Zaida Garcia

English 1S
779552@seq.org

A Journey of Possibilities

Many 1st generation college students, of color, find it particularly difficult to go to college

and see themselves successfully graduating. A lot of them run into obstacles dealing with social,

cultural, and especially emotional aspects in their lives. Kavitha Cardoza, a host of Breaking

Ground, a documentary series dedicated to the focus of children, education, and poverty, gives

us some insight on the issues that some of the students are going through that are causing

them to drop out or simply not go to college. In her article, First Generation College Students

Are Not Succeeding in College and Money Isnt the Problem, Cardoza focuses on the issues of

being the first in your family to go to college, the lack of self-confidence students have, students

not knowing the culture of college, parents not being fully aware of childrens rolls in college,

and students feeling afraid of failing. Adding on to that, My Beloved World, by Sonia

Sotomayor, the first hispanic and third woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court,

showed us her story of being a Puerto Rican-American woman growing up with a lot of

hardships, but at the same time tackling the obstacles and finding success. Sotomayors

educational journey is a great one that fills college students with hope, and through her life

examples teaches todays college students how to challenge themselves, join organizations to

feel supported, to prove others wrong about them doubting their intellectual abilities, and to

make great mentors of those around them.

Many students doubt their abilities to go to college because of their fear of failure of the

unknown outcome of college, but Sonia Sotomayor teaches a great lesson in challenging

oneself and learning from it. As a result, Sotomayor decided at a young age that she was going

to head in the direction of a career where she would need to have experience speaking to the

public. Near the middle of her memoir Sotomayor explains that she decided that she had to do

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something to attain that experience. For this reason it occurred to Sotomayor that the challenge

she would take on was joining the Forensics club in her school Cardinal Spellman, she

explains I signed up as part of my self-imposed preprofessional program in public speaking,

which advanced whenever an opportunity presented itself. (138). In joining the forensics club,

Sotomayor took a chance on something that she was unsure what the outcome would be, but

knew she had to take that challenge in order to progress in the field she would later decide to

work in. Being in the forensics club, one of her difficulties was her use of her hands as she

spoke, according to Ken, the club leader, yet on the speech competition they participated in she

ended up winning first prize. However, that isnt always the case, according to Cardozas article

Christopher Feaster, a poster child for grit and determination, didnt have the same mindset as

Sotomayor. He was a student who suffered from homelessness, but with his hard work in high

school was able to win $200,000 in college scholarships to go to college and plan a career in

hospitality. Unfortunately, college was too much of an insane...change, that him having been

put in a remedial math class, which was apparently extremely common, began to question his

own abilities. Feaster ended up dropping out a year later, and ended up working as a host at a

local D.C. restaurant. If Feaster would have continued on with his schooling, and rather taken

that mental state as a challenge to prove to himself worthy of higher academic abilities he would

have probably made it farther than a year and graduated. When a challenge occurs it can be

intimidating, but like Sotomayors example, college students can push into unknown territory

and give it all they have to succeed, or tear themselves down like Christopher Feaster and give

up without taking a risk. As a college student you simply can not go through life without

challenging yourself, and Sotomayors example is a great way of showing a mental state that is

willing to venture out in order to attain what they know they want and need to succeed.

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At times college students can feel very lonely and distant, as if they dont belong there,

but sometimes all it takes is finding something we are passionate about and finding others that

share the same passion. Like many college students Sotomayor felt the same once she was

going to Princeton University , she explains The first year that I face the challenges of any new

environment has always been a time of fevered insecurity, a reflexive terror that Ill fall flat on my

face. (182). In respect to her attitude towards starting in a new school environment Sotomayor

was just like every other college student; full of fears and insecurities. In contrast, Sotomayor

also set her limits fully aware of her feelings, Sotomayor explains in her memoir In this

self-imposed probationary period, I work with compulsive intensity and single-mindedness until I

gradually feel more confident. (182). As Sotomayor starts a new transition she sets boundaries

in order not to put too much on her plate, and mainly puts a focus on the work at hand in order

to get a feel for the amount of time and effort classes and homework will take her. Also, by

doing so Sotomayor gains a confidence in knowing her own work ethic, which is incredibly

important when college students are trying to figure out the types of programs they can join, yet

at the same time balance the time to do homework. After, by the time Sotomayor was now a

sophomore, she decided to join a club called Accion Puertoriquena, a latino student group in

Princeton, which she found through her close friend Margarita Rosa, a girl from a poor

neighborhood in Brooklyn and from a traditional conservative Puerto Rican family. There in the

club Sotomayor found a space where one had a natural sense of belonging, a circle of friends

who shared the same feeling of being a stranger in a strange land (183).This can show college

students that joining groups and finding a comfortable welcome area can be a great resource for

emotional stability. Likewise, joining groups can also help students develop new ideas through

conversations and activities together. All in all, Sotomayor shows us great coping mechanisms

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that college students can follow through her examples of figuring out one's boundaries in order

to follow through a next step and joining a group of individuals who will create a second family in

school, that will teach the students other views and help them feel supported in their journey

with battling emotional loneliness and distance from being away from home.

Not only does Sotomayor show college students how she got through college, but also

shows those students how she proved those doubting her hard effort wrong. On the first

occasion anyone doubted her work effort Sotomayor was going to Cardinal Spellman for high

school, there a geometry teacher accused her of cheating for receiving a perfect score on the

test and for being Puerto Rican-American, though that she did not mention, but was clearly also

a factor. After the accusation Sotomayor defended herself explaining, Id never once got an

answer wrong on the practice tests; points had been deducted only because I hadnt followed

the steps she had prescribed. (115). As a result of Sotomayors bravery in confronting her

teachers accusations, Sotomayor describes her geometry teachers reaction to acknowledging

the truth of the matter; Acknowledging the validity of my proofs, she changed my grades.

