano, No Se Como Ayudarte

“We break barriers

To carry forward our culture

We take the narratives of who we are

And rewrite them for the future”

- Garbhita Shah, Celebrating Light


“#1stofMany in my family to be

multiethnic while reaching milestones

and attending a four year research

university in the United States.”

- Linka P. Polanco, Linka Paola Polanco

Christina and Malissa

“Now I stand here at UCD and I say that

I am a living testimony. And so are you.”

- Malissa Bordeaux, Testimony

Cast 2018-2019 FGCC


39

Yuliana Hernandez is earning a Masters

in Counseling at Sacramento State.

Michele Melton is earning a Master’s in

Social Work @ the University of Buffalo.

EOP PAC’s support our students in invaluable ways. Graduation Seniors Nadia Zavala

and Paola Gutierrez advocate by adding their stories to our first student led publication.


Special recognition for EOP Career & Staff.

Designed and edited

by EOP 2nd years,

Garbhita Shah and

Alexandra Canjura


41

2018 FGCC Cast and Publishers with EOP Career Staff

The Wildflowers Cohort with program coordinator Christina L. Jackson


Here to Stay Gallery featuring the Breakfast club!


43


I AM THE 1ST IN

MY FAMILY TO...


45


2019

Photo Gallery


47

PROMOTION


For year 2, we have decided

to host the first-generation

college celebration and student

monologues on separate days.

The 2019-2020 first-generation

college celebration was more

than a photo. We added student

campus partners and activities

before the formation of the our

comparative #1.

FUN FACT: We increased the

celebration by 75+ participants!


49

#1STOFMANY


NOVEMBER 8

#1STOFMANY DEFINITION

“An innovator; a student who blazes a path and leads the

way for others; a member of their family’s first generation

to earn a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. university.”


51



53

WE ROSE SHIRTS



55


EOP Street Team Interns, Career and Peer Staff pose at the celebration. The interns

helped with campus promotions and logistical support the day of each event. The peer

staff support the event by registering students, distributing t-shirts and engaging the

crowd! The career staff lead the celebration behind the scenes by training volunteers,

reserving space and leading the visual promotion for the event.


57

First year student Spencer Rico and EOP Career Staff Christina L. Jackson

2019 STEPpers Christian Hernandez and Jamie Belk ready to take the stage


MONOLOGUES

FGCC Lead and Cast

FGCC 2019 Skit Crew: Special Projects Assistant Alfredo-Arrozola, PAC Jacqueline

Rajerson and Street Team interns Karina Jimenez & Jennifer Vasquez

How We Rose at UC Davis 59

HERE TO STAY

Here to Stay is our gallery to recognize of students who are succesfully

completing their second year of college. Research shows that student who

persist through the first two years are more likely to earn their degree!

FALL WINTER SPRING

Swemicarely Avendano

60 How Diana We Rose Garcia at UC Perez Davis

Christopher Rojas

Noemy Lopez

Enrique Fregoso

Marielena Ramirez


61

Micaella Sanchez

Supreet Sandhu

Valentina Lai

62 How We Chelsea Rose at Rosales UC Davis

Alexandra Amador

Daniela Ruvalcaba Gomez

Amy Flores

Chris Bedolla


63


Scholars Academy (SA) is a four-year retention program coordinated by

EOP Retention Specialist, Christina L. Jackson. SA promotes integration of

institutional identity through community building with other EOP freshman

through engagement in seminars, workshops and social ceremonies.

In Fall 2012, the EOP Street Team Internship was established to raise

awareness of EOP events. Maricela Gutierrez and Aysha Lauren Minot were

the first coordinators of this internship. All Street Teamers were media and

marketing interns dedicated to create promotional material for EOP events.

Over time, the Street Team Internship has been shifting to make the internship

stronger and different. Currently, as the academic unfolds, the Street Teamers

work strongly together to create events and programs for the EOP population.

They also create marketing videos to bring awareness to any resources

offered by EOP. All these come along with professional development and

team building activities to help them become strong young professionals.


65

Robbie Out

By Jessica Waltmon

Have you ever had to clean your own fathers’ blood off your grandmother’s bathroom

floor? Last week I did. Apparently the Dieners don’t do so when they pick up a body,

instead they leave an older woman to. Anger came over me, how could he take his own

life? No note, with my grandmother to find him. But you see, not everything is as it seems,

you will see that everything I have told you is true; he would tell me.

