Marshai’s Story: Class of ‘?’ Graduating in four (or more) years

Meet Marshai

Marshai is a Black first-generation college student and grew up on the west side of Chicago. She graduated from her neighborhood high school in Roseland in 2020 and now attends a historically Black college in Arkansas. She is currently pursuing her bachelor’s degree in industrial technology and is set to graduate on a 4.5 year track. Marshai hopes to one day build a football field for her high school.

Marshai’s Path to College

Growing up, Marshai struggled to find stability through frequent moves and living situations. Her love for learning and her family, including her family at school, kept her grounded during this rocky time. Marshai’s love for her school community shines through her. “[My high school] is my favorite place in the world.”

Marshai has always enjoyed school. “I like being in school. I like the aspect of going somewhere, sitting down and obtaining some knowledge that’s going to help me.” The adults in her high school were intentional about building relationships with students. This foundation of caring encouraged Marshai to feel connected with her school community. “We were a family.” The school also partnered with a youth mentorship program where students did activities that encouraged them to envision their future and paired them with a mentor. Marshai felt close to many of the adults in her building, especially with her mentor and principal.

When life outside of school started affecting her performance in school, Marshai relied on these relationships for help. She would talk to her principal about what she was going through, and each time, her principal said, “We’ll work on that together.” Together, they collaborated with Marshai’s mentor and teachers on how best to support her. Looking back, she is very grateful for their support. “[My mentor] definitely supported me the whole way. She drove me to college, bought my first laptop, she did everything. I’m grateful for her.” She feels similarly about her principal, who she still reaches out to for support in college today. “I’m glad I had my principal, I feel like without her, I probably wouldn’t have had this opportunity to be here on campus.”

“I’m glad I had my principal, I feel like without her, I probably wouldn’t have had this opportunity to be here on campus.”

Her high school connected students to different local and state-wide opportunities to help them explore potential pathways and careers. Marshai remembers teachers pulling her out of the classroom to answer questions and prompts. “They were pulling me out of class, having me write these little stories.” Her teachers walked Marshai through the application steps to a STEM company’s mentorship program. The program was designed to recruit high school students to pursue STEM degrees and STEM careers. Her high school was the first school from Chicago to be part of the Illinois cohort of students.

Marshai joined the program as the first Black young woman from Chicago. She did a summer program that introduced her to industrial technology through robotics. At first, Marshai was overwhelmed with keeping up with the assignments. “That whole time I was just by myself, learning. I had never worked with robotics. There were others well prepared. They knew what they were doing. They had a class for this in high school. But we don’t have classes like this in high school. We don’t have coding classes. It was a new experience for me.”

Marshai’s College Journey

When it was time to think about life after high school, Marshai’s family dreamed of her attending college. “Even though no one from my family went to college, they made it clear to me to make sure college is at the top of my list. Since I was always a school person, I always felt I wanted to go see what it was like. College has always been number one.”

“Even though no one from my family went to college, they made it clear to me to make sure college is at the top of my list. Since I was always a school person, I always felt I wanted to go see what it was like. College has always been number one.”

Looking at schools, Marshai was cautious and focused on financial aid. Her familial circumstances made her eligible to apply to FAFSA as an independent student, giving her additional school aid. Her STEM program also offered her a scholarship contingent on majoring in a STEM-related field. Although these supports were helpful, Marshai was still wary of schools she could consider. A representative from a historically Black college in Arkansas visited her high school and instantly sparked her interest. “They physically came out to our school and were doing onsite scholarships! They really grasped my attention right then.” She had three cousins who had attended the school, and she asked them about their experiences. Ultimately, she said, “my heart and soul led me to apply.”

“my heart and soul led me to apply.”

By the time she had gotten her acceptance letter, the pandemic had started, forcing her to finish the rest of her senior year of high school online. She was focused on surviving school under harrowing circumstances and did what many students did during the pandemic–find answers online. She struggled to transition to her HBCU, which was fully virtual due to the pandemic. She attended classes in her dorm room in Arkansas “Academic-wise, it was so bad. I was cheating in high school because we were on the computer. So I’m coming to campus with the same mindset…I thought, ‘Am I wasting my money here if I’m just going to Google everything? I could have Googled it at home.’”

As time progressed, universities began shifting classes to a hybrid of in-person and online courses. Although Marshai was excited to finally get to know people on campus, the switch was hard. In-person classes pushed her to reassess the survival learning tactics she had developed during online learning. “I couldn’t find the answers. I should know this, but I needed to relearn this for myself. I had to shift my mindset when school started transitioning to hybrid.” She found herself having to reconnect with her old passion for learning and relearn how to learn.

“I couldn’t find the answers. I should know this, but I needed to relearn this for myself. I had to shift my mindset when school started transitioning to hybrid.”

At this time, her university’s administration was revisiting their Covid-relief policies. During the pandemic, Marshai’s university had allowed students to register for classes despite outstanding tuition balances. For the 2021 school year, however, the university redacted that policy and required students to owe less than $200 before being allowed to register for classes. Marshai arrived on campus uninformed about the policy and faced being unenrolled for the school year. In a panic, she reached out to her school community in Chicago. “I reached out to my high school, and the money kept coming and coming. I remember the security guards and teachers who didn’t even know me were sending me money. All for my education.” A teacher offered her an additional match donation scholarship. Thanks to her community support, Marshai was able to start the school year.

“I reached out to my high school, and the money kept coming and coming. I remember the security guards and teachers who didn’t even know me were sending me money. All for my education.”

