From the Daily Northwestern, I'm Erica Schmidt, and this is episode 7 of Digital Diaries, a weekly podcast following what students are doing and asking two students one question about life at Northwestern. This week's question is, what is your experience as a low-income student at Northwestern? Weinberg freshman Megan Lin identifies as first-generation and or low-income, also known as FIGLI. She said one of the recent struggles she faced was figuring out whether the school insurance policy would cover all of her medical expenses.
I had a lot of questions at times. I didn't really know who to ask. For example, a few weeks ago, I was having a panic attack and some people were telling me you should go to the hospital and whatnot. But like, because of how clueless I was with like how my insurance would work out and whatnot, I would be able to like pay for it, so I like pay for like the risk.
I just like was refusing to and so that was one thing that came up already. Lin said it has been hard to connect with students who don't identify as FIGLI. Just can't really relate to some of the things that people are talking about, where like, sometimes I see like students talking about like, oh, how they got to go home for like Thanksgiving, whatnot. I see people who go home on a plane every other week, and I'm like, how do you afford that?
And through these conversations, Lin noticed some differences between her and other students who come from more privileged backgrounds. As I come in here, I feel like there's a lot of times I feel out of place and I'm like, wow, everyone's parents are like professors or like doctors or whatnot. And then like my parents, they're just like cooks. I guess how special I would share about like how some other students, they would have like internships because they had connections where I'm like, I don't really have that.
And I didn't know what to expect academically. I feel like some people, when they go into college, they already like have like a game plan or like they're told, oh, this is what you should look out for, or like they're given like tips on how to survive, but I'm just kind of like winging it, I guess. While at home, Lin helped her parents out with the cooking, but now in college, she's unable to do so. However, Lin said she participates in work study to cover her expenses, so she doesn't have to ask her parents for money and is still able to lend a helping hand.
I'm grateful that like I'm able to find a like work study job that like pays pretty decent and it's like not too hard work. So like, it's not too stressful for me to balance with my schoolwork, but I just think about like sometimes like how, for example, my roommates, they don't have to work. And a lot of people I know, like, they don't really have to work, but like, I have to work and sometimes that conflicts with my schedule of when I like hang out with people and whatnot. Lin expressed that she also notices a difference in her college experience through the clothing she wears and her dorm room appearance.
I wear like the same clothes. I don't have a lot of clothing. And so like when it gets cold, I can't just change my wardrobe. I would just have to like layer a bunch of them and wash my laundry like every other day.
I'm in a triple. It's like I have two roommates. And sometimes it makes me like really think both of them, like they have a lot of like decorations and whatnot. And my side of the room is I don't have money to buy decorations for my corner.
If I did, like if I'm really close, I would prioritize this. I'm trying to like prioritize getting some clothing or getting some food first. Lin participated in the summer academic workshop or SAW over the summer, a three-week program to acclimate Figley students to NU. This allowed her to connect with other people who understood her circumstances.
I was able to like find some community and like other students that went through the same struggles as me. And they also gave me like free veggies and water bottles in a backpack. So that was nice. Even when it gets tough, Lin said she was always told getting a degree is a way out of generational poverty, a motivation and reminder to herself while she is at NU.
The experiences that I've gotten from my parents and the stories that they've shared, like I still think about it. I still hold with me, whether it be like in a form of gratitude or in a way that like motivates me to get through the quarter. Saspi senior Kashaw Akhtar identifies as a Figley student and is also a QuestBridge scholar. She said her mom got a degree in Pakistan, but when coming to the U.S.
for asylum, she had no experience with the American education system. I never really got the support in terms of like navigating the college experience. Although my mom always kind of drilled it into me. Hey, like you need to get a college degree.
Akhtar's first defining experience as a Figley student at college was in her first year. I had a roommate who came from the same like ethnic background as me. I remember one day she kind of sat me down and she was like, hey, let's tell each other the story of our lives. She's like, yeah, basically I grew up pretty privileged.
I'm kind of just summarizing how I understood from what she was saying. And then it was like the way like I had explained my experiences. She was just really kind of shocked at the differences. And it was also just a really jarring thing that, you know, you can just sit down and be like, hey, let's just tell each other in five minutes what our whole lives are, especially like coming from a background where there have been financial struggles, where I don't have both parents in the household and where it's just one of those things that just felt really off to me.
And there definitely have been other people who are in maybe similar shoes who have kind of not quite understood or acknowledged the difference in my experience. Akhtar said that while there are some issues she has faced, her overall experience has been positive with support from friends and the university. It's just been one of those things where it's like, I don't necessarily look at, hey, like there are a lot of people here who have grown up in better situations than I have and they don't understand my perspective and tend to just be very privileged in how they approach different student issues at the university. Like that's definitely an issue, but I also feel like the defining feature hasn't been like what's lacking, but the fact that I do have friends and just very good people who are willing to advocate for me, who have advocated for me and who also just like care about me and understand where I'm coming from.
Akhtar is the co-president of Quest+, a student organization for Figley students and QuestBridge scholars. She expressed that being a part of the Figley community means a lot to her as she gets to put on inclusive events like an ice cream social during Wildcat Welcome and a Thanksgiving dinner for students who can't go home over the break. Akhtar added that QuestPlus also helped implement Books for Cats, a program providing loan textbooks to students who can't afford them. Being part of that has been just a really amazing thing.
I think something that just reminds me of why I do any of this in the first place or why I even care to talk about my Figley experience is, you know, on my executive board, one member, she's like, yeah, when I came to Northwestern, like I didn't know anyone here. I didn't really know who to reach out to if I needed something, but I knew one thing. I knew to trust Kasha. And I was like, I never really realized that, you know, I mean, like I knew there was impact, but that was just a really heartwarming moment for me.
Do you have any advice for Figley students on campus? There are people that, like, you don't know their story and like people can be going through similar things that you don't know it. So kind of find, like, community. And like, there are so a bunch of resources on campus.
I said just got free like winter coat. They're like the winter gear program. That's really helpful. Akhtar recommends two things.
One is definitely like reach out to the Quest community. I know I'm available always for advice. My whole executive board is the community is really supporting. So just finding those people and being part of that community is important.
I think the other thing is be willing to advocate for yourself. It's going to be hard. There's going to be a lot that's wrong, whether they mess up your financial aid or just people being aggressive or passive aggressive and just not understanding your experiences. There's ways to be polite about it for sure.
And sometimes it calls for just being like, this is my stance. This is who I am. And you can't take that away from me. From the Daily Northwestern, I'm Erica Schmidt.
Thanks for listening to episode 7 of The Daily's Digital Diaries. This episode was reported and produced by me. The audio editor of The Daily Northwestern is Lawrence Price. The digital managing editor is Anjali Mathal.
And the editor in chief is Jacob Fulton. Make sure to subscribe to The Daily Northwestern's podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts or SoundCloud to hear next week's episode on Monday.