On Nov. 8, WSC posted a video in celebration of First-Generation College Celebration Day.  

I was asked to be in this video a little over a week before its release. Faculty from the Hahn Administration Building collected students walking through the student center to ask if any were first-generation college students. The students in the video stated their name, major and said, “I’m first.”  

I forgot about the video until I received an email on Nov. 8 with a link to the video and information about a First-Generation College Celebration Day booth. Since I was included, I was excited to watch the video. However, I was incredibly disappointed with what it had to offer.  

The video started with a small introduction from President Marysz Rames saying she is proud of the school’s mission to serve as a gateway of opportunity for all students.  

“We provide students with a personalized, quality educational experience that’s accessible and affordable, and that really speaks to our first-generation college students – those students that may not have the same appreciation or understanding of what a four-year degree can do for them upon graduation,” Rames said. “I’m so proud of the fact that we really help those students understand what a Wayne State degree can mean for them.”  

Being a first gen has been nothing if not life changing for me. Applying for college was the most grueling process I have ever been involved in, and the stress of the situation nearly tore apart my relationship with my parents who were unable to assist me. Going to college was something they had dreamed about their entire lives, a dream they were not able to achieve due to having children at a young age.  

Because “I’m first,” each step of the college application process was confusing. From the second my high school guidance counselor started helping me apply to colleges to the time I paid my first invoice, I was nervous I had missed a step that would result in me not being able to attend college. Every call I made to WSC’s service assistance offices was a game of telephone, and almost every detail of my student account, whether it be financial aid or transferred college credits from high school, was messed up at some point.  

This is why I was interested by the words used in the video when discussing first gen students and how WSC assists them throughout that process. About half of WSC’s students each year are classified as first-generation college students, a point the school takes pride in. I have never come across a first gen who did not fully grasp the importance of being the first to complete college. President Rames is a first gen herself, a fact I did not know before watching the video, but seems to have lost touch with her roots.  

Hearing the video explain WSC is proud to help me learn an “appreciation and understanding” for a four-year degree makes me feel like this school does not understand my background, like I am a charity case being used to attract more ungrateful, uneducated and underprivileged children.  

I am a first-generation college student simply because my ancestors were unable to afford a higher education. I chose WSC because it ensured the least amount of student debt. I plan to finish my college degree because I have always enjoyed learning and know the importance of establishing myself in the work force. I am not, however, unaware of my privilege or a lost child beholden to WSC for this opportunity.  

This school tends to mishear students’ requests. Such as when they misheard incessant requests for more parking and answered with a new sports complex and smaller dorm building that will not be completed for several years. This history of misunderstanding WSC students’ needs or backgrounds seems to have been proven by this video.  

First-generation college students understand with the utmost gratitude the advantage of receiving a higher education. They are not a tool to be used as a selling point, nor are they dimwitted underdogs incapable of finding success outside of WSC. We are passionate, driven individuals capable of anything we set our minds to, such as being the first in our families to attend college.