First in the Family: A First-Generation College Student in CollegeAcross all U.S. universities, the presence of first-generation college students is on the rise (Stephens 1). Students whose parents do not have a high school degree are given the opportunity to shape their future for the better as they embark on a journey to earn a four-year degree, unlike their parents who were not given such an opportunity. With the number of first-generation college students increasing compared to the past, I became interested in seeing how these students' perspectives, relationships, and ideas were unique and how they differed from the average student attending a university; an average student from at least a middle-class background who has at least one parent with a high school education. The University of Miami is a top-tier private university in the United States, and while very diverse, it was no easy task to find a student who fits the profile of a first-generation college student whose parents were born and raised in the United States. After a long search, I came across a girl I'll call Sarah. Sarah attends the University of Miami on a scholarship to run on the school's Division I women's cross country and track and field teams. Sarah attended high school in a large suburb just outside of Chicago, Illinois, where she ran cross country and track before being recruited to UM. As a member of the university's environmental club called "Green Team", Sarah used her passion for a clean environment to inspire her to study environmental engineering while here in her first year of studies. Even though Sarah is only a freshman, having completed almost a semester at the University of Miami, she is quite... middle of paper ......d even the way she makes friends, is suffering. So what can other first-generation college students do to avoid what happened to Sarah? The answer lies in directing passion for learning and education in students and their families to develop self-motivation and avoid the negative predispositions of being the first in the family to attend college. Although Sarah has not been at the University of Miami for too long, her experiences thus far have given her a great understanding of her position in this academic community and yet provides a representation of first-year, first-generation college students. However, Sarah is just one person and may not be fully representative of the first-generation college student population, but as a member of this community, Sarah's contributions are essential to the ideas and opinions of the students in this group.