Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Gen Z Post-Grad Plans - Part 2
180 Plays7 years ago
This is the second half of the two-part series on Generation Z's post-graduate plans after K-12 education. In this episode, Aisha Kassim, a rising college sophomore shares her experience of choosing to attend college, her college search process, and her experience since enrolling. She also shares her insights on her Generation Z peers and their attitude of determination.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Hashtag Gen Z Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to hashtag Gen Z. I'm your host, Megan Grace.
00:00:18
Speaker
Hashtag Gen Z is a podcast about, as you guessed it, Generation Z, the generation of young people born between 1995 and 2010. It's about who they are, what they believe in, why they do what they do, and what makes them different than any other generation.
00:00:32
Speaker
In the last episode, we kicked off a two-part series focusing on post-graduation plans of Generation Z. We heard from Jack Brennan, a young man who made the decision to go straight into pursuing his career after high school.
Featuring Aisha Kassim: College Decision Journey
00:00:43
Speaker
In this episode, we hear from a young woman who shares her story and experience of deciding to attend college after high school. This may be the route for many in Generation Z. According to a digest by the National Center for Educational Statistics,
00:00:55
Speaker
Fall enrollment at degree-granting post-secondary institutions increased 23% from 1995 to 2005, and again 14% between 2005 and 2015. While this timeframe mostly captures millennial enrollment rates, this trend is likely to continue as Generation Z pursues plans after high school graduation.
Factors Influencing College Decisions for Gen Z
00:01:15
Speaker
Making the choice to attend college is not a small decision.
00:01:18
Speaker
and determining which college or university to attend can be a tough decision to make. As a higher education professional, I'm always curious to learn what factors are motivating young people to make their college choices, and this is a topic of interest to many groups including universities, researchers, consulting firms that work with higher education institutions, students themselves, parents, and family members. A 2017 report released by EAB, the Education Advisory Board,
00:01:42
Speaker
shares insight that cost of higher education is one of the leading determinants for college students today. It's not entirely surprising.
00:01:49
Speaker
for a group of young people pursuing her education post the 2008 recession. However, there's so much more than the cost that Generation Z will factor into their college enrollment decisions.
Aisha's College Decision Process
00:01:59
Speaker
While I can make some guesses as to what those other factors might be, hearing the story of Ayesha Kassim helps illuminate those other factors beyond finances that play a role in Generation Z's enrollment decisions. Ayesha Kassim is a 19 year old from New York City and the daughter of two immigrants from Ghana and Nigeria.
00:02:15
Speaker
She's a rising sophomore at Binghamton University studying political science and Africana studies. On campus, Aisha stays busy, serving as the secretary of the African Student Organization, a tour guide and student ambassador, and continues to stay involved with her high school as the alumni relations coordinator. As Aisha was wrapping up her first year of college, she took some time to chat with me about her decision to attend, how she made the choice to attend the university she does in her experience since enrolling, and I'm excited to share her story with you.
00:02:47
Speaker
I want to welcome my guest today, Aisha Kasim. I'm excited to have her share her story about choosing which college she decided to go to. Now she came about that decision. So welcome Aisha. Why don't you tell a little bit about yourself and your experiences so far? Sure. Thank you so much for having me. So my name is Aisha Kasim. I'm from New York City. I'm 19 years old and I'm a rising sophomore at Binghamton University.
00:03:11
Speaker
Awesome. Well, you know, let's just dive right in. When did you decide that college was going to be your plan for life after high school? Well, for me, college was always in my plans. I'm West African, actually, from Ghana, Nigeria. And in our culture, education is highly, highly emphasized. So having my parents almost setting it like
00:03:31
Speaker
an expectation from such a young age. It was always just something that I strive towards like a stepping stone in my life. Something that I knew eventually when I'm at that age, I'm definitely going to go to it's not it was never something that I have to think twice
Financial Concerns and College Affordability
00:03:44
Speaker
about. So you would say that family has been a huge influence on your decision to go to college. Were there any other influences as you were growing up or maybe in high school that really affirmed that decision for you?
