Congratulations, you have been admitted! Now what?

The YouTube channel of Victoria Asbury, who goes by Victoria Shantrell on her channel, was an important part of my college application process. Her videos were inspirational to me because she talked about her being able to get accepted to Stanford, Princeton and other top schools despite the conditions in which she grew up. Coming from a financially unstable, single-parent household, as discussed in her personal essays, which she was brave enough to share on YouTube, Asbury had a life that many thought would lead her into a future of mediocrity. Despite these circumstances, however, her ambitions as a student allowed her to excel academically and to gain acceptances to these top-tier universities.

Listening to Asbury’s story as a senior in high school who was applying to college, I was able to gather up the courage to put myself out there and to apply to some top schools in the United States as well. Had I not encountered her videos, I probably would not have even considered applying to some of the schools that I did.

To many people who come from privileged backgrounds, applying to top schools may be a natural step. With family, friends and teachers believing in and expecting them to be accepted to these schools, these students are brought up in an environment that fosters this idea of academic excellence. However, students from underprivileged backgrounds, even if they are smart enough to be accepted, might still feel as though they are underqualified because they are made to believe that their socioeconomic status is a permanent boundary keeping them from a life of prosperity and success.

I believe it is very important for those of us who are now attending these top schools despite our adverse backgrounds to continue to act as a reminder of the possibilities one can achieve despite these backgrounds. These reminders can be as bold as sharing our stories to the public as Asbury did, or as simple as keeping in touch with some students from our old high schools via social media. However we choose to do so, it is important for us to share our stories so that we could continue to inspire those who come from similar environments as we did.

But the struggle does not automatically end the moment we are accepted. As discussed in anotherarticleI wrote, as well as anarticlepublished by theBoston Globe, low-income students continue to face struggles even when they are accepted to these top schools.

As student Soraya Morales Nuñez ’18 so eloquently stated on herphotofor the Princeton Hidden Minority Council photo campaign: “Just because I’m a first-generation, low-income student at Princeton doesn’t mean I don’t have problems at home anymore. The problems are still there — an acceptance letter doesn’t make them vanish. But I’m not running away from them. I’m preparing myself to confront them with a degreethree years from now.” This quote encapsulates the struggles that come with being a low-income, first-generation student at a prestigious university. We, unlike many of our peers, do not have the luxury of being just a student. We also have to constantly worry about providing for our family back home.

The issues that low-income, first-generation students face demonstrate the need for graduates from these universities who come from similar backgrounds to help guide these students. At schools like Princeton, it is so easy to feel as if you are not good enough, especially when we are surrounded by students who have had resources to prepare them for such rigor as they grew up. It is important to have people who have been through college to act as inspirations for us throughout our time here.

That is why events such as those hosted by Vice President for Campus Life Cynthia Cherrey, in which students get to have dinners with faculty who came from low-income backgrounds, are essential to the life of these students. We need to be reminded that the underprivileged lives to which we are accustomed are not what we will experience forever. And I feel that I have an implicit obligation after graduation to continue to keep in mind those who still are enduring the struggles that I am currently facing now. I do not want to be that person who forgets where they come from and those who could benefit from my help.

Nothing is more frustrating than learning that there are successful people who come from these underprivileged backgrounds who do nothing to contribute to communities similar to the ones in which they grew up. Something as simple as sharing how one transitions from poverty to success is extremely valuable and helps to inspire those who need help reminding themselves about their capabilities to succeed.