LD: All right, to start us off, could you tell me a little bit about who you are, your name and what you’d like people to know about your story today? 

 LG: I’m Leonardo Guacci. I am from Venezuela. I came here when I was 11. And something about my story, I guess, is that, you know, life is not very easy. You know, life is very hard for everyone and anyone, and just sometimes it gets really hard. But if you persevere and you persist, I feel like you can have a great time no matter what, and just, you know, it’ll work out in the end.

LD: So thinking back to the beginning of your higher ed journey, what or who really influenced the decision for you to pursue a degree here at the U?

LG: I guess starting out…when I was a little kid, starting off from when I was a little kid, I just see people in movies. And I saw them going to college, and I was like, “Man that looks really fun.” And growing up as, like, an immigrant, you know, there wasn’t much people I could talk to, because they didn’t really know English all that well. And I just associated to movies, honestly. I’ll see these characters going to grand adventures in, like, movies, and it just motivated me to go there. But then as time went on, and as I grew up older, I saw the people that went to college, and I’m like, “Okay, maybe there’s more than just the people in the movies. There’s actual people I can look up to, and I can, like, see their story and see what they are doing.” And you know, I respect that a lot. And being first-gen, you know, when you’re growing up, you tell people, “Oh, I want to go to college. I want to do this, I want to do that.” They’re like, “Yeah, but that’s not really the path, you know, destined for you. You’re just, you know, you go do your thing. You do what your parents did. You did what everyone in your family did.” And that’s what everyone would tell me all the time. They’re like, “Yeah, I know you want to go to college, but, you know, it doesn’t seem like it’s in the books for you. You’re barely learning English. You’re doing this. You mean, you know, just calm down a little bit, you know, take it slow.” And just them telling me that just gave me…it kind of made me angry. But at the same time, it gave me motivation. It, like, gave me drive. I’m like, no, I want to prove not just to myself, but to others that it’s possible, that you can do it, you know. They’re demotivating me, but that’s fine. I won’t let that stop me, you know. And I gotta…if I want to not just prove it to myself, but to others that they can do it. That means I just had to, you know, just take all that and just put as much as I can into it, you know, so I don’t fail, you know.

LD: Absolutely. Do you feel like your family and your friends are pretty supportive of your journey? 

LG: I feel like my friends are the ones that have supported me the most throughout this journey. They all…a lot of them, have seen a lot of things I didn’t even see in myself throughout my whole life. They saw how smart I was, like what I could do if I put my heart into it. My family–not so much. My family, just because they didn’t think it was in the cards for me, because I was a, you know, I was the last kid in an immigrant family, like, they couldn’t put that much time and effort into me, so I was kind of just put it to the side to most of the time. But that didn’t really matter, because over time, I just proved to them that I was, you know, I was someone to look for, you know, to watch out for. That kind of has its pros and cons, like, because, like, for example, my family, my grandma, who raised me, she sees me as, like, this beacon of, like, hope for the future, but she didn’t really expect much when I first came to the country. And she saw me trying hard no matter how hard it got, you know, or how lost I was, she saw me [keep] going. My brothers? Not so much, because they see how hard I tried. They’re like, “Man, I’m kind of jealous.” Like, okay, what can you do about it? You know, not everyone’s gonna support you, not even your own family. But you can’t let that stop you. You know, it’s like you got to keep going. That’s something I’ve learned. You know, there’s people that will support you and people that would just, you know, be jealous or whatever, and you can’t let those people stop you, no matter who they are. And I don’t know, it’s just something beautiful, seeing those people that do support you, like, realize, “Man, it is paying off. He is doing what he wants to do.” And if it wasn’t for my friends, I don’t know where I would be right now, but definitely helps a lot. 

LD: It’s good to have a strong support system, whether it’s, you know, your family network, or your friends, or even support folks on campus can be really helpful, too. So, many students describe their first semester as a pretty major shift from their previous schooling experiences. What was that initial first semester or, like, first year being on campus like for you? 

