{"id":44424,"date":"2022-08-23T07:39:59","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T11:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=44424"},"modified":"2022-08-26T07:45:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T11:45:21","slug":"family-first-katherine-crutchfields-journey-to-becoming-a-first-generation-college-graduate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2022\/08\/family-first-katherine-crutchfields-journey-to-becoming-a-first-generation-college-graduate\/","title":{"rendered":"Family first: Katherine Crutchfield\u2019s journey to becoming a first generation college graduate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Katherine<\/a>

Katherine Crutchfield, who received a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology from UTC in May, was interviewed as part of the Innovations in Teaching video series. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

By Katherine Crutchfield (as told to Chuck Wasserstrom)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every first-generation college student has a story to tell. Mine happens to be a bit complicated.<\/p>\n

I spent my pre-teen years as an only child living in Nashville. My dad made it to second grade in school before quitting to help his family. My mom made it to eighth grade, then she quit and ran away and got married. Yeah, it was a whole thing.<\/p>\n

My mom ended up going back to get her GED. School was very important to her. I remember her asking me questions like, \u201cHave you done your homework? Do you need help with your homework? I\u2019ll help you with what I can.\u201d She was always telling me, \u201cCollege will be the best thing for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

My dad laid block foundation and did enough math to make sure his houses didn\u2019t fall over. He worked with his hands and did what he could, but he didn\u2019t read well. My dad couldn\u2019t teach me to read, but he helped me with spelling words and things like that to kind of push me. \u201cHey, you can do this. Even though we didn\u2019t, you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

But my dad passed away when I was 8 years old. My mom passed away when I was 13.<\/p>\n

I moved to the little town of Greenbrier, Tennessee, just north of Nashville, to live with my aunt and uncle\u2014my mom\u2019s brother and his wife\u2014and their two sons. They are my cousins, but we\u2019re so close they\u2019re more like siblings to me.<\/p>\n

Just like my parents, my aunt and uncle pushed me to get an education, even though they didn\u2019t graduate high school.<\/p>\n

Growing up, it never occurred to me that no one in my family had a high school diploma.<\/p>\n

I was an honor roll student in high school, the kid that went to school all the time, never missed a day, was upset when we didn\u2019t have school. I was always academically focused.<\/p>\n

So it was more than an assumption with my family that I would be the one to go to college.<\/p>\n

People in my family would tell me, \u201cGo get a bachelor\u2019s degree. Everybody needs a bachelor\u2019s degree.\u201d It\u2019s easy to say, but nobody really knew what college looked like.<\/p>\n

When I first came to UTC, I didn\u2019t realize I was a first-generation student. I didn\u2019t know that was a thing. I thought you just went to college or you didn\u2019t. I didn\u2019t realize that having parents go to school made a difference in how prepared you were.<\/p>\n

And I struggled after I got here.<\/p>\n

College can be confusing and scary for anyone. Anything that says \u201cThe University of…\u201d is a little intimidating when no one you lean on has any background there. I would call my aunt and uncle and tell them I\u2019m struggling, and they tried to be reassuring. \u201cYou\u2019re working so hard. You\u2019re going to do fine. It will be all right.\u201d But they didn\u2019t understand what it was like.<\/p>\n

Many in first-gen deal with generational curses such as the cycles of poverty, low education rates and low graduation rates. A lot of us come from families where that is the norm.<\/p>\n

Once I started working with people in the First Gen program at UTC, it helped me find my spot on campus. I wanted to be part of a group of people who understood what it was not to know anything. I went headfirst into it, and I really blossomed.<\/p>\n

Even now, where I\u2019m worried about exit exams, GREs (Graduate Record Examination) and MATs (Miller Analogies Test), I continue to lean on that guidance and mentoring. They have provided me with a feeling that I belong.<\/p>\n

When I started college, I wanted to make my family proud. Getting my bachelor\u2019s degree is a big deal for me, but it\u2019s also a big deal for them, a matter of pride to show this family is capable of something. Both of my brothers have teenage daughters, and one of the biggest motivations to finish my degree has been to show them they can do anything they want regardless of what their parents did.<\/p>\n

I worked hard to get this bachelor\u2019s degree, but it shouldn\u2019t go without saying that I don\u2019t know where I would be\u2014the degree that I\u2019ll be receiving, the job that I\u2019m going to go into\u2014had I not gone through what I have been through.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0 *\u00a0 *\u00a0 *\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

In May 2022, Katherine Crutchfield received a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

Shortly after graduating, she began working at UTC as an academic advisor in the Center for Academic Support and Advisement.<\/p>\n

Her future plans include pursuing a master\u2019s degree in counseling and working with older adults.<\/p>\n

This is an updated version of a story that first appeared in the spring 2022 issue of <\/em>The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Magazine<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Katherine

Katherine Crutchfield\u2019s family photo. Back row, left to right: Scott Tuskey (her boyfriend), John Brogdon Jr. (her uncle), Justin Brogdon (middle brother), John Brogdon III (oldest brother). Middle row: Crutchfield, Amanda Marshall (Justin\u2019s wife), Teresa Brogdon (her aunt), Heather Ferrell (John III\u2019s wife). Bottom row: Chasity Brogdon (John III and Heather\u2019s daughter), Francis Christianson (Teresa\u2019s mom), Kendra Brogdon (Justin and Amanda\u2019s daughter). Photo courtesy of Katherine Crutchfield.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the pages of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Magazine: Katherine Crutchfield\u2019s first-person account of being the first person in her family to receive a college degree.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,123864,61,7712,8244,286,661],"tags":[119583,83313,119582],"class_list":{"0":"post-44424","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-advancement-and-alumni","8":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","9":"category-faculty-and-staff","10":"category-honors-and-awards","11":"category-news","12":"category-psychology","13":"category-students","14":"tag-center-for-academic-support-and-advisement","15":"tag-first-generation","16":"tag-katherine-crutchfield","17":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nFamily first: Katherine Crutchfield\u2019s journey to becoming a first generation college graduate | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - 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