By Alex Argiris

Figuring out the college admissions process is notoriously stressful, but for children who don’t have a family history of attending college, it can be all the more challenging.

Lester Ayala, a student support services counselor in the office of the Academic Achievement Program, has a firsthand perspective on the experiences of a first generation college student. 

“The reason this particular position intrigued me is because it works strictly with first generation or low income students, which is also my background,” Ayala said. “So I just felt I wanted to give a little bit back to students that have had similar experiences.”

The Academic Achievement Program works with traditionally under-represented students to provide tutoring, academic advising and skill enhancement during their time on campus at the University of Maryland. 

“Our program is designed to be holistic, so for any students having any financial issues or personal issues, it is my role to intervene when necessary to make sure that they are able to stay in school,” Ayala said. 

First generation college students are often forced to navigate the college process on their own. The Academic Achievement Program aims to fill that void. 

“It [the admissions process] was kinda hard because my parents didn’t know what it was like and how much it would be,” said Daniel Lourenco, a sophomore finance major. 

Though many parents strive to support their first-generation students as much as possible, they often lack the understanding or experience to guide their child through the process.

“A lot of things I had to learn on my own…my parents were non english speaking…in terms of financial aid, there was no one there to back me up,” Ayala said. 

The transition into college can also be difficult for first generation students. The Summer Transitional Program (STP) aims to help ease the transition.

“It was a six week program where we were conditionally accepted into the university and we had to take a few courses and see how we did and if we did well we were fully accepted,” Lourenco explained. The program helps many first generation students get an understanding of college life. 

“It exposed us to what a college campus is like…they gave us a head start on all of the classes,” senior journalism major Jamal Seaforth said.

Seaforth added that the program included mandatory study hours every day, which forced incoming students to build essential college skills. 

“It sounds simple but a lot of people didn’t know how to study so they really tried to instill good habits to be successful in college,” he said. 

Looking back on his time in the Academic Achievement Program, Seaforth encourages freshman first generation students to be proactive.

“Reach out, get all the help you can, and know your resources so you can utilize them,” he said. Lourenco also believes its important to take advantage of counselors like Ayala.

Ayala emphasizes that his ultimate goal is to help first generation students graduate, even if there might be bumps along the way: “It’s ok to fail, it’s ok to get an F… you’re allowed to fail once in a while.”

Ayala also knows that first generation students are resilient and able to work through the inevitable challenges a college student will face. 

“Students who are first generation are anything but privileged…our students have had to figure things out on their own.”