00:03:56
Speaker
Definitely go into Democracy Prep Harlem High School where college is literally in our model. So you see that from the morning when you come into school and when you leave again. It was always constantly, constantly my daily life. You know, go to college and basically do whatever you're going to do to have to become successful. So did you have any concerns when you were deciding to go to college and what were some of those concerns?
00:04:20
Speaker
Yeah, a big concern I had was pricing. So I come from a pretty large household and going to a school that's over $100,000 that I had to take out over $100,000 in loans for just for undergrad just seemed really unrealistic for me. So when choosing a school, I had to think where can you go that you can that would be affordable, but I would also be getting a great education. Basically, where could I go to get my best bang for my buck? So definitely pricing was
00:04:49
Speaker
probably the biggest factor, I would say. Was there anything else I mean, we'll kind of get into talking about how you made your decision. Were there any other concerns in general deciding yes, college was for me outside of finances? Probably not, because like I said, it was always a stepping stone for me. And the only thing that I felt like would hinder me was, you know, find financial financial wise, you know, absolutely that and it's a huge investment to be able to to go to college and
00:05:17
Speaker
whether you can pay out of pocket for tuition or make that decision to take out loans is a huge thing to be, a big decision to be making at a young age. So I would love to, you're in your first year, you just finished your first year at your university.
Choosing Binghamton University
00:05:32
Speaker
I would love to, if you can kind of rewind, what was your college search process like? Were you like, this is going to be my dream school from the beginning? Or walk me through what your decision process was like in searching for schools.
00:05:45
Speaker
Yeah things definitely didn't go as I planned for my college search and when searching I think most people or everyone who's in that position at that time is scared that they're going to pick the wrong school or they're not going to like it or you know this could change my life forever you know everyone is pretty much like
00:06:02
Speaker
okay this is like i had to make this decision right and if i don't go to my dream school then my life is over so definitely i had a dream school which is georgetown university and when i couldn't when i didn't get in i was really disappointed but i definitely didn't stop there i decided to start looking into schools a little closer to home some that are really great education wise and were also very affordable so um my college counselor actually she
00:06:29
Speaker
She recommended Binghamton University to look more into it and see how I would like it because it is a really great school and it's only three hours away from my house. It's very affordable for me because I'm an in-state student. So I decided to look into Binghamton University and I'm really glad that I did because I feel like everything happened for a reason and everything worked the way that it did. So for my college search process it was definitely like a nervous thing for me but even though it didn't go the way that I planned for it, I'm really glad that everything kind of fell into place.
00:06:59
Speaker
You said that you worked with a counselor at school, and I'm sure that was helpful to have.
Support During College Search
00:07:05
Speaker
What other resources did you turn to when you were going through the college search process? I mean, if you talk about your counselor, that's fantastic. What are the other things that made your college search process helpful or things you wish you would have had?
00:07:20
Speaker
My college counselor, just to touch on her really quickly, she's really great and we're actually still in contact. But she was definitely a huge resource. So having that free resource right in my school was probably one of the best things for my college process because it made it a lot easier. And because we had that teacher-student relationship, it was easy for me to feel comfortable when talking about it because a lot of times in the college process, you're overwhelmed and you kind of need someone to calm you down.
00:07:48
Speaker
tell you everything is going to be okay so I'm really glad that I had that resource but also having my older sister who just graduated from Ithaca College last year kind of walking me through the college process and telling me how it works and what's the best decision to make having that there was really really inspirational like having someone right in my own household telling me okay I'm in college right now I can tell you all the you know ups and downs of it and everything you need to know to be successful.
00:08:14
Speaker
You bring up your sister being a great resource and that's awesome that your sister was able to be such a good role model for you and help you through that.
Parental Involvement in Decision Making
00:08:22
Speaker
How involved were your parents in the process, I'm sure, but in making your decision, how much did you factor in family?
