This First-Gen College Student Is Becoming a Leader and Making an Impact
Kamela Chandrika, a soft-spoken third-year biomedical engineering major, remembers some of the challenges she faced during her first days at NJIT — like going to the Bursar’s Office to pay her tuition bill, but not knowing how to fill out a check.
Even before arriving at the university she faced school-related hurdles, particularly in navigating the application and financial aid processes. Filing a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), for instance, proved frustrating because she did not know what information she needed to complete it. And while her parents were very supportive of her goal to pursue higher education, they were unfamiliar with the steps required to do so — a common scenario for students like Chandrika who are the first in their family to attend college.
“It was a little hard, because you’re trying to explain to your parents this is what I need to do,” recalled Chandrika, while taking a short break from her work-study job at NJIT’s Student Life–Office of Diversity and Inclusion (she also does work-study in the Advising Success Center). “It’s a lot for one person, but I was able to figure it out and here I am now.”
One resource at NJIT that has helped her acclimate and thrive is First Fellows, an organization designed to provide the university’s first-gen college students with valuable advice and support. Chandrika has become an informal mentor through the organization, connecting with other first-gen students via social media to offer guidance in choosing classes and buying textbooks, among other matters. She is also integrally involved in First Fellows’ bid to become an official student club, and will serve on the e-board once the Student Senate approves its submission to be recognized as such.
“It’s a good community to have,” she said of First Fellows.
Chandrika is the oldest of four children in her family. Her parents came to the U.S. in the 1990s from Guyana, where her dad taught accounting in high school, a position that did not require a college degree. He and her mother settled in Piscataway, N.J., and now own a deli there, a business to which she and her siblings have lent quite a hand over the years.
“That was my childhood basically, in the deli,” Chandrika said with a laugh.
She describes herself as having been a quiet child, brought up to respect her elders. It was her enduring interest in science and family’s experience with heart disease that prompted her to choose biomedical engineering as her area of study. She applied to some 10 colleges, ultimately choosing NJIT for its proximity to home (although she lives on campus) and her acceptance into the biomed program. The fact that her parents felt comfortable with the campus after a tour and new-student orientation (NSO) clinched it.
In addition to First Fellows, Chandrika’s extracurricular activities at the university include the NSO team and the Lambda Tau Omega multicultural sorority, for which she is the secretary, programming chair and public relations officer. She is on track to graduate in 2021 and will then most likely go for her master’s degree, with aspirations to do research and development in cardiology. She is seeking an internship for this summer and looks forward to NJIT’s Spring 2020 Career Fair to learn about prospects and share her experience with other first-generation college students.
“In a sense you could say it’s being a role model, but it’s [really] just like a sense of accomplishment that, wow, I was able to help someone progress,” remarked Chandrika about assisting her fellow first-gens, including her sisters, one of whom is at Ramapo College for nursing and the other a pre-med student at Penn State. “Even if it’s a small thing, I know I made a difference.
“Being a first-generation college student means being the first … setting your own path. … Your parents gave you the opportunity to come here, so it’s what you do with your opportunity [that’s important to realize success],” she said, her voice then cracking with emotion and tears springing to her eyes as she spoke about how hard her parents worked to ensure she and her siblings could attend college.
She advises first-generation college students at NJIT to step out of their comfort zone. “Join an organization, try to help others, be a leader in your community, because those little small things will contribute to your character at the end of the day.” And one more thing: Get involved with First Fellows.
Nov. 8 is First-Generation College Celebration, sponsored by the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Center for First-generation Student Success. The date for the annual observance honors the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965. Among other components of the act, HEA introduced programs “necessary for postsecondary access, retention, and completion for low-income, potential first-generation college graduates.” Every year, approximately one-third of NJIT freshmen are first-generation college students.