I first want to address one of the concerns I had going into this piece. I’m representing myself and other transfer students as a machine- some kind of printer. The idea is that it is fed paper and expected to produce a result. This is kind of a depressing thing to compare yourself to! However, I’m not trying to say that myself or other transfer students are really this kind of thing, or even that we feel like this kind of thing all of the time. I just want to show that we can sometimes feel this way.

Myself and many of my peers have been the recipient of different forms of aid while we achieve an education. Because of my background, I get paid to go to school. This is great! However, although the programs that help us are an amazing resource, as a consequence of how they work we can sometimes feel depersonalized. Although many of these programs aren’t contingent on future academic achievement, the philosophy behind them is that they will help produce a result that is desirable for ourselves, our community, etc. This creates a sense of expectation that can sometimes feel stifling. Especially as transfer students, many of us face unique life circumstances that can sometimes impact our ability to perform in school. Some students may feel pressure to achieve because of their families or peers. We can also feel this pressure from programs that support us. I portrayed a printer to show this feeling like you are expected to produce a result. There are many factors in and outside of school that contribute to our academic achievement. What comes out is not always perfect or what we could do under ideal circumstances. This can be frustrating. We have to learn and accept that this is not the most important way to measure who we are as a person.

Supportive academic programs often aim to help as many people of a certain demographic as they can. As a consequence, we are viewed first and foremost as a part of that demographic rather than as an individual. The parts of myself that matter to me the most have little to do with my background. But, I have to fill out questionnaires and provide this information whenever I try to apply for an opportunity that will help me support myself in the things that I want to do.

Additionally, I have some specific life circumstances that change the way I connect with my background. I am a former foster youth, so my connection with my family is complicated. I don’t have much experience with the cultures that I belong to. My family is of Mexican and Jewish heritage. There are a lot of scholarly opportunities for people that belong to either of these heritages. Although I take advantage of these, my connection to my cultures of origin may be not as strong as many other students. I have similarly aged cousins that have a stronger connection to their Jewish background, and I have not met most of my Mexican family members. So, although I am grateful for the opportunities provided, it sometimes feels strange to accept them. 

How does my piece reflect resilience? Resilience is highly complicit to my success and the success of every transfer student. We persist in our dreams and can look beyond adverse life circumstances and challenges that not every other student experiences. In order to succeed, we have had to look beyond a linear, one-size-fits-all view of education and success. 

I did not do well in high school for a number of reasons.The day that I stepped foot in my first community college class, any relevance my high school performance could have had to my future completely disappeared. Community college was my opportunity to have agency in creating a life that I wanted. I’m proud to be a transfer student and belong to a network of students that have created their own path.