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Zindia Solorio

Susie Huerta

English 1S

Sotomayor a influential Exmaple for First Generation College Students

According to research at UCLA in 2011, only 27 percent of first generation students

graduated within four years; meanwhile, 42 percent of students whose parents had a college

education graduated within four years (Malar Hirudayara) In the article titled, First Generation

College Students Are Not Succeeding in College and Money Isnt the Problem, by Kavitha

Cardoza an award winning education reporter, highlights different ideas to why there is a high

rate of first generation college drop outs. The article argues that there are more than just money

issues. The issues are social and cultural barriers, and the students own self-doubt causing

college dropout however, it is important to stay in college. A college education can help with

financial stability, job security, power, respect, and bring change in your community. It may seem

impossible, but there have been people to prove to us that indeed we can do it. In the memoir

titled, My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor; she demonstrates all the struggles she faced as

a Latina coming from a challenging background including poverty, an alcoholic father, bullying

in school, and being ill. She graduated from Princeton and Yale Law School and is the first

Latina Supreme Court Justice. First-generation College students can learn from Sotomayors

educational journey to guide us in becoming better students and or in becoming successful

person in society like she is. We can use her as in an example of seeking help, the passion of

being a student, taking risks and honesty.

Sotomayor was resourceful by asking for help she was able to learn and gather

information from teachers and peers and use it to gain knowledge. First generation college
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students can benefit asking for help to gain knowledge on what they need assistance. Sotomayor

went to Spellman High School and always asked questions and tried to understand her teachers.

Sotomayor was intrigued by her teacher, Miss Katz, from her junior year history class. She felt

Miss Katz was different than her other teachers. She likes the fact that Miss Katz challenges her

and gets her into critical thinking about history. In the following quote, Sotomayor reflects how

she feels about asking for help, Id learn by then the value of asking for help. If I went to talk to

her after class, she wouldn't slam the door on me. In fact, the door was wide open, and we had

several long and fascinating conversations (132). Sotomayor wasn't afraid to ask for help, and

once she decided to ask for help, she realized how she was better able to understand her teacher.

Sotomayor herself took a remedial class in Princeton but asking for help from her classmates and

educators helped her understand with what she struggled. The best way to learn about education

is from an educator. Educators have already been college students. Therefore, they know the

struggle and the difficulties we could face; because maybe they faced them already. Sonia took

advantage of opportunities like having conversations with her teacher, so she was able to learn

from them. For instance, she asked one of the smartest girls in class for help, I decided to

approach one of the most intelligent girls in the class and ask her how to study (91). Later on,

Sotomayor said, I sought out mentors asking guidance from professors or colleagues and in

every friendship soaking up eagerly whatever that friend could teach me (91). Asking for help

and questions benefits student, because it might get them the answer that they are looking for,

help discover new ideas and understand the unknown. Studies by Judith E. Larkin and, Harvey

A. Pines, have proven that asking questions in the classroom setting promoted student and

teacher interchange helping students feel more comfortable in class. Students need to develop

trust so that they can open up to their peers and students going back to feeling comfortable when
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asking for help. In the article by Cardoza she mentions that first generation students commonly

take a remediation class because they struggle academically having a negative connotation of a

teacher helping a student. If the lack of asking questions or for help is a major reason first

generation students fail, then why not follow Sotomayor's example?

Students can benefit from being passionate about being a student just as Sotomayor was

her entire academic life. Sotomayor had a natural curiosity for being a student. She chose the

path of wanting to gain more knowledge and wanting to learn. In her freshman year at Princeton,

Sotomayor was feeling lost. She didn't have the same worldly experience in school as other

students, and she felt circumvented in her life. She expressed that feeling to her roommate, Mary,

and she advised Sotomayor to read. She took the advice Mary gave her and she read. In the

following passage, Sotomayor describes how she gained knowledge through reading. I never

deluded myself that I could fill in everything I had missed growing up. Nor did I failed to

appreciate that I'd had experiences some of my own to prize or that Id seen some aspects of life

of which my classmates were sometimes naively unaware. Suffice it to say that Princeton made

me feel that long after those summers spent first discovery in the world's great books, Id have to

remain a students for life. It has been my pleasure to be one, actually, long after the virtue has

ceased to be such a necessity (172). Sotomayor was able to learn about her cultural roots

through books because she was so oblivious to what was happening, this helped her understand

why students were protesting on the Princeton campus. She understood that you could never stop

learning and the benefits of expanding your knowledge. Sotomayor showed the passion of being

a student because she always wanted to learn and inform herself. As first generation college

students turning education into a passion is a choice and for people to be great at something you

must enjoy it; because as humans our state of minds decides what we like. If we are passionate
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about something our thought naturally come out, and we enjoy it doing it causing it to be a great

experience. Sotomayor never stopped learning by choice making her an intelligent, well-rounded

woman in the academia. As students, we can also become well rounded and smart by following