LG: I guess it was just…I was lost to an extent, because, you know. I was used to, like, doing things on my own ever since I was a kid. I was used to, you know, find working for, like, to pay for food, for groceries and stuff like that, you know. But it was the first time in my life I had to watch out for my rent and stuff like that, because I moved on campus, and I didn’t have that much option money at the time, right? And I just, I’m like, “Man, am I screwed?” I thought to myself every single day. But I went through a rough time at the beginning of the school year. I’m like, I have no money. I have to take out loans for my school. I have to do this and that, but I want to go to college, you know, and I’m gonna make it happen. And what helped me the most is that…I was going through a rough time, but I didn’t give up. I’m like, okay, this has been my dream for, like, ever since I’m, like, a little kid. I gotta make it happen somehow, and I gotta prove to myself that I can make it happen, you know? If I can’t go to college, then who am I? Like, if I can’t do the one goal I’ve had for pretty much my whole life, what does that say about everything else? So I went up and I’m like, okay, I gotta get out of my room. I gotta go out there and make some efforts to make things better. So I’ll go to every office in the U and I’m like, “Hey, I need some help. This is my situation. Can I get scholarships?” And maneuvering that without knowing any knowledge of, like, college beforehand was actually tremendously hard. 

LD: Oh yeah. 

LG: Like, just the whole fact that no one in my family could help me. And I, like, I would talk to my family, and they would be like…and my friends too, because most of my friends didn’t even go to college. They’re barely starting out. Like, recently, I’m like, “Hey, I just legitimately don’t know what to do.” And they’re like, “Well, like, I don’t know what to tell you.” But it’s the offices, like First-Gen, like the Financial Wellness Center that helped me out. Like, I remember I went to the Financial Wellness Center, and currently she’s my boss, but back then she was just a stranger. This lady called Beth, she’s like, “Hey, there’s all these resources, and it’s all these places. I can’t really give you scholarships, you know, that’s not what we do. But I know where you can go to, like, apply and do this.” And I think that meeting with her, just because I went out and I just saw a sign one day, and I’m like, “Financial Wellness. That sounds like it will help me out. You know, that’s what I need.” And I just went in the office like, “Hey, can I get some help?” And she booked that appointment the same day, and she helped me. And that meeting legitimately changed my life. I guess she directed me to, you know, a lot of resources for scholarships. And mainly, she directed me to First-Gen [Scholars]. “You should apply. If you don’t know what you’re doing, go apply then.” And I applied there, and I started going to First-Gen [Scholars] as a student. And it was nice, finding a community that I could relate to. They went through the same struggles as me. I’m a Latino, so it was very nice meeting other Latinos in campus, because back then, I didn’t know a single one, because I was just, you know, surrounded by people from other ethnic backgrounds. I love all my friends from a different background, but it’s nice to be able to relate to people with, like, similarities, you know. And you know, it was just nice. It just felt like a place of belonging. And then there was the First-Gen space, and it was like a place I could finally go to and just relax, have fun with my friends, and just meet people. And First-Gen really helped me out, because it was like, you know, just a place that felt like home, you know. Even though I was going through all this, through struggles, money, anything, you know, It was just a place to feel belonging, you know. And then that happened. I worked, like, 40 hours a week, I think, applying for scholarships every single week. But it all paid off in the end. I managed to get all my tuition covered for my full four years.

LD: That’s amazing. 

LG: I managed to get, like, my housing paid for, for this year, most of last year, and probably for next year, too. So, you know, we’ll see how that goes. But so far, it was like, you know…I went through the worst time of my life–probably one of the worst times of my life, like, my first couple of months in college, honestly. But it ended up paying off, because I just did not let that get to me, you know. I kept going, and it was really nice, you know. Really by the end of the year, I saw everything I made, all the friends I met, all the memories, like, was able to do, you know. The good and bad, you know. You got to look at the whole picture, but it’s still…I look back at it and I’m, like, I’m really glad I did what I did, you know. Glad I didn’t just stay in my room, like, playing games, like I always did back then, and I just decided to go out and, you know, not let that stop me.

LD: Yeah, you mentioned applying for scholarships being pretty daunting. What was that process like once you were kind of directed towards the correct areas to apply? 