(115). Here Sotomayor shows college students a way of confronting those who insult their

intelligence by explaining a situation to make that individual change their opinions, and opening

their minds to a broader view of acceptance. Also, by being brave in defending her own honor

she allows college students to look at the great importance of standing up for yourself in a world

that isnt always going to be easily accepting. In a similar yet a bit of a different case Sotomayor

is again confronted by a different adult individual at her high school; the school nurse. This time

its about Sotomayors likely acceptance response from her application to Princeton University.

As Sotomayor passed by the nurses office the nurse asked her if it had been true that she had

gotten a likely letter from Princeton University, and as normal Sotomayor responded that it was

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indeed true she had gotten a letter from Princeton. While receiving that news the nurse quickly

argued in an accusatory tone saying, Well, can you explain to me how you got a likely and the

two top-ranking girls in the school only got possible? (149). Shocked, Sotomayor couldnt

come up with an answer during that moment, but she did make an observation as she

explained, [the nurses] question would hang over me not just that day but for the next several

years, while I lived the day-to-day reality of affirmative action. (150). In effect, Sotomayor was

fully aware of the opportunities she was able to get through being a minority and a woman, but

she also knew that she didnt achieve an acceptance letter from a prestigious school solely from

her background, but from all of the hard work of being involved in school programs and her

dedication to her career planing, and having pushed herself outside of her boundaries.

However, we can also see that as a smart individual that Sotomayor is she used that comment

as a life example to push her onto further developing herself by not answering the nurses

question trying to justify herself to the nurse at that very moment, but chose to answer it by

continuing on in her path realizing she doesnt have to say anything to anyone to prove that she

deserves every achievement shes had and to be the bigger person and letting her actions

speak for her as she chose to go to Princeton University. Let these examples influence all the

college students who have had any form of marginalization by anyone in their school, and guide

them towards two different approaches to a similar situation they have come across.

Sonia Sotomayor does a great job of illustrating good strategies to becoming a well

rounded individual by seeking guidance when needed, and through that showing us the

importance of mentorships. One thing to keep in mind is Sotomayors elementary school that

she attended did not train their students on the importance of study skills like annotating. For

this reason, she struggled with pushing her grade up in her fifth grade class with Mrs.Reilly.

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Sotomayor tried to gain as many little gold stars as she could, to show what a great effort she

was making in class. In the process, Sotomayor decided that it was time to ask for help when

she soon realized her hard effort wasnt showing enough in her grades. With that intention in

mind, Sotomayor walked up to one of the smartest girls in class Donna Renella and asked

how she studied and got her good grades. Gladly, Donna showed Sotomayor all her techniques

of underlining while reading and taking notes in a form to condense the bits of information to

easily remember them. Under those circumstances, Sotomayor went on to emphasize in her

book the importance of the example she had just given her audience by mentioning, But the

more critical lesson I learned that day is still one too many kids never figure out: dont be shy

about making a teacher of any willing party who knows what he or she is doing. (91). This just

goes to show that it is normal to feel stuck at times and ask for help. Not many people ask for

help because they feel that they can only accomplish things on their own, but she shows college

students that though asking for help from someone successful they will attain that knowledge

and can then pass it on to the next student that needs help. Sometimes success is a shared

experience that one simply cant do alone without the help of someone else's experiences.

Similarly, Sotomayor also sought out a mentor in Jose Cabranes when she had recently arrived

at Yale Law School. Sotomayor met Cabranes through Charlie S. Hey-Maestre, a friend she

had worked with in Accion Puertorriquena back while in Princeton. Hey-Maestre insisted that

Sotomayor join him and Cabranes in a lunch meeting he had arranged because he felt that she

would benefit from meeting a man that dealt with promoting civil rights for Hispanics.

Surprisingly, after that meeting Cabranes ended up offering Sotomayor a job working for him,

researching for the book he was writing on the topic of the legislative history of U.S citizenship

for Puerto Ricans. After, having been observing him and spending time with him Sotomayor

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comments, the best I could do was derive what lessons I could from his success as they might

relate to my own capacities (227). In like manner, Sotomayor is learning by using Jose

Cabranes as a resource to acknowledge her own possibilities to resemble Cabranes level of

success in her own career path as a judge. Clearly, Sotomayor shows today's college students

the positive possibilities that can come with making mentors, as well as learning to look back at

themselves and not be afraid to seek help when needed. Consequently, Sotomayor stresses,

When a young person, even a giften one, grows up without [] proximate living examples of

what [they] may aspire to become-whether, lawyer,scientist, artist, or leader in any realm-[their]

goal remains abstract. (227). Therefore, college students should take Sotomayors advice on

being helped and learning though others because without mentors they can find themselves

lost, in need of answers ,and with guidance all can be resolved.

In short, 1st year college students, especially students of color, have valuable lessons to

take away from Sonia Sotomayor's experiences. The examples are vital information on how to

get passed some of the obstacles that come with college students being afraid to challenge

themselves, dealing with isolation, overcoming the feeling of not fitting in their new environment

in college, fighting beliefs of oppression, and avoiding sinking into the frustration of not knowing

how to succeed. Going back once again to Cardozas article, she points out that one-third of

students entering two- or four-year colleges in the U.S. are 1st generation college students of

color, who are also far less likely to graduate, due to the obstacles mentioned previously. More

importantly, Sotomayor offers college students an insight on the college life, as well as personal

life, that a student is likely to experience. Having given those solutions throughout her

experiences in the book Sotomayor is living proof and an inspiration to all college students,

especially students of color, that aspire to have a career in life, but doubt their abilities to go

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through the schooling because of their ethnic background and lack of exposure to the college

culture.