Follow Briani, Conner, and Jacklynn as they experience going through their first year of college as first-generation students during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Briani shoulders growing up from a low-income household and while she knows she will face many things like imposter syndrome and the fear of not living up to her family's expectations, she finds there are many other big, unexpected challenges she must face. Conner bears the brunt of responsibility in his household and sees college as a chance to be independent, but after the pandemic forces all students to return home, he realizes that being around his friends and family is a bittersweet reality. Jacklynn has decided to take the non-traditional route for college and go to community college and work part time from home. But soon she finds that trying to find a balance between school, family and personal relationships is harder than it looks. These stories speak to the unseen challenges and amount of perseverance that young adults face in an unbalanced world, sure to spark conversation.
Jennifer Miller is an author and journalist who has written five books including The Heart You Carry Home and The Year of the Gadfly and is a regular contributor to the New York Times and the Washington Post. She has reported extensively on teenagers, and campus life as well as disenfranchised communities and the rural working class. Miller teaches writing and journalism at Columbia University. She is a Washington, DC native who currently lives in Brooklyn and lives with her husband and two sons.
Elizabeth Sislen is the English department chair at the Edmund Burke School and is the co-owner of Shaw Yoga.
Ages 12+