The irony is that what seems to have finally taken my fathers’ life was not another

countless high, but the scars that hold the addicted to their believed fate. I was not going

to tell this story, but someone knew before I did, that I could.

I did not cry at first, rather I soaked myself in disbelief. Not because I did not know this day

would come, but because I imagined it wouldn’t. When I saw my future, I saw you right

there, a recovered you. You see daddy I did want the father and daughter first dance. I

was never ashamed of you nor your unfair past. You see, I understand you were dealt a

life you didn’t deserve. You were bestowed the lessons of those who were truly no good.

You see, to you my father was just another junkie, another statistic that fell victim to the

needle, a strange man, a rather troubled man. To me, he was my world. I thought you

were invincible, mighty.

My father was meant to be a Rockstar, you know like Kiss. It’s sad, my father just wanted

to get a motorcycle, I hope he’s been granted several to choose from in Heaven.

But you try and deal with demons that won’t leave you alone, voices that may or may not

really be there. You try a better way to drown out the daily reminders of your dark past.

Let’s see how sane you come out of those experiences by age 53. Damn, age 53.

I used to search for what I thought was a void on your part one that could only be filled

by another. It turns out no one can replace you. Who will make me laugh the way you did,

you felt that although you could not give me anything at least you could make me laugh?

But to have your company was enough, oh how I felt complete in those times. To meet

you and see you smile and reach out for a hug. In these moments I held on to you tight as

I could not shake the voice in my head that told me this could be the last.

Hey, guess what without either of us knowing you taught me what unconditional loves

is; honesty, passion, and a little bit of insane. Nothing I could say can sum you up daddy,

you truly were a great man. You may have been loss but you did not fail at being a father.

Those 8 months we loss who would have thought how much I could use them now, what

were we even doing?


They say loved one’s find peace when they pass away, I can’t grasp this nor that your gone.

But please know how much you meant to me and how much I needed you. All the times we

watched WWE and wrestled, played videos games, you practicing with me for my volleyball

and basketball team. Threatening school principles of their destiny if they dare lose me on a

field trip..ok that was too far.

Some pieces of advice you gave me I think everyone needs: someone’s true colors begin

to show 3 years into a friendship, no one else knows what they’re doing either so keep your

head up, and you have everything you need in yourself already to succeed.

I wasn’t going to tell you this story, because it is not yours to have. But as I opened my fathers’

phone, what is usually a wallpaper of skulls or rats, was that of a red rose.

I love you

mighty


67

Better Days

By Isaias Ceballos III

Wake up it’s time to rise.

Time to wipe the crust from your eyes.

Open the blinds,

just to remember there’s no sun in the sky.

What is it that constitutes my growth?

I think it’s becoming politically woke.

It’s realizing the odds your up against.

It’s realizing how much knowledge has been fenced.

It’s walking through campus with your chin up high.

But it’s hard to look people in the eye,

When you think you don’ belong,

Affirm to yourself to stay strong.

Bite the bullets and bite your tongue

Or end up dead, you’re not too young.

Stay silent or die loud.

Grow up and make your parents proud.

Don’ end up doing drugs.

Say this as your smoke enters my lungs.

Don’ end up dead like your friend with a knife in his chest.

Remember to always do your best.

Watch the lecture slides, as they quickly pass you by.

Scrambling to remember, only to forget.

Always trying to redefine success.

Wanting to go home wherever it may be,

Just to re-realize why you wanted to leave.

It’s hard to stay strong and self-affirm

When all your dreams rely solely on the ability to learn.

But those dreams keep me going.

My success relies in me growing.

To understand the biases they teach,

Beyond expectations is to what I reach.

Not of those set by others, but of myself.

To set the bar and raise it, like no one else.

My family depends on my success

And my success on nothing less than my best.


At the end of the day when I’m done with work,

I think about liberation- and it always irks.

If I was truly emancipated, I could be me.

I could depend on my parents and college would be a breeze.

But the reality is simply the reverse.

I may miss a note and begin to curse,

But I always stay on the same beat

With Ten toes down I stand on my feet.

Every day is a struggle.

I have to think that this is my hustle.

Studying is the replacement of selling on the streets.

Every day I come to terms with defeat.

There is beauty in the struggle

And Ugly in the hustle.

Resilience is the result.

Now this is a story needed to be wrote.

