First Generation / Low Income

Many first-generation students carry a tremendous load on their backs. We’re told to get good grades, secure employment, excel in this new country, retain your cultural ties, always push forward, and lastly, work, work, work. Each expectation is a stone …

As the daughter of Chinese immigrants to California and the eldest of three children, Youny was the guiding light for her siblings as they prepared to go to college. In a way, her siblings were her first mentees.

“My parents …