Soon

I am the first in my family to go to college. As a matter of fact, I was raised by a single mother who had never gone to school at all. When I started first grade in Korea, I came home and taught my mother what I had learned. Through my education, my mother learned the basics of reading and writing in Korean. When my mother remarried and we emigrated to the United States, we spoke only English at home so that I could learn it faster and my mother could also learn to speak English better. My mother’s marriage soon ended and she became a single mom with 3 kids. She couldn’t read or write English so she worked many long hours as a waitress and raised her kids on less than minimum wage and tips. Although my mother had no formal education, she expected me to make my way to college. I did that. I started at a university, but dropped out for financial reasons. When I started back to college, I went to a community college and graduated with an associate degree. I went on to get a bachelors degree a couple of years later. Thirteen years later, I went back to college to get a graduate degree while being married, working full-time and raising 2 children. It was hard, but well worth the effort. I am now a staff member at Austin Community College and proud to represent students like me who have had to work hard to be where they are. I wholeheartedly support efforts to provide students the opportunities to make a better life for themselves. ACC gives students that chance and I am fortunate to be associated with such a great college. For students who think college is just for the privileged, just look at where I started and where I got. I am ACC.