Victoria Alongi

Second-year student Ana Ruiz studies for her math class outside the Jobe lounge on September 14, 2023.

When students walk through the doors of Elgin Community College, they come with a common goal in mind: getting an education. But why? While they share a common end goal, what brought them here? For some people, it may just be a transition to a university, while others follow in their family’s footsteps in career choice.

A New Legacy

Third-year student Erica Michareune came to ECC not only with hopes of becoming a dental hygienist but also to fulfill a wish her parents had asked of her.

“They always encouraged me and my brother to do much better than they did when they were our age here in America,” said Michareune. 

Michareune’s father immigrated to the United States from Lao in 1980, followed by her mother in 2000. Upon arrival, they had to start from scratch.

“My dad didn’t know any English, nor did my mom; it was hard for them to adapt to a new surrounding,”said Michareune. “Given that their education from Lao didn’t transfer well, they basically had to start from ground zero and gain GEDs.”

Michareune will be the first in her family to attend college and she’s not alone; 56% of all undergrad students in the U.S. are first-generation students.

This has led to pressure from her parents to succeed, which eventually turned into having accountability for herself.

“Ever since my dental assisting program, I always hold myself accountable a lot just so I can show my parents I’m committed and my future employers [that] I’m committed,” said Michareune. “Show myself I can commit myself to what I want to do, which is my end goal of being a dental hygienist,” said Michareune.

For the Greater Good

Second-year student and first-generation college student Ana Ruiz is working towards her bachelor’s degree in human services and family development.

“I would be the first person to actually attend college and the first person to get a degree so there’s a lot of pressure from my mom and obviously myself because I don’t want to see myself fail,” said Ruiz.

The pressure set by both herself and her mom caused a delay in Ruiz’s academic career, with her waiting a few years after graduating high school to start college.

“That [pressure] is kind of the reason I didn’t go to college for three years,” she said. “I took a break for two to three years and just did my own thing. There was a time limit put on me after a little bit. Besides the pressure and being made to feel bad, it’s also the fact [my mom] wanted it so bad.”

When Ruiz started back at school, she decided that a career in human services was best suited for her.

“The career I’m going into does not pay very well at all,” Ruiz said. “The whole point of it is to basically afford my living and I’m just going in to help other people, other children specifically.”

There was a bit of pushback from her mom, seeing as it wasn’t as well-paying as the nursing career her mother intended for her. The median income for a nurse in 2022 was $81,220, whereas the median income for a social worker was $55,350.

For Ruiz, the money is secondary.

“I think I’m doing it more for myself because I have talked to my mom about this; originally she wanted me to be a nurse and I said no,” said Ruiz. “I told her how much I would make and she said how it’s not really a living…everyone else says the same thing. But I know that’s not the reason I’m going into it anyways- [the money] doesn’t matter.”