Video Interviews
These interviews feature community college graduates (and near graduates) and first-generation students reflecting on their academic journeys in their own words. Each video offers insight into the motivations, challenges, and decisions that shaped their experience—from first-day anxiety to choosing majors, managing work and school, and building relationships on campus. You’re invited to listen deeply, pause where something resonates, and share these stories with students or colleagues who may benefit from them. When viewing these interviews, please:
Do not download, repost, or share the videos outside of this site.
Approach the stories with the same care and respect you would in a face-to-face conversation.
Thank you for helping protect and honor the voices of our students.
There are two ways to navigate the video library.
To get to popular themes or to return back to the full video library, use the “skip to” feature below.
To follow smaller themes, note that each video post has tags listed at the bottom of the description page. Click on a tag to get to other videos with the same tag.
Click on the student’s photo to get to their full interview.
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Selena
OVERCOMING ANXIETY AND ENGINEERING HER OWN SUCCESS
Selena graduated with an AS in science in 2016. At the time of this interview, she was majoring in electrical engineering at University of Illinois in Champagne. Selena’s parents grew up in Mexico and did not have access to education; her “big why” for attending college is to honor her father. She also traces her motivation back to a childhood memory, which showed her the importance of education. Selena’s biggest tip for incoming students is to learn about fixed versus growth mindset. Selena speaks highly of the help she got for her test-taking anxiety at the Wellness Center. She also used a number of other resources including office hours and tutoring.
Alexis
FINDING SUPPORT AND A NEW PERSPECTIVE THE SECOND TIME AROUND
Alexis graduated from Harold Washington College in the Spring of 2014 with a concentration in social work. She plans to return to school to get a degree in early childhood education. She is a first-generation college student. After high school, she went away to a four-year college, but ended up dropping out because when she hit an academic obstacle, she didn’t know to reach out to others for support and ended up feeling isolated. When she restarted at the City Colleges, she came with a new perspective and now considers asking for help to be a necessary part of being a successful college student. Alexis found the Writing Lab, and her classmates to be helpful resources.