STUDENTS
In May, Katie Crutchfield receives a bachelorâs degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She plans to pursue a masterâs degree in counseling and work with older adults.
NO. 1 IN FAMILY
First to earn more than a high school diploma By Katie Crutchfield (as told to Chuck Wasserstrom)
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very first-generation college student has a story to tell. Mine happens to be a bit complicated. I spent my pre-teen years as an only child living in Nashville. My dad made it to second grade in school before quitting to help his family. My mom made it to eighth grade, then she quit and ran away and got married. Yeah, it was a whole thing. My mom ended up going back to get her GED. School was very important to her. I remember her asking me questions like, âHave you done your homework? Do you need help with your homework? Iâll help you with what I can.â She was always telling me, âCollege will be the best thing for you.â My dad laid block foundation and did enough math to make sure his houses didnât fall over. He worked with his hands and did what he could, but he didnât read well. My dad couldnât teach me to read, but he helped me with spelling words and things like that to kind of push me. âHey, you can do this. Even though we didnât, you can.â But my dad passed away when I was 8 years old. My mom passed away when I was 13. I moved to the little town of Greenbrier, Tennessee, just north of Nashville, to live with my aunt and uncleâmy momâs brother and his wifeâand their two sons. They are my cousins, but weâre so close theyâre more like siblings to me. Just like my parents, my aunt and uncle pushed me to get an education, even though they didnât graduate high school. Growing up, it never occurred to me that no one in my family had a high school diploma. I was an honor roll student in high school, the kid that went to school all the time, never missed a day, was upset when we didnât have school. I was always academically focused. So it was more than an assumption with my family that I would be the one to go to college. People in my family would tell me, âGo get a bachelorâs degree. Everybody needs a bachelorâs degree.â Itâs easy to say, but nobody really knew what college looked like.
When I first came to UTC, I didnât realize I was a first-generation student. I didnât know that was a thing. I thought you just went to college or you didnât. I didnât realize that having parents go to school made a difference in how prepared you were. And I struggled after I got here. College can be confusing and scary for anyone. Anything that says âThe University of...â is a little intimidating when no one you lean on has any background there. I would call my aunt and uncle and tell them Iâm struggling, and they tried to be reassuring. âYouâre working so hard. Youâre going to do fine. It will be all right.â But they didnât understand what it was like. Many in first-gen deal with generational curses such as the cycles of poverty, low education rates and low graduation rates. A lot of us come from families where that is the norm. Once I started working with people in the First Gen program at UTC, it helped me find my spot on campus. I wanted to be part of a group of people who understood what it was not to know anything. I went head first into it, and I really blossomed. Even now, where Iâm worried about exit exams, GREs (Graduate Record Examination) and MATs (Miller Analogies Test), I continue to lean on that guidance and mentoring. They have provided me with a feeling that I belong.
When I started college, I wanted to make my family proud. Getting my bachelorâs degree is a big deal for me, but itâs also a big deal for them, a matter of pride to show this family is capable of something. Both of my brothers have teenage daughters, and one of the biggest motivations to finish my degree has been to show them they can do anything they want regardless of what their parents did.
I worked hard to get this bachelorâs degree, but it shouldnât go without saying that I donât know where I would beâthe degree that Iâll be receiving, the job that Iâm going to go intoâhad I not gone through what I have been through.
Left to right, back row: Scott Tuskey (my boyfriend), John Brogdon Jr. (my uncle), Justin Brogdon (middle brother), John Brogdon III (oldest brother); middle row: me, Amanda Marshall (Justinâs wife), Teresa Brogdon (my aunt), Heather Ferrell (John IIIâs wife); bottom row: Chasity Brogdon (John III and Heatherâs daughter), Francis Christianson (Teresaâs mom), Kendra Brogdon (Justin and Amandaâs daughter).
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