The idea came to Amari Simpson just before college.
For years, she’d watched her parents build their catering business from the ground up — a labor of love that continues to grow despite the couple’s full-time jobs that compete for their time and energy.
“My parents have always loved to cook, and they especially love to cook for large groups of people,” says the Eden native who came to Campbell last fall. “And it’s very inspiring for me, because I know that although they have their own careers, they’re still finding time to do something they really, truly love. The business isn’t as big or broad as they’d like it to be, but I know they took a huge leap of faith to make it happen.”
Amari’s idea was to one day help out the family business in an “event coordinator” and business director role. She knew she needed college to make this happen.
As a business major in Campbell’s Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, Amari says she is learning “the ins and outs” of running a business. She’s learning what it takes to make a business grow and become more profitable.
“Because of my parents, I’ve seen the behind-the-scenes of a business and I’ve come to understand how important customer service is,” Amari says. “At Campbell, I’m learning skills that will not only help my business one day, but will help theirs as well.
“For a long time, I wanted to be a teacher,” she adds. “But my parents have shown me how rewarding it is to help plan and be part of life-changing events.” She smiles. “Besides, catering and event coordinating go hand-in-hand. Every big event needs food.”
Amari’s parents aren’t sending her to college to save the family business. Her major and her career path are her own choices. But as a first-generation college student, Amari does say that her parents’ expectations of her are likely greater than the average student.
“There’s pressure — maybe not a ton of pressure in my case, but there’s pressure,” she says. “I feel like I have to meet or exceed their expectations in order to succeed. And I feel like I have to succeed too so they know they made the right decision to send me to college.”
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A 2012 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that 69 percent of first-generation college students cited “helping their family” as a big reason for wanting a college degree. Only 39 percent of “legacy students” included that as a reason.
Unfortunately, “helping their family” isn’t a choice for many of these students, especially those who come from low-income backgrounds. Many families view these students as their “financial saviors,” adding extra pressure to their college experience. Other families create what the study called “breakaway guilt,” making their first-generation student feel as though they’re leaving their loved ones behind and getting away from their at-home responsibilities, which often include jobs and chores to keep things afloat.
“There’s a bifurcation in the community of first-generation students,” says Michelle Perez. “There are those with families who support them and do all they can to help their child succeed … almost living vicariously through them in the process. Then you have the students who struggle because their families are completely disconnected and just don’t understand this huge new responsibility they’re dealing with.
“With the latter, often these students have obligations back home that their professors, deans and peers don’t understand; and they have obligations at school that their parents aren’t allowing them to dedicate their time to,” she adds. “They’re saying, ‘Well, you’ve been in school for the past 12 years, and I still need you to do the chores, babysit your siblings, drive us around or whatever your role is at home.”
Perez recalls a student she got to know at Millersville University who was not only the first in her family to attend college, but the only one among several siblings to do so. Her older brother was in jail, and she feared her younger brother was heading down that same path. College for this young woman, Perez says, was both an escape and the bearer of a tremendous amount of guilt, because she couldn’t stay home and be that good influence her younger brother needed.
“I could see the pain and the struggle she went through early on,” Perez says. “I encouraged her to focus on herself — ‘You just gotta do you.’ But it was difficult.”
Family obligations and burdens and the weight of unrealistic expectations first-generation students carry are big reasons so many perform poorly early on and eventually drop out, Perez says. It’s another reason she advocates for students living on campus in the first year or two — it gets them away from home. In a way, the campus becomes a refuge. Perez points to several studies that suggest living on campus leads to a better chance of success and on-time graduation.
“The family obligations don’t completely go away, but they also don’t sneak into their daily routine as easily,” she adds.
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Amari’s parents have done well to ease the pressure of their oldest child’s first year at Campbell. Their support began a few years ago when they enrolled Amari into Rockingham Early College, a high school like many others in the state that combines curriculum of high school with post-secondary credits so that after five years, a student leaves with a high school diploma and either technical certification, an associate’s degree or enough credit to enter college as a junior.
Amari earned an associate’s degree last May and earned her junior classification after one semester at Campbell. She says the early college route was big for her, and she thinks it’s an option first-generation college students should at least consider because of the focus on preparing them for the academic rigors at the next level.
“I really don’t feel like I would have gotten the same confidence coming to Campbell had I gone to any other high school,” she says. “Early college was a sneak peek of what a college course would be like. When I got to Campbell, I felt like I could actually succeed because I had a better gist of what to expect.”
And her parents — even though they were juggling full-time jobs and a side catering business — allowed Amari and are allowing her little brother (a sophomore at the early college) time and room to flourish in school. She says that support did wonders for her.
“Both of my parents have told me time management is key,” she says. “Study a lot, but also take time for yourself and go out and make friends. That applies in all areas of life. Find friends who have your best interest at heart, be aware of your surroundings and just be yourself. Don’t change your personality to fit in or to make someone like you.
“That advice has always stuck with me. And it’s very applicable in college. Now more than ever.”
