College as a Safe Haven: A Student from Princeton University

Rafael is a sophomore at Princeton University where he’s majoring in politics. He is the second in the “College as a Safe Haven” series, where college students discuss ways college provided a refuge for them, ways they could have done better, and offer advice to high school seniors thinking about post-secondary education. Stories like Rafael’s are personal to me as a homeless first generation college student, which is why I hope you will read, share, and understand that college is different for students like us.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Rafael about his college transition and the first thing he mentioned was the Freshman Scholars Institute:

“I’ll say that I was lucky over the summer last year, for my freshman year I moved in July and took two college classes before the semester started. It helped me meet people, make friends and learn my way around. It was still a little rough by September, because the students in the summer program were mostly first generation and it was difficult to deal with adjusting to certain types of people. I enjoyed hearing their opinions and the ways they think, but some people rubbed me the wrong way.”

Rafael shared with me the struggle of transitioning from parental control to college life, being honest about the temptation going out with friends on the weekend posed. Finding boundaries gave him balance and he finished his school year strong.

After being asked about his motivation for going to college, he explained:

“My motivation, overall, was personal but it was also for my parents. I wanted to do something I would love. My mom worked in manufacturing and my dad worked with a skill set but it was dangerous. To see them work so hard just to live made me want to see my options. They’re both immigrants and didn’t have that growing up.” He followed by saying, “A small part of that was a couple of my high school friends that planned to go to college. Positive reinforcement helped me say that ‘yes, I do want to go to college and get the hell out of my hometown.”’

I inquired further on his desire to leave home and he said:

“College provided a safe haven for me because going there I had resources and was able to make open minded friends who tried to understand and get to know me. They accept me for who I am. For example, being gay is looked down on in my hometown. There are a few people my age but most look down on it.”

He continued by discussing his school climate.

“At my university I can be as open as I want and there are only a few times I see sneers…Also, I can express myself the way I want to with my political views. Even though it’s a safe haven, I’m not certain it’s the best place for political discourse. With the exception of intolerant views, we need to respect and protect the ability for everyone to hold their political views.”

This begged the question: how could your college have better helped you?

“College could have better advertised resources. I had exposure through the summer program I did, but still was unaware of other resources. I was lucky in the sense that I got to learn certain resources but there were some I didn’t understand or had misconceptions of, for example, counseling. I avoided it fall semester then successfully went and continued going in the spring. Asking myself, ‘why did I not go sooner?’ So, college definitely could have helped better dispel the misconceived ideas or stigma around counseling.”

Finally, I asked, what he would tell a recent high school graduate about successfully making the transition to college.

“I would say, ‘Buckle your seat belts, it’ll be a tough one.’ Overall, you’re going to face challenges and either way you’re going to have to confront them. The key to overcoming is to reach out to the available resources, like your class deans. Secondly, everyone wants to be social, but the best thing you can do is join as many things as you can. Explore your passions and experience exposure to different people then narrow it down based on your enjoyment and schedule. It helps to ease the transition and you may find lifelong friends.”

Rafael’s interview is the second in a series conducted by me, Student Voice’s Chief Storyteller, in hopes of motivating & aiding young people to pursue postsecondary education & training. Know a student I should interview? Email me! Want to learn more about access & affordability? Read the Student Bill of Rights.