Joysa Fajardo
What was your attitude about college as you entered Highline? What was y our motivation for entering school? What was your former education experience?
I never understood why some people had to give College a second thought. Being born in Philippines and growing up around Filipino culture, I’ve been convinced that getting a college education will be the only way for me to get a good job. Not only that, but a person who has never graduated from college seem to be frowned upon by my relatives.
At the end of my senior year in High School, I was bombarded with college applications from different universities. I wasn’t even sure of what to major in yet and so I ran out of time. My mom advised that attending a community college would be fine since I could eventually transfer into a four-year college.
Honestly, I hated high school. It felt like one of those 9-5 jobs I had to be at every day. There were some classes that taught me a lot and some that was really pointless but then again, I learned what I wanted with my life through those classes. I was looking forward to my college classes because I was able to sign up for classes that I really wanted to take and in a schedule where it didn’t feel like a 9-5 job.
What cultural or economic obstacles did you face? Were there certain expectations at home? Or from your group of friends? Who did you know that had graduated from college?
During my freshman year at Highline, I started taking my pre-requisites and at the same time realizing I have another passion in life I wanted as a career. The only problem was I’d have to switch from taking an AA Program into an AAS Program. Which meant I wouldn’t be able to transfer into a University just like I had planned. This didn’t go very well with my mom when I brought it up.
Since both my parents graduated from a four-year University with a major degree, they want me to take the same steps as they did. Everyday they would keep asking about my studies and what good would I get out of the Associate of Applied Science (AAS) Program. My mom also kept mentioning how I just wasted my first year of college since I will end up not needing any of those credits that I have taken.
I started asking around about the benefits of the two-year programs. Eventually, I explained to my mom that I would continue taking my Associate of Arts Program credits, and hope to get into the Computer Science program at the University of Washington. I explained to my mom my idea of graduating from Highline with at least one degree, so I can work while working my way into the program at UW. She found it interesting and finally agreed to support me in my decision.
If you can think one moment, one time here at Highline when something “clicked” for you – could you describe it/ Tell me the story of a particular moment/incident/activity/reading when you felt “connected” to your academic life.
When I first read the brochure for the Interactive Media Program, it listed most of the things I have been doing outside of school as a hobby. It also included some of the things I’ve been meaning to try but never had the time or the chance to do so. My first quarter in the program was suspenseful since I wasn’t sure if I made the right choice of registering for the program. But my first IMP class gave me an eyeful of what was ahead and I knew that I was in the right place with the right people. The professors were very helpful and so were my classmates. I started learning things I never knew and started learning more about things that I’ve known. If there were a relationship between a student and classes, I’d say, “I think I fell in love”. The classes I’ve taken, and are taking, seem to be telling me that I have made the right decision.
Joysha is currently student at Highline Community College