LG: What I realized, it’s mainly just knowing people and that, and knowing departments very well…Most of my scholarships I currently have are departmental scholarships. So what that means, you know, [is] there’s the financial aid from the government that, like, you know, you submit your FAFSA, you get your report, and then the school gives you an offer. Most of mine are from departmental scholarships. That means you just go to department, they have a scholarship–or it could be in a CSAR [Center for Student Access and Resources], you know, Opportunity Scholars, like the business school–stuff like that–and they have certain application windows which you can apply. You apply, you submit an essay, and then you see if you get it or if you don’t, you know. You can talk to people to see, like, “Oh, how’s the process going?” you know. So they get to know you as a person and more, like, in depth. And that was hard, honestly, because I’m not an English major, you know. I’m not that good at writing. And as someone that English is their second language, I never really got to fully understand Spanish, because I came so young. I never really got to understand the grammar of either. It was very hard, spending countless hours a week writing scholarships was very daunting on top of school, work and, like, work, it was awful. But it was nice because it makes you be better at just, like, multiple skills. If you’re just writing it out, you, like, get better at, like, speaking, get better at communicating your thoughts, you know. It’s really nice, but it was really painful, you know. But it pays off. Like, I look at the amount of time I spent writing scholarships, and I look back at the, you know, money I got from my scholarship, and it’s worth it any day of the week. Like, if I looked at, like, the amount of time I spent writing a certain scholarship, I made, like, $100 an hour, technically. But then it’s, like, that whole process [and] most people are like, “Okay, I gotta write this essay.” That stops them from applying to scholarships. And it’s kind of like, you know, I get it because I was there, too. Because, like, when I got [unintelligible] scholarships before I came here, but I didn’t know where they were, right? So, I’m like, “Okay, I gotta eat the countless hours of just writing now that I am here in college.” It, like, sucks, but, you know, you got to do it. 

LD: Yeah, for sure, it’s definitely a challenging skill to learn, too. It’s so effortful. You mentioned a little bit ago that your scholarship covers your tuition, but that you weren’t sure that it was going to cover your housing for this next semester? Is that right?

LG: For next year? Oh, that’s just because I’m part of a program called the Opportunity Scholarship with the business school. It’s for first-gen students, too. And the scholarship I’m on varies. So, currently, I have half of my housing paid for because it was another departmental scholarship that I got from the Ivory Foundation. So I will live in Ivory housing next year, and then my own apartment. So depending on how much Opportunity Scholars gave me–another scholarship that I applied for, you know–I can either get most of it paid for or the full thing. So it just depends. 

LD: That’s awesome. 

LG: So it’s, like, you know, you gotta wait. It kind of sucks. Sometimes you gotta wait a long time to get those answers. And you do get a lot of “Deny”s, right? They’re going to be like, “No, you did not get it.” But it’s the ones–the couple of scholarships I hit that really matter, you know.

LD: Yeah, that sounds so stressful, waiting for confirmation that you’re going to be able to, like, pay for housing. 

LG:  It is. Like, last year, I remember it keeping me up at night. But now, you know, I’ve come more to terms with it…it’s like, you know, even if I don’t get those scholarships, I know I’ll find a plan. And I already have certain, like, you know, contingency plans, just in case. 

LD: Yeah, that’s really smart. 

LG: It’s something you got to take, you know, with the whole process, honestly.

 LD: Yeah, it’s one of those unpredictable things. I remember learning about scholarships myself in college and not realizing that the whole amount wouldn’t be covered, necessarily, that some scholarships will pay a certain dollar amount, and then you’re responsible for the rest. But yeah, it’s definitely a system that’s not intuitive, right? 

LG: Yeah, no, I didn’t know anything about like, scholarships coming in, like, at all. I knew zero. Like, my high school counselors did not help me at all when applying to college, and sometimes financial aid was kind of hard to work with. Until I was a student, they didn’t really want to help that much, but it was hard. So coming in, not knowing anyone, not knowing anything, you know, having to find that whole process out is very, you know, stressful, honestly. Scary, too, because, you know, it’s like these loans, these payments you have to do might affect you for, like, your whole life, honestly, like, well, from here to 20 years from now. Most people, like, if you take too many loans out, it’s scary. It’s like, you have that much power. And you can take the easy way out, which is just taking all the loans that you can and, like, as soon as possible. Or you can take the really hard way out, which is, you know, looking, going out there, and, you know…yeah, it’s hard to make that choice, honestly.

