I grew up below the poverty line in a crime- and drug-ridden environment on the city’s west side and was the second person in my family to graduate from high school.
I wasn’t supposed to “make it” and many of my peers didn’t. But at a very early age, I learned that hardships do not define a person’s ability to do great things.
There are many misconceptions about students from Detroit and what we are capable of, especially when we are from less-than-stellar environments and backgrounds. The area where I grew up borders Highland Park and includes the major streets Puritan, Dexter, Linwood, Fenkell and Davison within its bounds. When I share with Detroiters where I’m from, I’m instantly met with shock because it is rare that you meet someone from a community like mine speaking to educational triumph.
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My community is considered to be a “rough” area within the city where only 19.5% of adults 25 or older have acquired an associate’s degree or higher. This area, ZIP code 48238, was also ranked in 2017 as the fifth poorest ZIP code in Michigan and the third poorest in Detroit. Like many Detroit communities, as you can imagine, the odds are typically stacked against those from these environments.
This was the birthplace of my dream to evolve beyond my circumstances and the fuel to the determination that contributed to my success. I have since earned many accolades and reached a professional and financial position that my family is extremely proud of.
Even though my environment and upbringing were challenging as a first-generation, low-income, minority student in pursuit of a college degree, I was simply determined not to give up on myself. I couldn’t afford to go to college given my family’s financial history. I struggled silently with academia in my primary years due to dyslexia and lack of access to educational resources. College was simply not a pathway that people from my community pursued nor experienced much success in, so I didn’t have any outlets to help guide me in my journey. I, however, wanted to break this notion that college is not for those from my environment and that no matter how challenging, impossible and confusing it seemed, I was determined to figure it out.
Now I hold three degrees: a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science, a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration (Management), and a Master of Education (M.Ed) in Educational Psychology – and I no longer have student loan debt which is a huge accomplishment for any adult who pursued postsecondary pathways.
Education stakeholders understand that the essence of success for students is not about where they’re from, their family’s socioeconomic status, or their network. The only thing a student needs to be successful is determination, which is more about their mindsets than what they have or don’t have. With determination, nothing can truly stop a person from accomplishing their goals. It’s cliché to say but a reality that I and many others faced from challenging backgrounds. We must do a better job ensuring that youth not only understand this but also understand how to apply it in their journeys ahead, especially those from low-income, minority communities like those within Detroit. Determination helps reshape mindsets to push through the challenges we know they will endure, allowing them to tap into the resiliency that dwells within.
Many adolescents have dreams of a better life but too often are sidetracked or lose motivation. They are surrounded by messaging within their households, communities and schools – in addition to culturally driven messaging in music and marketing – alluding to shortcuts and easy routes to success. Due to this, they are often defeated when things don’t work out the way they expect or were told, not realizing that no route for them will truly be “easy.” That defeat or feeling of being misled takes them off course, making them believe that their background kept them from achieving their goals instead of the lack of determination to keep going despite the challenges. There were so many times that I wanted to give up because it simply felt impossible to accomplish what I was striving for, being the first in my family to do so. By keeping my eyes on the prize, I was able to push through hard times to be where I am today.
Any pathway for students (not just educational), from these types of environments is going to be met with many complexities and challenges. We must shift away from messaging such as “easier” and “quicker” to gain students’ interests in attempts to encourage and motivate them. This puts them on a hamster wheel trying to find an easy route that will never be their reality. Even in the simplest routes, these students will still face much adversity. By framing messaging as “easy,” students are blindsided by the harsh realities of life because they will still have detours and delays, missteps and hard-learned lessons – even people actively working against them – given the systems they’re required to navigate are not equipped to properly support them.
On these journeys, they will grow weary; they will have days that they want to quit (probably many days), but it’s determination to reach their goals that will help them tap into what they need to see it through. Determination will allow them to utilize the knowledge and resources they do have to overcome what they’ll be faced with and acquire skills that are a necessity for their evolution. Transparency helps strengthen their determination and resiliency and builds an understanding that challenges will come but aren’t the “end” of the road.
Life is filled with ups and downs no matter your background, but one thing is for certain, no one will reach the mountain top if they stop climbing.
Here are three important elements to help students stay focused:
- First, and many times the hardest to conceptualize, the timeline created to accomplish goals may not be the timeline experienced. That should not stop the journey. I graduated college with honors and academically excelled throughout. It still took six years to complete a four-year degree. At the end of my sophomore year, I was informed by my advisor that I was a year behind due to credit accumulation. My schedule however was created each semester by this advisor informing me of the mishap, who was also the director of my program. I was on a four-year scholarship at a private institution. There was no way I would’ve been able to afford an additional year at a $45,000-per-year institution to complete my degree, which I was reminded of by my advisor while being informed that I was behind. Many students who are positioned this way would have quit or pushed to that last year, unable to finish because of affordability. I refused for this to be my fate. Through self-advocacy, I was able to get my scholarship extended through graduation. Don’t let the timeline that was mapped out be a deterrent or reason to quit. Keep pushing until the goal is achieved, not the deadline you set for yourself. If I had given up because it wasn’t in the time I anticipated, I would not be where I am today. Timelines created should not be considered final rather a flexible guide.
- Second, no one person nor entity can truly defeat them. Even when students feel their back is against the wall, there are always ways to work around, over or through the wall. I never took “no” for an answer. I never saw unanswered calls or emails as a “no.” People’s lack of desire to truly support me and help me understand these systems, even when it was their job to, did not derail my dreams and aspirations. It meant that I needed to find another way. So, if that meant keep pushing until I received the information needed, reaching out to their superiors or powers that be, working with people from other departments and/or spaces willing to help me, or rising in spaces of leadership to push against injustices, then I did.
- Lastly, students should not anchor on the specificity of what is understood to be true in the moment, if the possibility of something different still gets them to the end goal. Similar to the flexibility of timelines, they also should remain open-minded about other changes. My overarching goal was to be financially stable and positioned to help my family and community. I simply didn’t want to live check to check or be a burden to myself or my family. I also wanted to give back to my community and communities alike, specifically youth. The one thing we know to be missing in our communities is money. So I set out to make lots of money, legally, literally and figuratively. I aligned this aspiration with becoming an attorney. I, however, made it to my last year of college and couldn’t bring myself to take my Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). As I was preparing to graduate, I decided I no longer wanted to go to law school, but what did that mean for my life and dreams? The day I graduated, when my family came out proud of my accomplishment, I was internally feeling like a failure because I no longer wanted to pursue law, which I had spoken of since the third grade. I was reminded that day why I was on this journey. It was for my family and my community, not to be an attorney. So, I shifted my focus to community development, which later became youth development through education. So, don’t lose sight of your goal because what you thought it would take to accomplish it may not be a reality for you.
Everything that I’ve accomplished in life has been met with hardships and complexities, before, during and after obtaining my degrees but acquiring the skills listed has been advantageous to my journey. I hope this information is helpful and that you’ll stay tuned in the months to come as I have much to share.
Onjila Odeneal is a native Detroiter who leads state policy efforts on higher education access, affordability, and success in Michigan for the Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS). Odeneal formerly worked as the deputy director and acting executive director for the Detroit College Access Network. She has 8 years of experience as a financial aid administrator and assistant director in both public and private institutions in Michigan and out of state. Odeneal is a product of the Detroit Public School system for K-12 and Michigan higher education systems, holding bachelor’s degrees in business administration and political science from University of Detroit Mercy and a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology from Wayne State University.