Bio: 

Belen Rodriguez (she/her/hers) is a fourth year student at the University of Oregon, studying Family and Human Services, Spanish (Language & Society) and Sociology. She is from Los Angeles, California. In her free time, she enjoys going for hikes, cooking and hanging out with friends. She would like to continue her education in Licensure Clinical Social Work, and would like to work with Latinx communities, and victims of domestic violence. 

Before College Advice

Hi everyone my name is Belen Rodriguez, I am a senior at the University of Oregon. I am a double major in Family and Human Services, and Spanish with a concentration in Language and Society and a minor in Sociology. I’d like to discuss what it was like for me during my college experience, but most importantly, how I prepared before beginning. I hope that those who take the time to read these blog posts find them useful in learning about our personal experiences and how you can use what we’ve learned to make yours 100 times better.

First off I want to mention that I am a first generation student. Some of you may wonder what does first generation mean, and I can help answer your question. A first generation student is someone who is the first in their family to continue their education after high school and graduate from any type of college or university. In addition, all children whose parents did not attend college are considered first generation. 

I will talk about my experience as a first generation student, and what makes me applicable as one. I am the first to assist a four year university, as a child, but also as a sibling. I am the oldest sibling to first attend a university. I have to admit that during my four years of high school, I did not take it as seriously the first year and a half. What I mean by didn’t taking it as seriously is that I’m talking about developing a mindset and preparing for life after high school. Don’t get me wrong, all four years of high school, I focused on getting great grades, nothing lower than a B, and if possible straight A’s. Focusing on having great grades, is key for when applying to either a college/four year university, or even an apprenticeship and the army. Your grades demonstrate who you are and how hard you have worked. It wasn’t until the middle of my sophomore year that it hit me, and I realized I needed to start thinking about how and what I could do now, while I still could, to prepare for college.

Even before I was in High school, college was in my plans, but I didn’t start preparing until my second year. You might be thinking, well, it’s not too late, and you are right, but time flies, and it’s never too late to start planning. When I say prepare, I mean start taking classes that will help your knowledge and for when you apply to college. My highschool offered a great amount of college credit courses, and I started taking college credit courses during my junior year. Additionally, I did community service hours, but these I did start my freshmen year, but completed many more hours during my last two years in high school. Thanks to the opportunity of the college classes, I graduated with 34 credits worth of college credits that I transferred to the University of Oregon. This gave me the advantage of finishing my writing courses early, and having some prerequisites completed. Additionally, after my first fall term of my freshmen year, I was a sophomore standing, because of my credits. Lastly, another advantage is that since I transferred many credits, it is what led me to double major and a minor.

 My advice to you during highschool, is to have a positive mindset, and think about what it is that you want to do after highschool. Once you have thought about what it will be, then plan how you will prepare and organize yourself. In your preparation, you should always include the following: 

  • Classes (subject?, College credit, if offered)
  • Community service hours
  • Extracurricular activities/Clubs
  • Meetings with counselors, get to know your counselors
  • Focus on your grades
  • Finish strong

Getting prepared will get you a long way, and it will also help your four years in high school go as smoothly as possible.