Traveling to Boston for the 1st Generation summit at Tufts University was an absolute honor. I want to simply thank everyone involved who helped me get to Boston and anyone who helped me experience this amazing trip to the fullest. This trip consisted of building relationships with other first generation students, explaining our feelings and connecting with others from around the country and finally building a bond with the people from my own Rutgers-Camden University. These people, who I had the pleasure of traveling with, come from all different backgrounds, but yet we all connected on a specific level. We all felt overwhelmed with the college process itself.
Going to this summit, I was able to extend my current knowledge passed anything I would have imagined. Attending the seminars opened my eyes to new possibilities for my own campus. I was blessed to have met with representatives of Tufts University, the University of Chicago, UMass Amherst University Without Walls, Smith College, Williams College, Salem State University, and many others about how I can bring our own executive board to Rutgers Camden and how I can transfer what other schools have done into our own playing field to benefit us.
I loved all of the opportunities to hear the lovely people from different backgrounds and different university's but I also loved the bonding I experienced over this trip. I reconnected with old friends and built new relationships with the people around me. We ate together, learned together and my favorite, never left anyone behind. We always had each others back. If someone didn't have change, another one would step in a cover. If someone had a question, we'd find the best way to answer. We held each other up and genuinely cared about how everyone else was feeling. That to me was the most important part of this summit.
The fact that no matter where you come from, if you go to Rutgers, you're family.