00:08:30
Speaker
Well, my parents, they were definitely very laid back, I would say. They kind of let me take control over where I'm choosing. They never told me that I had to stay here or you have to go to a school at this price, you know. But for me, being the considerate daughter, I definitely factored pricing into my college decisions. But my parents were, I would say were definitely supportive. They were okay with wherever I went.
00:08:53
Speaker
as long as I would be happy and getting a good education. I'm glad that your parents were supportive and it seems like they were really a good balance of wanting to support you, but also helping you make a good decision, but making an adult decision and giving you a little bit of autonomy through that search process.
00:09:09
Speaker
Yes, that's that's fantastic to hear that your parents were both a part of your decision making but also helping you through this and that's that's really great. So what were some of the factors when you were coming down to your college search process that you were narrowing in? I'm sure you were like many other students who have maybe their top five list or their top three lists that they're kind of weighing between these, you know, few options. What was
00:09:35
Speaker
really your thought process and narrowing in on those factors that were like, this is the option for me. I would say I had three choices that I was deciding between, which was American University, Smith College, and Binghamton University. And all are really, really great schools. So when it came down to it, I looked at my financial aid package, but not just that. Also,
00:09:54
Speaker
what I fit in in that school. So I did visit Smith College, but I didn't get the opportunity to visit American University. But visiting Binghamton University, I felt a great balance of the social life where it was like I wouldn't feel necessarily left out. Not saying that I did at the other schools, but for some reason I had a home-year feeling at Binghamton University. So not just financials, but also where would I excel at socially and
00:10:20
Speaker
I feel like Binghamton University was great because it's a large public university and there's a lot of different people, really diverse, a lot of great resources there and that it was also in New York where I would be getting this in-state tuition. It just seemed like the right answer at the time and I'm really glad that I did choose there. That's fantastic.
Career Opportunities and Leadership
00:10:38
Speaker
One thing that we've been reading a little bit more about is members of your generation are really focused on your career, which is fantastic. You're utilizing that time during college to prepare for that. What are some
00:10:50
Speaker
things that you were keeping in consideration when you were in your college search process thinking about your future career? Oh, yes. So for me, most, well, I would say for my future career, I'm still very unsure about it, but I did want to go somewhere where that would give good internships and good opportunities to, to kind of like figure that figure that out while I'm in school. So that's also something that stood out for me at my school where we have a really great career center.
00:11:17
Speaker
where I can go in and just talk about what I'm interested in and they can help me find good opportunities right here in New York City and at Binghamton as well. So definitely I'm not very sure of what I want to do with my future career but I wanted to pick a school that would at least be with me every step of the way.
00:11:33
Speaker
That's great that Bingham's really been there to help you hone in on that. And you mentioned internships. Are you doing anything right now or what have you done in the last year to kind of utilize your time in college to propel yourself towards, you know, narrowing in on what your future career might look like? This is a really small thing, but I'm, I'm currently secretary of the African student organization. And I wanted to, I ran for secretary specifically because I wanted a leadership position in my school, but I also wanted to be in a group where
00:12:02
Speaker
I have people who are kind of similar to me, have similar backgrounds, so that I could also feel comfortable. So I feel like that was my first stepping stone, but I'm definitely looking into internships right here in New York City that work with urban development in terms of going into low-income communities and figuring out what exactly is preventing them from excelling and then hopefully pushing them towards that goal. So there's an internship that I'm definitely looking into.
00:12:27
Speaker
That's fantastic.
Reflections on First Year and Future Plans
00:12:28
Speaker
I when I was in college, I was like, I need to do an internship my junior year because my college major required it of me. And you're going into your second year and you're already applying for those. And that's fantastic that you're hopefully looking at multiple internships to help you better understand the career field that you're going to go into and find what's most interesting to you. And it's fantastic that your university supportive of even underclass students, finding that opportunity. And that's fantastic. And I'm
00:12:55
Speaker
I got my fingers crossed for you for that internship. It sounds really awesome and a really awesome way to impact communities in your city that you care about. So we sort of touched on it, you know, why you chose to go to the university that you did. It sounds like it's been a great fit for you. In what ways has your college experience met or exceeded your expectations? So I'm sure you went into, you know, orientation in that first year, having some expectations about college
00:13:21
Speaker
Tell me how the last year has been for you. I definitely, I would say, well, in terms of academically or for support, support wise, I felt like college would like let me down because in high school, they always tell you that, you know, professors don't care or, you know, it's up to you to do everything. And I felt like I would be going in alone. But after going in and after spending a whole year there, I realized that I have that college, you can find great support systems.