LD: Yeah, it’s really hard because, like you were saying, it takes so much time to apply for these different scholarships. And you probably have to modify the essays that you write to accommodate the different guidelines. So yeah, that’s a scary decision too, especially being so young and looking at like, well, maybe I’ll have student loans to cover for the next 10, 15, 20 years, right? Really scary. So, being a first-gen student involves balancing a lot of different roles. Like you mentioned, you work, you’re a student, you’re an employee, you’re a member of your family. How are you navigating the logistics of college, like the work/life/school balance part of it all?

LG: Honestly, it’s fine, because, as it’s something I’m currently working on–I’m gonna be completely honest–and, you know, you’re not gonna get everything straight away. Now, it takes time, but I try to balance it the best I can, you know. Sometimes some things in your life will have to take a hit for others. You know, so you can never find that perfect balance, [but] you can try. And hopefully, one day I get to that point, but I haven’t been there yet. But I’m, like, also a student leader at ALFA, the Association of Latino Professionals for America, and just having so many different campus roles and, like, you know, roles in general, like, as a person, it’s hard. It’s really, really hard. And, you know, there’s some things I have said I’ve taken like, a lot of time off for that. Like, I used to play every week. I remember I would hop on, like, my games, and I would just play games every single week with my friends from back home. And I don’t do that anymore, right? And that’s something I have come to terms with. That’s something that I had to get [unintelligible]. And that’s something you’ve got to realize. And you cannot keep everything sometimes. If you want to pursue, like, a professional degree and a professional career, sometimes you got to put your priorities in order. And that’s something that I think is very important when you got all these things to think about, is prioritizing which one means the most, you know, which one you’re willing to put the most time into. Like for me, right? It’s my career, like, my professional life is the main thing. So I put as much time as possible as I can into my professional life, like going to career fairs, going to networking events, going to workshops. I put all my time in that, making professional events for my club, and just meeting professionals, you know? That’s what I’m putting my most of my week on. And then next is, you know, academics, because if I don’t do my academics, my scholarships drop…I am fairly good at that. And I just gotta go to class, do my work, you know, unless I do gotta skip class for, you know, professional events. But you know, you gotta give and take. And, for example, something I really care about is the gym because I’m someone that takes, like, a big, big priority in, like, your physical and mental well-being. I think it’s super important. No matter what, no matter how busy my week is, if I’m not able to go out that week, I just go to the gym no matter what. And I take that as a very big priority. And those are, like, my main three priorities. And then the fourth one, I will say, is hanging out with my friends. That’s very important, like a support network for me. And I think they help me out a lot. Like, I wouldn’t really be the person I am without them, and those other three would kind of suffer without them. It’s like, you gotta come up with a list, you know, prioritize and just manage your time, depending on how much you care about those. 

LD: Yeah. And in the moment, the ability to shift priorities.

LG: Yeah, because life changes, you know. At other points,like, my family has that struggle, so I’m like, I have to disregard almost everything and just put my family into top for a while. And it’s that type of thing that you have to take into account.

LD: Yep, for sure. And you mentioned you work. How many hours a week do you typically work?

LG: Last year, I worked, like, 20 hours every week. But I don’t [unintelligible] put it down. So currently, I work 12 hours a week, so it’s not too much, you know. It’s not crazy now, because I got lucky enough to not have to pay for anything. So I try to take that as, like, a benefit, honestly, and I still like to work, you know, have my own money for my own stuff. Like, if I want to pay for, like, you know, to have my savings up, which is very important to [take into] account, honestly. And also, like, lately I’ve been getting into skiing because it’s just really fun, and I think it’s a really good hobby, because I got into a program that will help me with, like, lessons and stuff like that and a lot of like, you know, the initial cost, they helped me with, like, equipment and stuff like that. But maybe I want to buy my own skis, you know. I gotta work for it. And I work 12 hours a week. I’m trying to maybe even put it down to less, honestly, next year, or maybe include my professional [life], you know, because sometimes you can also mix multiple of your priorities. So trying to get a job that, like, also helps in my, like, professional life and to the utmost. So I’m trying to work on that paid internship throughout the whole year for next year. So hopefully I get that. And if I get that, that will actually just be incredible for me. So I would just cut my time that I had to spend on a bunch of stuff and just mix into one.

