This piece is dedicated to all the 2016 CUNY graduates - you all inspire me!
May 15 2014 was one of the toughest days of my life. I was 18 years old, struggling with AP classes, prom dresses and my dreaded job as a Cast Member at Chuck E. Cheeses. There was so much going on but I was still expected to make one of the toughest decisions of my life. I had to choose which college I would be attending in the fall. Which institution I will officially enroll in. What door I will enter that is supposedly " the gateway to my future". I had to make a decision that would ultimately impact the rest of my life. I wasn't ready.
As a first generation student I had little to no examples of a college student and how to go about the decision making process. According to all the TV shows with high school age youth - college was a really big deal. You had to pick the right school, get the right scholarship and will be leaving the nest for the first time ever. You'd go away and come back a completely changed person. Going away was exactly what I wanted because it was the only option I thought I had to ensure my college experience was a success.
When I received acceptances from Sage, Fredonia, Manhattanville and other away colleges, I was ecstatic. When I received the financial aid packages my happiness grew - until I did the math. The thousands of dollars and scholarships I was awarded would not get me by. Loans are a curse word in my eyes and my single mom would not have been able to afford my college expenses. Plus, in true Asamia fashion, I began to think of all the things that could go wrong. My job was here. My new born brother and younger siblings were here. I didn't want to be uprooted from my hood and thrown into a class with students who would have a number of preconceived notions about me that I would have to battle every day when I was just trying to copy notes and learn. On top of that, how would I afford all of the amenities and supplies needed to survive in college? My dreams were crushed.
Back to my TV show analogy. The only characters on these shows that stayed home or attended college in city were always the deadbeat brother who had no prospects and no ambition. This image conditioned me into thinking, even though I was accepted to John Jay & Lehman, that those schools were not good enough. The thought of attending either one broke my heart. Regardless , I enrolled in classes at Lehman August 2014.
Soon enough I learned all my reservations about attending college in the city stemmed from the brainwashing mainstream media and society in general had imposed on me and my peers. CUNY schools are seen as less than. CUNY graduates aren't as valued as their counterparts. We are taught that we are receiving a secondhand education when that is not the case. CUNY schools are seen as a backup option and with two years under my belt I know they have far more to offer.
First things first, let’s talk about the 85%. That’s the number of CUNY graduates that leave college debt free. That means that for many of us, we can go to college for four years, get a degree or two and move on with our lives without worrying about the thousands of dollars we owe to the institutions. Since many of us are “broke college students” there are a number of financial support systems that put money into our pockets so that we have even less of a financial burden and can focus on getting our degrees.
Next, for lack of a better word, being a part of the CUNY system is lit! It’s like being in this exclusive club where you always have VIP status. If I am in Brooklyn, I wave my ID and I have access to all Brooklyn college has to offer. When I am in Manhattan and I have a paper due in 4 hours and can’t bother to make the trip back to the Bronx, I can just pull up to John Jay and work there. We have this system where all the CUNY institutions open their doors to students for academic, leisure and recreational purposes. If there is something lacking in your school, you can always find it somewhere else. Especially in regards to student life. CUNY schools aren’t wack- you just have to go out and explore!
I feel another reason why most people shun CUNY schools is because CUNY students aren’t picture perfect. Some of us have kids, some of us are in our 50’s and some of us work multiple jobs. CUNY is the system for the working class. In a CUNY classroom, you are around people who are different from you but are just like you. Our professors understand that living in the city and being us is not easy so they work with us. CUNY is a place where you feel accepted for who you are!
For all my future CUNY students, all of my current and all the students who really don’t want to join a CUNY school – CUNY is not just a backup option. We have so much to offer and there is so much to gain. We are in the job market. We are in the hustle and bustle. We are in the grind. People go away, accumulate so much debt and come back to the city looking for what we have constant access and connection to. We are in the city where our internships and jobs we obtain in our early college years provide gateways to our future.
Don’t get me wrong, going away to college is an experience like no other and should not be discredited neither. However, let’s kill the stigma and misconceptions. Just because they go to Brockport and you go to BMCC, that doesn’t mean they are better than you. There are a number of reasons why students remain in the City for college and that does not speak to their intelligence level or capabilities. Wherever one ends up at for their college career- make the experience worthwhile and try your hardest. Make sure all your decisions are for you and don’t let anyone force you into thinking you failed!
