Like you, I was the first person in my family to go to college. I had seen my younger brother struggle in school and saw a lot of inequity in how students were treated so decided I wanted to be a part of changing the way education was done and chose to be a teacher. My bachelor's degree is in Psychology and Education and I taught elementary school for 2 years. I eventually found my way to higher education working in a program to help students who had low income and were underprepared for college. I earned my masters in Community Psychology and Counseling (since I needed a master's to keep my job) and continued working both in student success related programs and career services roles for the bulk of my career. I was fortunate to have gone to a small school with lots of resources, but, having worked in higher education for so long now, I can see so many things I should have taken advantage of, but didn't. I either did not realize how important it was (build relationships with my professors), wasn't sure how to actually do it (like making connections with alumni and networking), or was uncomfortable admitting I did not know things I felt I should be able to figure out on my own and asking for help. I don't want other students to miss out on the opportunities afforded by college, so I choose to mentor.