By Piotr Krzemien, Assistant Director of Information Technology

My name is Piotr Krzemien, and I am a first-generation college student.

I came to the USA from Poland when I was 15 years old. As a member of a family of five, I was the youngest child. At the time, I had just finished 8th grade back in my home country.

During the transition from Poland to the United States of America, I had to learn the English language, go to high school from 9th grade until graduation, and plan for my educational future without much guidance. My family had no experience in higher education; therefore, every step towards my admission to a higher education institution was something new and required a lot of trial and error.

Guidance counselors in my high school helped a little, but the language barrier was still there. All of the communication, paperwork, and testing had to be planned, scheduled, and figured out on my own.

It was not easy. It was frustrating, cumbersome, and sometimes even demoralizing as I saw other students go through the lines with their parents or guardians helping them along the way. However, after a few tries and a few hurdles, I was able to start my journey.

Once I started, it was now onto learning new skills, improving my language skills, and gathering more information on how to progress to the next level. I am now a graduate of a master’s-level program, and while it was not easy, I was able to persevere and, by asking many questions along the way, succeed in the end.

It is never too late, and it is possible, no matter how difficult it may seem at first. I can be your resource!