Being “First Gen” and Grandpa Seima’s College Hopes
For Hispanic Heritage Month, I began thinking about a wonderful group of mostly Latino college students that I met this summer at Vanguard University, Costa Mesa. These enthusiastic “first gen” college students were dedicating 4 weeks to Vanguard’s Bridge Program to ensure a smooth transition into college. One of their summer assignments was to write a personal biography and at the invitation of Professor MIchael Jimenez, I was a speaker for this portion of the class.
The students wrote a paper on “The Kindness of Color” and Dr. Jimenez kindly sent those papers to me as feedback. Along with recounting the story, I was struck by how deeply the students could personally relate to a story from the 1940s and how beautifully they each wrote of their thoughts and experiences. Here is just a sample by a few students:
“...readers are transported into the lives of the characters being told, making it impossible not to empathize with their struggles. What makes this book relevant is its explorations of the immigrant experience, but also serves as a small reminder that even small acts of compassion can make a huge difference in someone’s life, especially for someone who faces adversity on a daily basis.”
Student A.H.R.
“As a first-generation (college student) Mexican daughter, I know now to appreciate my education even more than before. And as I begin to do my own historical biography, I learned that my story, emotion, and details matter. If I can take away anything from the book, it is to live as a bird because birds mean life. “They sing no matter the situation and more importantly, could fly free.” (p. 174, “The Kindness of Color”)
Student S.O.
“Even amid war and hate from an entire nation, kindness in the form of friendships remain and last longer than any pain could.”
Student K.F.
“Towards the end of the book, I concluded that in order for the United States to be known for its name and the virtues such as freedom which it claims to stand for, that every bit of history that originates from every minority group which was responsible for building and molding this present day society must be brought to light, not just for the benefit of the future generations but to give every single citizen no matter their race, nation or creed a sense of belonging and a solid identity.”
Student S.F.
“I was finally able to understand that you should never be ashamed of where you come from. Growing up I was surrounded at what other people call a “white school,” my whole time there I tried to do everything to fit in. I didn’t want anyone to know that I was Mexican. If I rode the bus I made sure to go the long way to enter the front of the school. When I would go home I would rather walk an hour than take the bus home. I started to demand expensive clothing from my parents until I completely lost myself and forgot who I was in the first place. I was finally able to embrace who I am and where I come from. With that I believe reading this book gave me so much more confidence.”
Student M.A.
“As an immigrant who has seen racism to a certain degree, I was able to empathize with what they were subjected to but was horrified at the extent at which they were mistreated. I can’t imagine being forcibly separated from my father at a young age because of U.S. Government prejudice. To be forced to live in…squalid living quarters for an unknown amount of time, separated from your home and friends seems unthinkable, and it is hard to digest that a country with foundational pillars of Individual Rights for the common man and Liberty would subject its citizens to such treatment.”
Student E.F.
As I think about these students and their futures ahead of them, I thought back to my Grandpa Seima. He had a small metal wastebasket by the side of his small wood desk. It had colorful college banner pennants on it from all sorts of colleges and universities. Unfortunately it got lost or given away when I wasn’t there, because that is the one thing I would have liked to have to remember him by. You have to admit it's kind of an odd theme for a Japanese American farmer’s office. Or is it? I think it represented his hopes and dreams for college for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
That dream has been fulfilled in my generation! Although one uncle became a doctor, none of our family's Nisei generation has a 4 year college degree. But my Sansei generation of cousins are “first gen” as we’ve attended USC (my alma mater - Fight On!), Stanford, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, Carleton College, University of Cincinnati, Pomona College, UCLA, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and more! And in the Yonsei generation, the list would include some of the same alma maters plus Occidental, Oregon State, Chapman University, University of Tennessee, Duke University, San Jose State, and more! If we had a Munemitsu waste basket with just our alma maters’ pennants, Grandpa Seima would be mighty proud!
I’m not saying that college is for everyone and we have beloved family that are doing just fine without a college degree. But for Grandpa Seima I think college represented being included and belonging, just a few decades after he spent 2.5 years in an American P.O.W. camp, accused of being a disloyal American.
I hope our family story encourages others. We aren’t special and certainly didn’t do anything heroic - we just worked hard, stood firm in our personal dignity and persevered to move forward. I want to encourage these courageous and industrious students I met and other “first gen” college students like them! I’m cheering them on because they are the future of America and I’m excited for who they are and will become as they continue through their college careers.
Here’s to all the “first gen” college students - from every background, every neighborhood, and every culture. “Gambatte” and Fight On!
Cultivating Kindness,
Janice
University of Southern California, BS/MBA
Biola University, MA
In the Press
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