00:13:47
Speaker
and that's through friends, through clubs, you know, through even professors or TAs. I definitely didn't expect to be so supported just in my first year and to feel like there's actually people on campus who care about my success. That's fantastic. I'm so glad to hear that and I know that going from a high school where you feel very acclimated to this community into college can seem really scary but
00:14:10
Speaker
I'm so glad that you found that social support not only with your peers, but you're finding it in the classroom as well. It's been fantastic to hear more about your college choice story. And it sounds like it's been a really good fit for you and enjoying it.
00:14:23
Speaker
So what are you looking forward to in your next year of college? Definitely being more social. I would say I was pretty social my first year. I met a lot of great people. I joined a few clubs. Like I said, I ran for secretary of African student organization and I won. So definitely just applying all of these new things that I learned my first year and making sure that my second year runs a lot smoother. Because when you first come in, you're kind of adjusting and you're getting used to things and
00:14:48
Speaker
you know you're in a completely different world and it can be a little nerve-wracking so you might you might be a little limited from what you can do or you know your fullest potential but i would say that for my second year after a full year i have an idea of what i want to do and what i don't want to do so i'm definitely excited to
00:15:07
Speaker
implement everything that I learned and make this year really great. I'm looking forward to hearing more updates about your second year coming soon, but I would love to kind of turn some sights on if we can talk about your peers and talking about Generation Z, we've talked about what is going to influence
Challenges of Motivation and Self-Reliance
00:15:23
Speaker
young people your age going to college and what do you think are some of the concerns that you know you've mentioned price of going to college is huge what do you think are some of the other things that thinking about your peers on campus or your friends from your high school that they're concerned about when they're going to college i would say motivation definitely from all my peers i hear that they say
00:15:45
Speaker
You know, because in high school, you kind of always have someone there pushing you, whether it's your parents or your teachers, you know, someone always there to tell you, you have to do this, or you have to wake up to go to school, or you have to get your work done and get good grades. At college, it's a lot, you have a lot more freedom to make your own decisions, which I would say was really, really affected a lot of my peers because I did see some peers who are so used to having someone push them, maybe not excel the way that they wanted to in their first year.
00:16:12
Speaker
So realizing that, okay, now I'm an adult, I have to do things on my own and I don't, I can depend on having another voice in the back of my head always telling me what to do. Like now it's up to me. So besides financial wise, I would definitely say that a lot of my peers struggled with motivation the first year. So it's interesting because in some of my studies, we, we've actually asked generations to describe themselves and determined is one
00:16:37
Speaker
characteristic that they utilize to describe themselves. I think it's interesting you bring up motivation in this idea of self-starting motivation. Do you think it's just maybe an element of being, you know, first year students or early in the college career in
00:16:50
Speaker
experiencing all that freedom and autonomy and learning how to harness it within yourself because I've worked with some college students that are a little older than you but still within the same generation that are very determined people. Do you think it might just be one of those situations where they're gonna come back second year and they're just gonna hit stride with being determined but now that they know how to self-start that motivation?
Gen Z's Determination and Drive
00:17:13
Speaker
I'm someone who's very optimistic, so I think you learn from your mistakes and just like I said, everything that I didn't do my first year, I'm going to apply to my second year.
00:17:23
Speaker
So in the same case, the people who maybe were motivated this year and didn't realize that they were on their own are probably going to come 10 times harder next year, because I do agree that our generation is very determined. And when they want something, they go out and get it, which is why I'm really proud to be able to say that I'm in this generation and that I have people who I can look to for that motivation.