Sometimes I just wish for better days,

To be able to live and maintain,

To live with the daily pain

To have a day where I’m fully sane

To succeed in my grandma’s name

And simply…

To not be ridden with stress and guilt.

Born to resist the struggle is how I am built.

But to stress I purge and to guilt I cope.

What really constitutes my growth?

I think it’s only hope.


69

Self Love

By Esmeralda Quezada

Self-love. Who has it?

Who, working for it, has grasped it?

Surely they didn’t teach this in the hood

My mom had three jobs, so who could?

Not the men who lived to breathe

and catcalled every Woman they see

Not my brothers but who knows

In the land of Me Too

who ever really knows?

Have to go to school, get Good Grades

All for the job, to get Good Pay

I don’t hate you for hurting me

this is for everyone

I just want to love myself and be One

One person. Not two or three or four

Not Me with You and with Him a Whore

Not Smart at home and Scum in school

Not a role model but also a Fool

Not poor or dead broke

but rich in life and resources

Everything I learned is from The Streets

and these courses

Who knows if I’ll ever make up my mind?

All I know is this is My Time

It’s our time, really I don’t own it

How did you learn to get better, Karina?

How do you know this?

What is the lesson?

There’s a first time for everything.

I am First Gen-College student and Mexican American.

Privileged in ways I could never think in-

UC Davis? I have to buy a new bike,

Or get to the bus or take a hike

I walk my groceries

and my shoes are Hand Me Downs

Can feel the soles wearing to the ground

What did I do to get here? Worked my

ass off in public school

What did You do to stay There?

Smoked every day. I am aware.

Who is the fool now?


still Me

Only the rich follow these rules,

hood has its own policies.

Here I am. The Fool is still ME,

Hoping everyone can find it in their heart to plant a tree

Why did I come here? To learn? To get away?

Every day

I make the decision to be good and bad,

Baby

Cause I know the rules of the road

rules my body does not have, Baby

Good for the rules and bad for myself,

Baby

I am Scum at home and Smart in school

Both a role model and a fool

Learning self-love, I am self-taught

The block could not teach me. It was too hot

My mom could not help me,

she was too poor.

The patriarchal machistas told us

we were Whores

My Brothers only learned how to be men

For that to be possible someone has to

feel less than.

It took me till today to realize I am not a cartoon

They are buffoons

I am a Real Person with Real Feelings

And when I reach, I break the ceiling

And you couldn’t imagine how I feel

My experiences are different, fluid

So vast. And fast

Now I’m Lightning and I was never a cartoon

I want to make music, movies and write

I cannot choose

but I see the light

Something brought me here, was it you?

Tell me the answers, give me a clue.

I love you.

Who

I love Me and You.


71

The Most Personal is the Most Creative

By Cuauhtemoc Ramirez

I am the first to pursue a degree in the arts.

On the night of this years academy awards Director Bong Joon Ho said “The most

personal is the most creative” a quote from another director Martin Scorcessee

In this vain I will share with you all a pretty personal story, the story of when I was removed

from my family

I was thirteen.

It was a warm summer evening as I returned home from wrestling practice. By this point

I had become wise to my parents’ relationship. There was always a first span of time that

was nice, peaceful, a time in which they really seemed to love each other. Then there was

always a second period of time in which things were incredibly tense. A time in which

fights would build and build until a moment of crisis.

Many of us know this behavior well

We were deep into the tense time.

So I knew what to expect when I came home that day, as I had known what to expect on

countless other days.

The argument had already started, me and my twin brother assumed our regular positions,

me taking my younger sister to another room, and him making sure things would not get

too out of hand. He’s 4 minutes older than me.

That day things got more out of hand than usual, and the cops were called. A clear sign

that we had entered crisis territory.

When the Police entered our place, they didn’t seem too concerned with aiding my

mother, or taking down her story.

They were focused on the cannabis plants we were cultivating at the time. I add that these

plants were nowhere close to budding. Some were mother cannabis plants. A specific

kind of plant from which cuttings can be taken in order to grow the beautiful product we’re

accustomed to.

This grow was 100% legal, but there’s no room for understanding these things when it’s

much easier and much more profitable to break up a family and lock people up.

The police were ignorant to the realities of marijuana and used it against us.

Later on when it was brought out that they had wrongfully destroyed our plants and they

claimed it was to do with the “Hazardous” chemicals we were using when in actuality our

techniques were organic.


They didn’t understand that this plant had put food on my

table countless times

They didn’t understand that this plant had kept us in motel

rooms when we had no place to go.

