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There are some questions I believe have merit over all others: Who are you? And where have you been? These are the first questions I address when I walk into a room, both by asking the students and answering these questions myself. Who I am is an academic. I am an aspiring lawyer. I am a student at James Madison College of Public Policy at Michigan State University. Based on this, you can probably infer that I highly value education. But the path here hasn’t been easy. In addition to being a scholar, I am a feminist, Chicana, biracial, low-income, second-generation American and first-generation college student. Some of these identities and socioeconomic circumstances have affected, in part, my educational journey. I always knew I wanted to graduate college with a four year degree, to achieve something my parents had wished for, but hadn’t achieved. However, when high school came around I realized I had no idea how to get there. I didn’t know the first thing about paying for school- just that I couldn’t afford it. I didn’t know the first thing about applying to college- just that I didn’t know very many people with that insight.
Ultimately, I spent the final year of high school trying to get more information on these topics. I could not relay the countless hours, sleepless nights, other sacrifices I made to come up with a plan and the means to achieve my goals. I didn’t know it then, but I was feeling the weight of what is known as the Education Gap. This term refers to a gap in information, support, resources among other factors that make it difficult for all students to achieve their dreams, but especially the students using higher education to break the cycle of generational poverty.
That’s why I’ve shifted my focus to the policies behind education, and to bridging the gap. I thought long and hard about the information and resources I wished I had, that would have saved me anxiety and doubt. After a fateful conversation with Miss South Dakota 2019, Amber Hulse, it became clear that this was the route I wanted to take: a website with a collection of tips, tricks, and information from someone who has experienced this before, and a collective, reliable database of methods to pay for college. I am deeply inspired by the next generation of academics, and I hope that this provides an excellent means of support for you, because it is you who are going to change the world.
Best of luck,
Alexie Milukhin
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