Cohort Stories: Meet Malaika
Boston: vol. 7, no. 60 — guest post by Malaika Ngigi
To start off, I am both a first-generation college student and American with my family having immigrated here from Kenya in the 1990s. Up until graduation, I attended predominantly white institutions where I was among the 4% or less minority. Attending a PWI, felt as though it was a burden, but in time, I recognized that it was a privilege and a blessing that my family worked hard to provide. Being Kenyan-American is a part of my background that I am very proud of because I can identify with two different cultures. Being a first-generation student is also something that I am proud of because I can say that my sister and I are the first college graduates in our family. and I have the privilege to set up my future on my own terms.
Specifically with Hack.Diversity, I’m motivated to know that I’ll be in a space where I’ll be supported and surrounded by people with similar backgrounds.
Growing up, I was always told the only path to pursue was the medical field. As time went on, I was able to convince my family to allow let me to venture into the business field like my grandmother. They only advocated for fields in which they had examples where other family members succeeded, and technology was not included. I was always interested in technology, and after the quarantine period of Covid-19, my family understood the importance of technology and I used that as my opportunity to propose I do more with it. I was halfway through with my Hospitality major, so I decided to minor in Information Technology, and it was one of the best decisions I made. I learned that not only was I fully capable of doing the work it, but I finally found something that challenged me in a good way.
I’m motivated by various reasons, but mostly by the prospect of my future. I realize that the opportunities that I’ve had were privileges bestowed upon me through my mother’s hard work and sacrifice. I want to be able to give myself a future deserving of that and be able to help others as well. Specifically with Hack.Diversity, I’m motivated to know that I’ll be in a space where I’ll be supported and surrounded by people with similar backgrounds. At UMass, it was quite the opposite which motivated me to finish college quickly and leave, which wasn’t for the right reasons. I was happy to be done with college and proud that I earned my bachelor’s degree in 2.5 years, but I lacked a community. I am confident that this won’t be the case with Hack.Diversity and that is motivating to me.
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