They didn’t understand that this plant helps alleviate the years

of trauma their system has inflicted

They chose instead to continue inflicting that trauma

“That house is filthy” I heard one cop loudly remark

It was a little cluttered but I thought filthy was a bit much.

They wrongfully removed my twin brother, my younger sister

and I from my parents.

They arrested my father and I guess for good measure my

mother as well.

They walked my twin brother to their patrol car in handcuffs for

fear he would run away.

My older brother Jose put it nicely when he said, “We really

called the cops on our dad for hitting our mom, and they took

our mom to jail”

I didn’t tell this story because I wanted to make you all sad but

because it is by extension this story is also of how I qualified

for the guardian scholars program here at davis, an amazing

program that works to uplift former foster youth here in this

university setting that seems to work so forcefully against us.

This year I started working there as their graphics and

social media coordinator, And I get to do it alongside a truly

remarkable staff.

“The most personal is the most creative” is truly a statement

that defines how I rose here at UC Davis

I vocalize my personal experiences through my design, and

my photography.

The system gifted me prolonged times of grief but I’m now

going to use them to my advantage by taking my inspiration

from them

in doing so I validate my own experience because I now

understand that truly beautiful and creative things can be

made from them.

I feel a bit more like one of those beautiful things because like

the artwork I create and the work I hope to create, much of my

own identity was formed by my low income experience.


73

Understory

By Noreen Mabini

Since I was little my dad and ma always told me “pursue what you’re passionate about

And be happy”

Because growing up they weren’t given the chance to be

Their parent’s happiness was their own

At least that’s what it seemed like

Id say I’m a pretty happy person

I get to care for the planet I love

And all the plants and animals in it

I get to work with people who are exciting and interesting

Yeah, I’m happy

I attend a top university where I get to study the earth God gave us and learn how to

best protect it

I get to experience the struggle of balancing my academic and personal health

More often than not – prioritizing getting that golden C over a full night’s rest

I also get to stress about getting into the classes I need because there are so many

students who need the same ones

Or are there not enough classes for the students?

Nevermind

I guess I’m happy if I remember what this is all for?

Working my butt off to reach my life goal to be a certified tree hugger

Yup. Tree hugger

That’s what my family calls me because they can’t seem to remember what my major is

exactly

They tell their friends how they’re so proud of me for going to college and saving the

world

And they communicate this by deliberately asking for plastic NOT paper bags

Or by throwing fits when restaurants stop serving straws with their drinks

But when they see someone litter, they turn to me and ask: “Aren’t you angry? I thought

you were a tree hugger?”

Yeah you right. I am angry

But not because some stranger dropped their Snickers wrapper on the ground

But because over the past few years you’ve managed to take away any pride I had in

calling myself a tree hugger

I’m a frickin ecological restorationist!

My calling in life is to restore what WE humans have destroyed

You say my studies are useless because “based on scientific studies, the world will be

in flames or underwater in 50 years right?”


Yeah! Based on how we’ve been treating it. Doesn’t that scare you?

Oh wait. You don’t have to worry about that because you won’t be here to see it

YOU won’t have to live through it

But I will

So you can keep your side comments to yourself and let me make this world a

better place alongside those who actually give a damn!


75

UC Davis

By Alejandra Vargas

I am the daughter of a daycare provider. I know the meaning of service. I am the daughter

of a night shift custodial manager. Who oversees eight buildings, one of them being part of

SJSU. You can argue about the price or the value of what they do, but not the service.

Service. Social service. Social institutions, what service does UC Davis provide?

A business law professor from Foothill College once told my class, you know colleges are

just like any other business

What does that mean? Now I know. UC Davis follows the business cycle. When the economy

does well, things are good but, when things are bad, things get real bad, worse things do

not get worse on their own, UC Davis, what is your role? UC Davis is part of the University of

California system, for the state of California, the largest economy in the U.S., and the fifthlargest

economy in the world. Public Higher education is a big reason for this. A system that

began with free tuition free Tuition To help California residents, of course not all residents

Now I’m reading articles titled UC System reaching an existential tipping point, a detailed

historical analysis of the 150-year-old UC system funding model, once based on enrollment

workload Since the 1970s state funding has dramatically fallen and has continued to do so

in 2004 and 2011 Now students make up the largest revenue source for the UC system Most

students have some form of mental health issue Why? No, not why Why do you ask why

without looking at the institution?