LD: Oh, yeah, that sounds incredible. I hope you get your internship. That sounds so cool. So we talked a little bit about support systems. I was wondering if you have, like, a mentor or a campus resource–or, like you mentioned, your friends have been a really big source of support. Who do you feel has been helpful to your success so far? 

LG: Honestly, just anyone and everyone, like, just meeting people out there, professionals, non professionals, like everyone that throughout my life has helped me, like, [has] been a support system, honestly, since I was like a little kid. Like I remember there’s this gentleman, right? His name was Señor Quintonia. I would go garden with him every week, right? I would go cut grass for five hours, five to 10 hours or so on the weekends, when I was like twelve. As my grandma said, “Go do something.” Okay, I guess I’ll go work. He’d take me out to cut lawns over and over again. And I was a kid, you know, and I didn’t really have that much. I didn’t grow up with my parents, so, you know. And he was, like, a good, like, parental figure for me and he taught me how to work hard, you know. And that was, like, at this point, almost 10 years ago, since I met that man, and I don’t really keep in contact as much anymore, because, you know, we’ve taken very different routes. But like, he was, like, a very big mentor, and like he was just a gardner, you know. And now I’m meeting, like, CEOs, CFOs, and it’s like, I still keep him in my mind constantly, no matter who he was, or, like, what his financial position, or, like, you know, any position he had. He was just such an important part of my life. And like, I will always value him. And just like that, I met people through college, through First-Gen [Scholars], honestly. Like, I had my mentor last year, Brian, he helped me out. He introduced me to ALFA, to a lot of resources and, like, he helped me out a lot last year, and I’m really grateful. And it’s just the people I met, like that lady I said about from the Financial Wellness Center. Her name is Beth, and I talk to her. She’s my boss currently. I decided I’m like, I’m so grateful for this place, and I work for them. She was a very good, important mentor last year. And there’s just people like that, like my history teacher from high school, she taught me a lot about, like, how to research stuff, and just everyone has helped me out in, like, seeing the world in different ways and just learning from them. Something I think is anyone can be your mentor if you try to learn from them as much as possible.

LD: I love that. That’s a really beautiful way to put it. 

LG: That’s how I see the world, honestly. I feel like anyone I meet, I can learn from, even if they’re younger; they might be little kids, honestly, because there’s a lot to learn from little kids too. Little kids and old people, you can learn as much as you can, honestly. Everyone sees the world in such a different way. It’s kind of beautiful. 

LD: Yeah, I think that’s a really cool way to express it, too. So, you mentioned your social and emotional well being and your physical health. In what ways has this journey challenged you? And then maybe you could also talk about in which ways it has empowered you, but in terms of just like how you feel, your sense of belonging, your mental wellness, that sort of stuff. 

LG: Well, something I feel like is very important to keep into account is that you’re gonna mess up, right? 

LD: Yeah. 

LG: Because I have made a lot of bad and even terrible mistakes in my life, because, you know, we’re all growing up. We’re all learning even, no matter how old you are. And it’s not letting that haunt you, you know. I think I let a lot of my mistakes growing up, you know, growing up as a kid and [in] like a family that doesn’t, you know, really care about what you do or what you you know, what you’re up to, you feel like you tend to make a lot of mistakes. And there’s a lot of things I’m not proud of, but it’s learning from that and not letting that haunt you. I feel like that’s something that has helped me out a lot in the past couple of years. I have let those weights off my back. You know, that’s something I feel like is very important because I feel like a lot of people do that. They, like, let mistakes from, like, years ago haunt them, and they never really come to terms with them, you know. And that’s something really important to take into account. Now, most people don’t realize it, right? And that’s something I think I value a lot. It’s like self-reflection and self-thinking because some people struggle with, like, sitting there with their own thoughts. And I do, too, honestly. I always listen to music just to, like, you know, not to think that much. But then I realized that’s not good, you know, you got to come to terms with who you are and what you have done and who you will be, too. It’s taking that, you know, process of like self-growth you got to take into account. 

