Samantha Nelson

Accounting student from Poplar Bluff, Missouri

Being a first-generation college student means a lot to me because I am the seventh of nine siblings. Growing up, my family pushed me to excel in my classes because they knew I had a lot of potential, and they wanted me to succeed in life.

I chose to attend UE because as soon as I stepped foot on campus. I felt like I had never left home. The University offered everything that I was looking for, and I just completely fell in love with it.

A challenge I've faced is that sometimes I feel like no in my family knows what I'm going through. They haven't done anything like what I'm doing, so they don't know how to feel about some triumphs and struggles that I go through while being away from home. I think that I overcome this by talking to them as much as possible and trying to be as completely transparent as I can be.

I feel like UE has completely supported me as a first-gen student, as I received so much help from so many different people. I had a lot of trouble reaching out for help when I first got here as a freshman, but now, I have built such a strong support system with different faculty members that want to see me succeed.

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to go to college. I come from a big family, and none of my older siblings attended school, so I knew I wanted to be the first. I've always been more academically inclined, so I feel like college was the best option for me instead of picking up a trade and going directly into the workforce. There's nothing wrong with that, but I just knew in my heart that it wasn't for me.

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