UC Davis professors don’t teach.

Once an astronomy professor from Foothill College began his class with this and said this is

what most professors will do once they get comfortable

The Monotillation of Traxoline It is very important that you learn about traxoline Traxoline

is a new form of zionteer It is monotillied in Ceristanna The Ceristannians gristerlate large

amounts of fevon and then bracer it to quarrel traxoline Traxoline may well be one of the our

most lukized resources in the future because our zionteer lescelidge.

Exam: Answer the following questions in complete sentences: What is traxoline? Where

is traxoline monotilled? How is traxoline quaselled? Why is it important to know about

traxoline?

Reminds me of somewhere

They say American students score worse than their counterparts, I say this is a teaching

effect, not a student one

UC Davis is a research institution. The research institution

UC Davis research, is it helpful? Or is it chasing money? Chasing grants Chasing patents

Research. What is your research?

.... I get it your tired.


... Administration Bureaucracy I get it. You are smart. I get it

You have an education from an Ivy League school. Please teach.

I am going to take a wild guess and predict this is a UC Wide problem

Do we need a shock to the system What needs to happen for you to recognize there is a

problem

N e g l i g e n c e

How do you treat others because you are stressed? How do you treat your students? How do

you make others feel? I get it You’re stressed too. What about me I am one of many. You know,

yes children of college-educated parents are more likely to go to college, but 1st generation

students are the fastest growing. but actually, you know this, the reduction in investment came

as public colleges enrolled more students of color Ironically the total share of people going

to college has fallen UC Davis and all UC’S ask students why Should we want you? UC Davis

attracts talent Then asks why do you care about that A? Imposter Syndrome No, it is you. You

attract students, to increase your weight, your brand, your revenue. You are creative. UC Davis

does not teach. Yet UC Davis’s tuition is student tuition After that its grants, and its patents

They say American students score worse than their counterparts, I say this is a teaching effect,

not a student one

We build large gyms and Pretty quotes I am sure I have back pain from UC Davis’s library I

feel like I entered UC Davis in the 1960s but to think about it, I would probably not be here,

and I would probably not be paying what I am paying now To think about it, I am paying

for the library’s research articles UC Davis professors don’t teach You’re making it easier

for economies to displace you. Soft skills, I can get the data on my own, I am looking for a

professor, lost and can’t be found if you are great, you are the outlier an institutional problem is

not an individual one The second I entered EOP a space, a place for first-generation students

from low socioeconomic status I could not breathe. Principles of community ok.

It sounds more ideological than anything I have seen. Graduate students the same graduate

students behinds those grants and patents don’t receive credit, don’t get paid a living wage,

and don’t even get hours All out of a sudden, you care about students and how their Wildstrike

will affect us?

You became a Hispanic Learning Institute Hispanics make the largest share of first-generation

students Are you prepared, do you even care?

Student employees at the Coho coffee house don’t get paid they get loans New tech Where

are those 175 million dollars UC hid? California is funding a surplus of 7 billion dollars next year

I wonder where they will end up in \

My economic professor once told my class if you brake a window GDP grows, but the economy

stays the same. At UC Davis, we say we need immigrants, but can’t even pay the men and

women who work in our farms a living wage. Not taking into consideration the loopholes

migrants need to pass: increased nativism and deaths at the border Wages increase, let us

simply automate


77

We are too busy leaving earth and heading to space. I have no problem with space; I just

wish we weren’t running away.

UC Davis follows the business cycle The 4th industrial revolution, have you heard of it?

Economic transformations. Economies always find their way, and when they do, the cost

will always be higher. Unique just like you.

What is your service, UC Davis?

I read this for my mother, and she said Mhmmm, you’re paying for the name, but contrary

to what you may believe

I’m still looking for a service.

University of California I am here to remind you, you have a role.

You have agency



79

The Educational Opportunity Program is committed to serving the student

body at UC Davis by helping first-generation, low-income students strengthen

their academic skills to meet the demands of a research university. We strive to

maintain a climate of academic excellence and maximize retention by providing

peer counseling and other forms of academic, personal and social support.

We affirm our commitment to raising student awareness of current academic,

political, and social issues. Through our programs, we recognize the need to

appreciate, cherish and celebrate the richness of our diversity.

Connect with us:

facebook.com/eop.ucdavis

@eop_ucdavis

How We Rose at UC Davis

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?