“There’s always going to be a community for you here,” says Desousa.
Cristina Desousa Reflects on What It’s Like to Be a First Gen at RIC
“When I applied to Rhode Island College, everything was unfamiliar,” says Desousa, a medical imaging major. “There were things like filling out the FAFSA that I knew nothing about. Neither of my parents had been to college, so I couldn’t go and ask them to explain it to me. So, I winged it and filled it out on my own.
“My mom is an immigrant and my dad’s parents immigrated to the United States about a month before he was born. Both my parents are Portuguese and grew up in Fall River.
“When he was about 16 years old, my dad went to a trade school to learn pipe fitting and welding. My mom wanted to be a nurse, but she didn’t have the supports to go to college, so she worked in nursing homes, first as a CNA and then in the billing department.
“By the time I was born, my dad had opened his own pipe fitting company and they had moved to Dartmouth among a community of people of a much higher class. I attended a private high school – Bishop Stang, which was very heavy on getting you into college. They set aside class time to help you fill out the Common App, but I applied to RIC on my own. It was the only school I applied to because of its medical imaging program.
“Coming from a small, private school where there were only 10 or 15 people in my class to a college where there were 150 people in a lecture hall for my biology class was hard to get used to. I definitely struggled. All of my required classes – anatomy, physiology, biology and chemistry were in large lecture halls like that.
“Also at my small private school you’re around the same kind of people who come from generations of wealth. It was hard to connect with a lot of them. Most people have that feeling of I’m so happy to get out of high school, when they get to college. I was one of them. I love the diversity at RIC. I feel like I fit in here a lot better. The people here are much more in line with my thinking and values.
“I’m in my junior year now of the medical imaging program. I want to be an MRI technologist. I got interested in the field when I was 16, working in a nursing home as a receptionist. Later, I shadowed medical technologists at an outpatient center and fell in love with MRI technology. Today I work at the same outpatient center as an MRI tech aid while taking my RIC classes at RINEC.
“My advice to other first gens is to get involved on campus. I live on campus, I’m part of the school spirit squad and I’ve been a new student orientation leader for the last two summers. I love meeting the new freshmen. One of the things I do to make myself a resource is to create a group chat so that if they ever have a question, they can always message me there.
“I’m also a peer mentor for nursing students in the NURS 100 class. Many of the students who come through there are first gens. I’m an anatomy and physiology tutor, as well. I get a lot of first gens coming in from those classes, too. I try to make it known that there are resources for first-gens like us and for every student on campus.
“Also all of my positions are paid positions – tutoring, peer mentoring and orientation leader. So, you can get involved on campus and still earn extra money.
“Just know that at Rhode Island College there are other people in the same situation as you. More than half of the students at RIC are first gen. In almost anything you do, you’re going to find people who are in the same situation as you. There’s always going to be a community for you here.”
This interview has been edited and condensed.