{"id":124158,"date":"2021-11-09T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158//?p=124158"},"modified":"2021-11-05T16:42:29","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T20:42:29","slug":"a-victory-for-all-of-us-first-gen-grad-breaks-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158//a-victory-for-all-of-us-first-gen-grad-breaks-barriers/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158//","title":{"rendered":"‘A Victory for All of Us’: First-gen Grad Breaks Barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When first-generation student Theresa Kieu /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201921 crossed the stage to receive her degree in hospitality management from Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, she had never seen her parents/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019 eyes so lit up./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cIt was kind of the first step in breaking that generational curse. …There is no greater feeling. It meant the past four years weren/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019t for nothing /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2014 all that hard work, the late nights, finishing all my assignments during my breaks at work,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d says Kieu. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cIt was all worth it to see my parents watch me do something they/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019d never done. In that moment, I could see that it was about more than just myself /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2014 it was about my entire family. It felt like a victory for all of us./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cIt was kind of the first step in breaking that generational curse. …There is no greater feeling. It meant the past four years weren/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019t for nothing. … It was all worth it to see my parents watch me do something they/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019d never done./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2014Theresa Kieu /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201921/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

Both of Kieu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019s parents immigrated to the United States from Vietnam as teenagers, her mom at 13 and her dad at 16. With large families in need of their support, college never felt like an option. Kieu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019s mother graduated from high school. For her father, life got in the way of earning his diploma. They opened salons in Melbourne, instilling in Kieu the value of hard work./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

As Kieu started school, she struggled to feel a sense of belonging. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cGrowing up was really difficult for me when it came to fitting in because English was not my first language. Vietnamese was,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cIt was really difficult for me to make friends and go to school. I felt alone from the beginning./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

Later, Kieu also often felt alone in her goals for the future. Her parents/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019 hopes for her included a stable job and a stable income, but not necessarily higher education./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201c[My parents] wanted me to have a steady job because that/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019s how it was for them when they finished high school. They had to support themselves. They had large families and had to take care of their siblings and be their own parents essentially,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d she says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cWhen I got out of high school, my parents wanted me to get a job first and foremost./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

But Kieu had other plans. She wanted to go to college, and her heart was set on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½. She loved the Orlando area and the many professional development opportunities available through the university./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

With little guidance, navigating the college application process was challenging. And although Kieu wanted to be at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½, it wasn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019t yet financially possible. She eventually heard about DirectConnect to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½ and attended Eastern Florida State College before transferring to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ã½./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

Kieu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019s choice to major in hospitality management was inspired by memories of her parents/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019 hospitality growing up. Her parents/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019 house was /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cthe ultimate entertainment destination,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d where everyone was welcomed and made to feel at home./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n

It was her parents/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u2019 /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201chospitable vibe/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d that enabled them to build a community and a business so many miles from home. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cThat inspired me to go into hospitality,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d says Kieu, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201cbecause hospitality is welcoming all./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/124158/n