“How To College” is a podcast featuring resources and support for first generation high school, college students, and college graduates as well as their parents. The founders (Norma, Joseph, Luz, Mijin) launched the podcast as a way to help demystify the college admissions process and experience. With more than 40 episodes, the podcast also features the experiences of undocumented students (with or without DACA). This includes conversations about navigating college while undocumented and the experience of adjusting one’s immigration status (Episodes 22 and 29). How To College recently released an episode featuring Carolina (Founder of My Undocumented Life), which includes information of how to apply to graduate school while undocumented.

In this post, we are excited to share with you more about the How To College podcast from one of the founders (Norma) who is a first generation college student. Norma grew up undocumented in Texas. In 2013, she became the first one in her family in to graduate from college and then obtained two master’s degrees from Rice University (MBA) and Harvard University (MPP). As a tri-sector leader, Norma has spent the last seven years consulting with numerous non-profits, businesses, and governmental agencies on their vision, expansion strategy, fundraising tactics, and transactions. She currently works at E&Y- Parthenon as a Strategy and Transactions Consultant.

• What motivated you to launch the How to College: First Gen podcast?

We created this podcast because we know how hard it is to be a first-generation college student. We often talk about things we wished we knew much earlier in the process and how great it would be to hear from other first gens. Through our podcast, we hope to democratize education by providing opportunities, resources, and support to navigate the college journey through first gen narratives highlighting the experiences of current high school and college students, college graduates, and parents. More than anything, we want other first-generation college students to know that they are not alone. Their educational journey will have good days and bad days; there will be sacrifices and moments of victory that will ultimately define who they are meant to be in this world.

• What do you hope undocumented high school students in particular will be able to learn from the podcast?

In the podcast, we highlight many undocumented/ DACA narratives because it is a big part of my identity. I went to college extremely afraid to tell anyone about my immigration status, and I often felt so alone in the process knowing that I had to navigate being the first one on top of dealing with my immigration situation. My hopes are that high school undocumented students are not only inspired by hearing other people with similar backgrounds, but they also learn the “know-how” on how to navigate this very complex education system. Additionally, I hope they utilize the resources that come with each episode and can be found on our website. We hope students enjoy our episodes and never feel alone in their quest to change their trajectory via education.

To learn more about the How To College podcast and stay tuned for upcoming episodes, check out their official website: How To College: First Gen.

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At My Undocumented Life we provide up-to-date information and resources for undocumented immigrants and allies. We post scholarship opportunities that are open to undocumented students, strategies for navigating the educational system, information on how to apply for DACA/Advance Parole, news on DAPA, and much more. Most importantly, we want to provide a sense of community to our diverse group of readers. Learn more about our work here: “About Us“

Categories: Applying to College, Navigating College

Tags: college, first generation, high school, Immigration, podcast, undocumented