LD: And, like, being honest with yourself and and also, like you said, not internalizing shame, you know, from making mistakes because, yeah, we all make mistakes, regardless of how far into this process you are, you know. It’s going to just keep happening for our entire lives. We’ll just make mistakes, but not carrying the weight of those is a really challenging skill to learn. 

LG: Exactly. And I feel like, you know, as long as you’re learning from them, and you feel like you will not make those mistakes again, what’s the point of, like, destroying yourself over that? I cannot count my hands, even if I had 10 of them, how many mistakes I made. But like, that’s fine, because I feel like I won’t make those again. And maybe one day I fall back and I do make another mistake, you know? But that’s fine because it’s part of life. It’s growing and then regressing and then growing from that even more. 

LD: Yeah, it’s definitely like a lot of reiterative kinds of processes or cycles where it’s not the same exact experience or the same exact lesson, but it could look pretty similar. So, are you a second-year student? 

LG: Yeah, I’m on my second year. 

LD: What is your major? 

LG: I’m finance right now. We’ll see what minor I choose. I have a lot of time, so I gotta choose a minor somehow. 

LD: Yeah, what kind of directions are you thinking about for your minor? 

LG: Accounting probably, which I hate how that’s an option that I came to. But I came into college hating accounting, and I kind of like it, so I’m like, I might as well do it. 

LD: Yeah, it’s wild how stuff like that changes. 

LG: I came into college. Well,  even before high school, I went to a dual enrollment high school, so I did a lot of CE classes and, like, early college, and, like, I’m gonna go to college to be an architect. I am not an architect. I did two years of architecture school in high school. That’s how dedicated I was to it. I’m not an architect. I will never be an architect. I like it, but I’m not going to be it, and I’m a finance student, which, how is that related to architecture? I don’t know, but I actually love it, you know? And I think it’s truly my calling. And that’s super interesting, how it turns out.

LD: Yeah, and do you find that as you started taking classes that you were able to get a sense of where your interests are really?

LG: Yeah, for sure. I feel like not just classes, but events. Like, being part of ALFA, helped me out a lot, just meeting people and [hearing] their stories. Like, it just was amazing. So just hearing how they work. And some people are like, “Yeah, I work like 50-hour weeks.” I’m like, Man, those 50 hour weeks–that’s a lot. And some people are like, 80-hour weeks. That’s a lot. But I enjoy what they’re talking about when they’re saying that, and I understand why they will work so hard for so long, because it’s like, something that I find super interesting. I feel like I learned more from the people I met during college, because during college you have, like, a lot of opportunities to meet some incredible people, and it’s meeting these people and talking to them. I feel like I learned a lot about what I want to do for my career. 

LD: Yeah, that makes so much sense because it’s all kind of abstract when we first start out, right? Like, “I think this is what I want to do.” But you can’t really tell till you get into those classrooms, right?

LG: Exactly. Get up to those classrooms, meet those people and, like, now, now that I know…I started figuring out what I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to do something in business, right? I’m like, finance sounds cool. And it’s not until I met those people, and they’re like, “Man, I really do think finance is the right call for me.” And I went into those classrooms, I’m like, “Man, my other classes are…they’re okay, they’re cool. But my finance class is truly the one I really, really enjoy.” And, like, it went to the point that, like, I did so much research into finance, I didn’t even have to go to class if I wanted to, because I just knew everything they were teaching, you know, at that point. And it’s now that I get to go delve deeper into my third year and just take those, like, more complex classes that I’m really excited because there’s topics that I know, but I know will get, like, a lot back from.

LD: That’s such a good feeling, too, when you [find] that program where you’re like, “I love taking these classes. This is my thing.” 