00:17:45
Speaker
I'm really proud that you're part of this generation as well. I'm not part of that generation, but I love being able to hang out with you guys and listen to your stories and better understand some perspectives. So this leads me to my last question, but also one of my favorite questions that I like to ask my guests, what is your favorite thing about your generation? And it doesn't have to be related to college choice or going to college. If you have to think about your peers in describing what makes you all so incredible, what's your favorite thing?
00:18:14
Speaker
Definitely, I would say that they go and get what they want. I'll actually bring up my sister in this case. My sister, who just graduated from Ithaca College last year, she was in school and she thought, I want to open a free health clinic in Ghana. Have a whole day where you can come get medical screenings for free.
00:18:34
Speaker
And you know what, she got up right after graduation, moved out to Ghana for a couple of months and opened that. So seeing that was really amazing for me because like, wow, you literally just graduated from college, you're only 22 years old and you're already having a free health screening in Ghana, which is really, really successful, had a great turnout rate. So definitely in our generation, I say that we want something and we go get it. And that's exactly why even as a freshman, like I find myself
00:18:59
Speaker
thinking so far ahead like okay you have to do this Aisha you have to do this like I'm already thinking about my master's degree and I'm only a rising sophomore so just knowing what we want and not letting anything stop us but letting any little obstacle that we do have motivate us to continue and fight harder and achieve our goals I would say our generation definitely excels in that.
Conclusion and Broader Gen Z Trends
00:19:19
Speaker
That was incredible like that is so awesome that your sister is doing that and if people want to go find out more about her story where can they go
00:19:27
Speaker
to find information about your sister's clinic, or is there any way that people can support her? Because it sounds like she's doing incredible work. That's so awesome. She has a nonprofit called Fatima Initiative, so Fatima, F-A-T-I-M-A Initiative, which is basically a nonprofit that she works with health, like medical screenings in Africa, and she's definitely hoping to do more in the future.
00:19:52
Speaker
That is so incredible. And I think the way you summarize this idea of I'm going to go out and I see a problem, I'm going to fix it, or I know that I need to do this, I'm going to do it. I think that you've really summarized that determination of you're looking towards the future, you're figuring out what work do you all need to put in and not taking things for granted. I think that is so awesome. And I really appreciate and value the way that you've articulated that and helping summarize that.
00:20:17
Speaker
Thank you, Aisha. I've loved learning a little bit more about you and your story, and thank you so much for sharing your experiences. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. This is a really great opportunity. While finances were a major factor in Aisha's college choice, there were many other factors and influences at play.
00:20:38
Speaker
She had a number of mentors, such as her sister, parents, and college counselor, who helped find the best fit for her. But her story points out some factors that are likely common with many in Generation Z. Finding an affordable option is a high priority, but so is finding a campus that has quality educational opportunities, return on investment of time and money, a sense of community and welcoming, and opportunities to explore and work towards a future career.
Teaser for Next Episode: Entrepreneurial Spirit
00:21:02
Speaker
Valisha and Jack have very different experiences. They have some similarities despite taking very different paths.
00:21:08
Speaker
They're both very focused on their future, their personal and professional development, and also thinking about how they can give back and help other people. I want to thank Jack Brennan and Aisha Kassim for sharing their stories, and thank you for tuning into this episode. I hope you continue to do so. The guest in our next episode is an incredible young woman who's not only focusing on her own career in business, but has a passion for helping others do the same, especially other young women bringing their dreams and ideas to life. Join me in the next episode.
00:21:36
Speaker
We chat about Gen Z's entrepreneurial spirit with Haley Hoffman Smith, author of the book, Her Big Idea, and director of Community for the Next Gen Summit. You don't want to miss it. So don't forget to subscribe to this podcast on your preferred listening platform. And your ratings and reviews are also very welcome. Along those lines, if you have a question you'd like me to explore or a guest you think I need to chat with, head over to my website, meganmgrace.com and drop me a line and say hello. Thanks again. Let's continue this conversation and we'll chat soon.