When picking a major, Marshai knew it had to be STEM-related; however, she did not feel prepared to decide which major was best for her. “Growing up, I didn’t know what an engineer did. When I came to college, I wanted my professors to pick my major for me.” Eventually, Marshai chose industrial engineering and grew close with folks in her department. Her faculty connected with Marshai and helped her find her path by informing and collaborating with her on navigating the major. She appreciates how much her professors care deeply about her well-being. “My department, they’re my family. Since I’ve joined the major, I’ve stopped in their office every day to speak to them… They’ve genuinely always made sure I was okay.”

“My department, they’re my family. Since I’ve joined the major, I’ve stopped in their office every day to speak to them… They’ve genuinely always made sure I was okay.”

Still, learning is difficult on campus without financial stability. Marshai missed the deadline for a midterm and ended up failing the class. Sadly, she lost her STEM program scholarship because failing the class pushed her under the 12-credit requirement. This made life on campus more difficult. “The money really did help me.” Now that she lives off-campus, she would have used that money for food and bills. Luckily, Marshai’s grandmother has been one of her biggest supporters. Her grandma asks her regularly, “Do you need anything?” Marshai is appreciative of her grandmother’s endless support.

Despite her support, Marshai continued to struggle with financial barriers even in the classroom. She took a class that required students to take an online training course that cost hundreds of dollars. She couldn’t afford to pay so she tried to finish all her assignments through the 14 day free trial. She ended up failing the course. She recently retook the class and passed thanks to the professor who offered her a printed version of the course.

Failing the two courses set Marshai back, so instead of graduating in June of 2024, she has to take another semester and graduate in the winter. Marshai was heartbroken when she realized this. “I’m scared, I want to graduate June 24th because I’ve been working so hard. This is my shining moment. This is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for. I just want to enjoy my real graduation. My real opportunity to congratulate myself. In high school, I didn’t get a real graduation.”

“I’m scared, I want to graduate June 24th because I’ve been working so hard. This is my shining moment. This is it. This is what I’ve been waiting for. I just want to enjoy my real graduation. My real opportunity to congratulate myself. In high school, I didn’t get a real graduation.”

Marshai felt like she was robbed of her graduation celebration in high school due to the pandemic, only to be disappointed again in college since winter graduations aren’t as celebrated as they are in the spring. Fortunately, folks from her department honored her feelings and focused on celebrating that she is on track to graduate. “We had a conversation, it’s really not about how fast I finish. It’s about the fact that I’m finishing. And it’s not the fact that it’s not like I’m graduating at 2025. I probably would’ve been depressed then. I’m still graduating at 2024. So I’m still grateful that I’m getting to graduate on time in my year.”

“We had a conversation, it’s really not about how fast I finish. It’s about the fact that I’m finishing. And it’s not the fact that it’s not like I’m graduating at 2025. I probably would’ve been depressed then. I’m still graduating at 2024. So I’m still grateful that I’m getting to graduate on time in my year.”

Graduating later, Marshai was initially worried about telling other classmates about it. She felt embarrassed that she wasn’t graduating ‘on time.’ Slowly Marshai learned about other students taking extra time and felt relieved. “I know I’m not by myself.” Her financial worries, however, came back. “I’m scared because I’m concerned about my financial aid. What if they don’t offer me the correct amount of money or any money at all?” Marshai is dedicated to finishing her degree and hopes her university can support her to get to the finish line.

What Marshai Found Helpful

• Meaningful relationships in high school and college: Marshai’s eyes sparkled anytime she talked about her community. In high school AND college, she had meaningful relationships with folks who cared about her as a student and person. They met Marshai where she was at and worked as a team to help her. This encouraged Marshai to trust her community and ask for guidance and support during difficult times.
• Reconnecting with learning: Marshai faced unique challenges with starting her first year of college online. This completely disrupted her learning experience, making it difficult to transition to in-person classes. Dedicated to pursuing her degree, she developed a healthy relationship with learning again, which helped her persist in college.

Marshai’s Aspirations for the Field

1. Advice for students: Talk to your professors. Marshai was trying her best to navigate her classes on campus, but sometimes life was too difficult. There was one semester where Marshai was particularly struggling so she reached out to her professor. “I had a final and I couldn’t sit there and take the test and I told my professor and he let me leave.” The professor allowed her to take an incomplete, allowing her to complete the class later. Inspired by this Marshai, advises students to “meet and talk to your professors.”
2. Adults at schools should stop talking AT students and talk WITH students instead: Marshai felt that she was able to establish trusting relationships with the adults at her school because they talked from a place of respect and care. “Instead of adults telling what you should be doing, it should be like ‘I’m giving you this information, do you want to know this?’ Everybody isn’t willing to take information that someone’s giving them. Especially when they are talking to you like a child. I wouldn’t want to listen to it. I’m going to just turn the information down because why would I want to hear you talking at me instead of talking to me like we’re equal.” She encourages adults to not belittle their students and recognize young people as capable individuals.
3. Chicago Public Schools should offer more in-depth career exploration opportunities to students: Marshai is so grateful to the STEM high school program she was part of. Although it was difficult, she explored the STEM field and later pursued STEM as a career. Inspired by her experience, Marshai encourages CPS to introduce students to different careers early so that students can explore their passions and think about what skills they want to develop. “I’ve heard of engineers my whole life, but genuinely I did not know what an engineer did…So it’s important to really show students what they can do.”
4. Winter graduations: Marshai was excited to graduate with her class and attend her big graduation ceremony with her classmates. Once she found out she would be graduating later, she was heartbroken. Winter graduations aren’t celebrated like spring ones are. Although she is still looking forward to receiving her degree, she wishes she could still have the opportunity to celebrate her hard work. Universities should embrace students’ different trajectories in pursuing their degrees and organize events to celebrate them.