Running head: College Access Ethnography

College Access Ethnography Bopharuth Cheng Seattle University

College Access Ethnography

Timeline of Key College Activities According to Hossler & Gallaghers college choice model, there are three stages that help frame the choice to attend a postsecondary educational institution which are predisposition, search and choice. During my journey in exploring and choosing a college, I remember a great level of support from my family, friends, high school teachers and support staff but the major influence that led me to choose the University of Washington (UW) was mainly due to familial ties with this institution. My first trip to the University of Washington was in the seventh grade of middle school to watch a UW Womens Volleyball game. I remember that I was more fascinated with the quick tour of the campus after the game when my coach drove around the perimeter of the campus rather than for the purpose of the trip. I was a part of a church volleyball team and had this opportunity to attend a sports event but I also gained aspirations to attend UW from this experience. During my K-12 experience Ive always been a high achiever, placed in HiCap, accelerated math and English courses, took AP courses and involved with extra-curricular activities. I do not remember a time when I said, I am going to college. It just seemed like the natural progression for me to take, it was the next thing that I am supposed to do. When I began looking into colleges, I remember speaking with a few high school alums about the college process and one of them told me that they were attending a Junior College in California. I did not know what a Junior College was and she explained it to me. I remember thinking, why did she choose to go to a Junior College when she is highly capable of attending a university? I never considered going to a Junior or community college but if I did not receive admission letters from the colleges that I applied to then, my college pathway may have changed.

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My decision to accept admission to the University of Washington was primarily based on family influence. I remember thinking, my brother and two of my cousins attend there now and three other cousins recently graduated from UW, then I am capable of pursuing my education there as well. I looked up to my family members and wanted to follow their footsteps despite the fact that I received an offer letter that provided a full-ride financial aid package from another institution. Also, despite the fact that I was no longer a Washington state resident which increased tuition rates for me and more sensible for my brother and cousins to attend UW because it was an in-state school. Looking back, I would have taken the full financial aid package if I was better educated about making financial decisions. Pivotal Moments in College Pathway There has been many influential people and experiences that shaped my college pathway but two pivotal highlights include my parents overall encouragement for pursuing higher education and my choice to defer my second year from UW to attend a community college. My parents and family have been most influential in my college process, although having no college education themselves, they understood the value of earning a college degree. They insisted that we take advantage of the opportunity of a better lifestyle than what they experienced during the regime in Cambodia. While their ways of showing encouragement was more like a requirement rather than positive support, I soon learned that whatever method they were using shaped how I perceive my college education. My parents views on education are rooted in a classist society where the level of education measures how good of a person you are and your family background. This was an interesting point for me to digest because of the direct ties between how a family is perceived in the community in relation to their childrens educational aspiration. Which in my case,

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academics was reared as a priority and there was no other choice but to go to college. Early on, I recognized that earning a college degree will provide upward mobility for my family socioeconomic status because they came to the United States with nothing, not even the language to converse in every day interactions. My parents showed support in different ways, by inspiring me to be the best with little that we had, they made me feel confident and worthy of a college education. They taught me that the only way to overcome barriers is to educate ourselves and to not fear taking out student loans. This was a fear and it still haunts me today. Although my parents could never afford to pay for my college tuition, they did not want this to be a barrier to me either. They had limited knowledge about financial aid and federal grants and loans but they encouraged me to seek-out this information. Although I was able to find college and career counseling through a specialist at my high school, I did not receive enough information to make an informed financial decision. If I could turn back the wheels of time and re-select my college choice, I would opt for a debt-free college education that offered a full ride packet. However, I look back and wonder if that would even influence my decision because of the way I was socialized to value prestige over mediocre, universities over community colleges and status over value. I was set on what was perceived as getting the best education at any cost; and I negotiated these terms by following previous footsteps of family members who attended UW. At this moment, I realized that I did not attend UW for my professional aspirations to become a journalists but I attended UW because that was what I was conditioned to do. Next, I highlight my choice to defer my second year of college from UW to attend Bellevue College (BC) as a pivotal moment because I realized my future financial responsibility is going to outweigh the benefits of attending this prestigious institution. Although, I would

College Access Ethnography

later transfer back to UW to earn my bachelors degree but in the meanwhile attending BC allowed me to save on tuition expenses and become a Washington state resident for in-state tuition purposes. At the time, BC was at community college status and did not offer baccalaureate programs and recently, Eastern Washington University (EWU) branch location is housed at the BC campus, providing access to four year degree programs. This is an interesting concept that has been sprouting around Washington state; more public universities are partnering with community colleges to provide on-campus access to what normally is not offered at the community college level. This allows for a direct pathway for students transitioning from twoyear programs to four-programs and the significant part is that students do not have to leave their backyards. Although I did not come to a fuller understanding of the value of community and technical colleges until my professional experience working in the college system; I was more open to complete a year at BC. During my whole college experience, I worked part-time and found that the community college course offerings were actually more conducive to my work schedule. I was able to take advantage of the evening courses whereas at UW, many of the courses were scheduled during the day. I also experienced smaller class sizes and could navigate the different student support services offices quickly since they were in the same area. My experience at BC started a trickle of change of how I viewed community colleges and I wanted to share that with all college bound students. However, I found that the community college environment was less active than UW. It was difficult for me to seek-out peers that I could identify with because I was not aware of the student engagement opportunities. I felt like the main objective for most of my community college peers was to attend class and scurry to their next agenda item, so there was not much ways to connect with other students.

College Access Ethnography

Privilege and Opportunity Reflection As I reflect on my college pathway experiences, I recognize both privileges and opportunities that lend to my educational attainment. I cannot talk about my privileges without addressing set-backs in my life because they have also paved opportunities for me as well. One seminal piece to my college pathway was receiving federal aid such as the Pell Grant and Federal Subsidized Loans; these were essential in accessing college for me since I would not have been able to afford college expenses. It is unfortunate that this type of aid is awarded to those families most in need because there are families who barely make the margins and do not have the same opportunity as I had. However, I juxtapose my socio-economic class to my academic ability and find that I was at an advantage from the help I received from high school teachers and staff and access to a college network. I was lucky to have a career specialist on my high school campus for a few days out of the week where I was able to spend my time working on college applications and access college information. I was also lucky to receive nominal support from teachers and staff at my high school as well as family support. I was also able to take advantage of academic programming like electrical vehicle competition, yearbook and accelerated courses. More importantly, I think my teachers put in a lot of care into each of us individually which made learning and being successful much easier when I knew someone believed in my abilities. When I think of the role of the Student Affairs professional, I am reminded of this same idea of care, support and believing in the students abilities. My experiences at UW with the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) showcased these attributes. I first met representatives from this office at an on-campus fair and they were the most welcoming people there. This office provided resources and a safe space for me to feel comfortable. I felt like I belonged with my

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peers and valued as a student. As an emerging Student Affairs professional, I hope to embody some of the characteristics that the OMA staff had impressed me with. It is our role to welcome students but also to advocate and help navigate the system for them because, like my experiences, I would have changed some choices in my college pathway if I had more information. It is our job to inform students of their options and many pathways available to them. We should serve as a resource rather than a barrier to students and we have to be aware of how our own experiences have shaped our choices. It is so easy to tell students what we think is right or wrong but that is a decision that students can make if they are equipped with the proper information and resources. College preparation and access needs to start at a younger age and the family needs to be involved in the process to fully engage all students of different cultures.