What higher education means to me
Hi all, my name is Sarah. I am an English major and Non-Profit Administration minor. I will be a senior this upcoming year and am so excited to put all the valuable information I have learned at the UO to work. I am a first generation college student. Completing college has been a lifelong goal which I am proud to say I have almost accomplished. When someone asks me what higher education means to me, I usually reply with three loaded words: sacrifice, dedication, and opportunity. You sacrifice sleep, financial stability, and a social life. You have to be dedicated to your studies to bare the sacrifices you have made. But the payoff is the opportunity of a better life. I am fortunate to be able to afford college. When I say “afford”, I mean that in the most remote form of the word; I work part-time and piece together grants and loans to be able to afford college. When someone asks me if the money I have spent is worth it, I always reply ABSOLUTELY. I have grown as a person and made lifelong friends, all while taking the most interesting and challenging classes available to me. I encourage any young adult to pursue higher education because it is the most important thing you will accomplish. If someone tells you that you can’t “afford” to go, don’t listen because in reality very few can actually afford it. I know this goes against all conventional wisdom, but if you want it badly enough you will figure out a way, which brings me to my closing remark: higher education is collision of new ways of thinking and preexisting material. This collision is what pushes individuals and society to grow infinitely.
UO a place where people find passion and create futures
Many Oregonians look to public universities as a key to a better life. This is a space for you to tell your story — how public higher education and the University of Oregon has transformed your life. I’ll start by telling a bit of the UO’s history, as well as my own.
Public higher education has been at the forefront of our state’s ambitions since its founding. Included in the Oregon Act of Admission, passed into law February 14, 1859, was the promise to provide the land for a public university that ultimately became the University of Oregon’s home.
During the short time I’ve served as president, scores of Oregonians have told me how the UO transformed their lives. This is a place where people find a passion and create a future through enterprise, effort and hard work. This is the true mission — the true story — of public higher education.
It is also my story. I’m a proud first generation college graduate from the Midwest. My parents were hard-working people who wanted their children to have opportunities that were not available to them. I made it through the University of Iowa with summer and part-time jobs, (later) a brilliantly employable spouse, and the support of Iowa taxpayers who recognized the long-term benefits of subsidizing public higher education.
Today’s students seek the same opportunities but under much more challenging conditions. For many lower- and middle-class families the doors to higher education seem to be closing. This is why our effort to restructure the University of Oregon’s relationship with the state of Oregon is so important. Oregonians deserve the same life-changing opportunity that I had.
I can’t help but feel optimistic despite the national trends and current economic conditions. I know that our collective creativity, intellect, and commitment will ensure that the University of Oregon continues to fulfill its public responsibility.
What’s your story? Please share how the ability to attend institutions like the University of Oregon changed your life.