Katie Stockton
Katie Stockton, a third-year student studying environmental science, was driven to attend college by a passion for learning.
“Being a first-generation college student isn’t something I think about often, and it really doesn’t have much of a meaning to me. Yes, I am grateful that I am able to attend college, but it was on my own will. I am paying for most of my schooling.
Neither of my parents enjoyed school, and they weren’t meant for college. Not everybody is. But I always enjoyed it and was curious about learning, so I always knew I wanted to go to college. In high school, I did PSEO [Postsecondary Enrollment Options] and got my associate’s degree in liberal arts. My parents saw my devotion to school and were encouraging of my decision.
When I first started college, I went into biomedical engineering. I think I was panicked by the debt I was soon going to accumulate and felt pressure to go into a field where I knew, after college, I could make a lot of money. I didn’t know any better and neither did my parents. By my sophomore year, I was burnt out, and my mental health was at a low. And I had to withdraw from my classes and take a semester off. The process of dropping my classes and getting my money back was really stressful for me and my parents because this was new to all of us.
Junior year spring, I changed my major to environmental science, and I feel like my love for school and learning is back. Being a first-gen student definitely exacerbated the stresses of figuring out what I wanted to study and how to navigate my semester off because I had no clue what I was doing, and I couldn’t lean on my parents. This year was definitely a moment of joy and has been very validating of my decision to go to college.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview by John Henry Sullivan