Source: Emory Student Athletic and Academic Center. Digital image. BDG Group. BDG Group, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Source: Me
My WorkplaceI decided to pick my workplace as my artifact because I felt that it was more relatable to first-generation students as not everyone is a 1915 Scholar, nor do all first-gen students use the lending library from the Office of Student Success Programs and Services. Furthermore, as research indicates that about half of first-generation students are low-income, most students participate in work-study to help better support themselves financially as the family often does not have enough to contribute.
Since it is unknown what percentage of Emory students are first-gen, there is no exact figure for what percent of them participate in work-study. However, based on the information presented in the interviews and in my research, first-gen students mainly go to college for their families, compared to non-first-gen students, who mainly go to college for themselves. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2014 the median earnings of millennials with a bachelor's degree ($49,900) were 66 percent higher than the median earnings of millennials that have completed only high school ($30,000). The median earnings of college graduates were even higher than the median earnings of those without a high school diploma($25,000), being nearly double. Therefore, since people with or without high school diplomas tend to make less than college graduates, this means that a significant number of first-gen students are not able to afford college. This is especially true for Emory, which bills upwards of $23,650.00 for just tuition alone, which is often covered by financial aid, along with $6743 for housing and meal plans, the latter of which is non-negotiable for freshman, since all first-year students must purchase the "unlimited" meal plan, not to mention that there's $327 in fees, not including the $205 from the orientation and transcript fees, as well as $1,582.00 in student health insurance plus any additional out of pocket costs. And this is only for ONE SEMESTER. Therefore, first-gen students often have to go to work to support themselves and their families. In order to buffer the costs of next semester(and subsequent semesters), I decided to seek a job. However, after going to the job fair at the beginning of school, I had to go through about 10 applications unable to decide how to approach them, whether it'd be managing the time to craft 10 separate resumes or even what to put on them. Furthermore, I had to balance schoolwork on top of those worries. Fortunately for me, I managed to get a job through Dean Newby at the Office of Academic Advising and Supports Programs in the SAAC without much competition, since the job is not publicly listed. However other students have to go through interviews, possibly more than one, which could cut into time as they must not only have to wait and be interviewed, but often they must prepare for their interview(s). |