LG: And it’s like, in the business school, you have to take a lot of business gen eds [general education courses]…I took all my normal gen eds in high school, but you gotta take business gen eds–take marketing, accounting, information systems. And it’s having to go through the whole process taking a lot of classes that you do not want to take. 

LD: Yeah

LG: Well, you still learn from them. I’m fairly good at marketing now, I would say. But it’s like, you know, taking those classes that you don’t want to take, and now you get to take all the ones you want to take, and you’re actually looking forward to taking. This feels really good, you know, and you still have that, like, really good understanding of, like, all the basics on any field and business, or at least that’s how it is for me. 

LD: Yeah, and it’s nice that you can kind of get an overview of these different potential areas of focus, like, whether it’s marketing, or finance, or accounting. Going into the program gives you a lot of different directions to explore, essentially. 

LG: Yeah, no, for sure, and so I feel like that’s a good thing about college, it lets you explore a lot of things…I technically changed my degree. I was two years deep. I had a lot of credits done. I’d learned a lot of architecture software. I still, I’m like, “Maybe this is not for me,” and I changed it, even though I [unintelligible] put in a lot of time into that, for, like, countless hours, learning all that stuff. And I changed it, but I couldn’t be happier. I feel like, if I went into architecture, I wouldn’t be as happy as I am right now with what I’m doing. And that’s a whole thing that, like, you know, you have to change it because you think it’s not your right calling. You know, you’re always going to explore more like options, honestly, to find that one you love, because you want to find something you love, I think, in this life.

LD: Yeah, something that keeps you excited about learning. And it’s so real that experience of, you know, putting in a year or two toward one program and realizing, “I don’t think this is the program for me,” but again, like taking that as “I’ve learned something about myself,” rather than, “Oh no, I’ve spent this time, and now I’m changing programs!” But it’s all in effort of helping you figure out what you want to do, right? 

LG: Yeah, no, for sure, and during the time when you drop it, like, you’re gonna feel terrible, like, “I wasted my time, I wasted years of my life.” But in reality, if you look at it, you learned a lot. And a lot of the skills I learned from architecture–just about how to see things–still transfer over to finance, and I still use those on the day-to-day, you know? And I can talk [about it], and it’s still like, a passion of mine, right? And I can talk to people about it and be like, “Oh, I love this building. I love this, you know, this style.” And it’s nice, you know. It’s not gone. It’s not wasted. You might think it is, but it’s not really. 

LD: No, it’s totally part of–like you say–it’s transferable knowledge. It’s part of your identity, too, like as you’ve learned about these different disciplines and stuff. I think that’s so fascinating. So looking back on your first year–and we’re most of the way through the semester, too–but what is one accomplishment or win from your time here that you feel really proud of? 

LG: I feel like the main thing I’m proud of is the community I have built. I feel like I have met a lot of great people throughout my time here, and I’m really grateful for them…my friends…I feel like I’ve gotten a better bond with my family, too…my mentor, all the people I have met…because I take a little piece of everyone I meet into myself. I’m just really glad I met everyone, and I have the community I have. And that’s something I want to keep working on throughout my years here. And that’s something I think about fairly frequently, and I’m really grateful for.

 LD: I think that’s such a good point–that building community, and just being a member of [that community–that’s such a huge source of support and understanding and friendship, potentially. So, last question: If you could go back and give your past self or another first-gen student who’s just starting out one piece of wisdom or advice, what would it be? 

LG: Life is all about learning. And trust me, you will learn, but you got to be open to learning to get to that point. Yeah, sometimes people are very stuck on their ways, and it’s hard to get out of. I guess that’s all you know. But if you’re willing to learn and willing to change, you will find a lot of great doors that will open for you. That’s the main thing I would tell people. Honestly. Be open for change. And no matter how hard things get, just keep going, even if it might not look like it will get better. It will get better no matter what. And it all comes in together. If you’re willing to change, willing to learn, things will get better, honestly.

LD: Well, that wraps it up for us. Is there anything else you would like to add before we finish?

LG: Well, I love the First-Gen Conference. It’s pretty nice. I went, too, last year, pretty inspiring. Honestly, it helped me out a lot. 

LD: Awesome. I’m going to end our session, and there we go.