Sotomayors example of always wanting to gain knowledge. We can always find a way to obtain

knowledge by reading more or educating ourselves trying different methods. An example of

being a passionate student would be when reading an article and it has references to other authors

you decide research the references to understand the text better. It takes time, effort and going

out of ones way but it results is being proficient in that topic. Passionate students excel in

college because of the effort they put into the work and it reflects back to their grade.

Sotomayor took many risks throughout college. First generation college students can

learn from her behavior to become confident and successful students. Sotomayor ran for the open

seat on the governance board in the Third World Center at Princeton College. She won and was

the first non-black student to win. She said I took the risk of running outside the Hispanic

category becoming the first nonblack to win the open seat. I was proud of the victory, seeing it as

a tribute to how well I listed and brokered compromises between factions (188). The quote

shows how she took a risk and defied all the odds. Being willing to take risk is the type of

behavior students need to succeed because it demonstrates that they are fearless and, will do

whatever it takes to get to their goal. Had Sotomayor been afraid of failure she would not have

had that opportunity to be the first Hispanic in the open seat. That opportunity helped her get her

first judicial role, which helped later in her career because it gave her hands-on experience. By

students taking risk, they are opening doors to new ideas and outcomes. In my personal

experience taking risks has helped me as a first generation college by allowing me to get out of
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my comfort zone and make different decisions. Because I took a risk I quit my job and, I came

into Puente a program that is helping me in my English and writing.

One of the most important values in life and the academia is the attitude with which we

use as college students; for Sotomayor it is honesty. Being honest with yourself and others will

entice people to adopt to the same value suggesting positive attributes such as integrity. Honesty

benefits a student because it helps gains a positive reputation. Sotomayor shows us a perfect

example of an honest attitude in the following quote Sotomayor's mom was pursuing her nursing

degree, but was struggling so she asked Sonia to do it for her, She conceived the insane plan

that I should write the paper for her. No way! Thats cheating! (175). Sotomayor declined to do

her moms paper. Her mom is an important person to her, but Sotomayor put her honesty first

and did the right thing. Honesty can also help build relationships by gaining mutual respect and

trust and those relationships can provide support to students. This will also help students in their

future careers by being able to count on people to put in a good word and be future references

because they will have this image of you being honest and creating an excellent reputation.

Indeed many reasons contribute to why there is a high percentage of first-generation

college dropouts, but following Sotomayor's educational journey can lead first generation

students to triumph in the academia. Sotomayor shared her experience through her book so that

first generation and at-risk college students can see what education can lead to and, that no

matter the struggle there is hope to overcome anything. She is an influential figure in society,

being a first generation college student did not make it easy, but it also didn't make it impossible.

It may be an arduous journey as reflected in statistics that 43% of first generation college

students don't graduate from college within six years (Malar Hirudayara). The likely source of
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high dropout rates come from social and cultural barriers, and the students own self-doubt. But

with an influential example like Sotomayor who epitomizes toiling in the academia as a first

generation college student we can take from her experience and, make it into our motivation to

prove society and statistics wrong. Using all of Sotomayors strategies like seeking help, being a

passionate student, taking risks and being honest we can be successful and graduate college.

Staying in college gives opportunities for getting a career in what you like to do while getting

paid well. We can also become a person of power like Sotomayor.

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References

Sotomayor, Sonia. My Beloved World. Detroit: Thorndike, 2013. Print.

Hirudayaraj, Malar. "First-Generation Students in Higher Education: Issues of

Employability in a Knowledge Based Economy." (2012): n. pag. Online Journal for Workforce

Education and Development. Web. 1 Dec. 2016.

Larkin, Judith E., and Harvey A. Pines. "Asking Questions: Promoting Student-faculty

Interchange in the Classroom." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 2 Dec. 2016.