FirstGen Stories:
Princess K. Allen
Rhetoric ’06
My backstory:
I am originally from southern California. I grew up in a household with domestic violence, and my biological mother was addicted to drugs. I entered the foster care system at age 10 and lived in two foster homes until I was emancipated. I pushed myself to excel in school because it represented my best chance to escape poverty. After I graduated from high school with honors, I financed my way through undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley and graduate studies at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
What motivated me to go to college:
No one ever told me to go college, it was just something I knew I was going to do. Berkeley was my dream school ever since seventh grade, simply because I wanted others to view me as intelligent. Berkeley was also my way of escaping the stigma of my troubled childhood.
What I would tell my freshman self:
Berkeley is a place of many schools of thought and opinions: Never lose your voice or sense of self in the midst of being a “Berkeley” student. Remember the values your family, mentors and guidance counselors have instilled in you and live your life fearlessly.
How my background helped me:
I overcame more adversity in the first five years of my life than many adults will ever experience. Surviving this made me an extremely driven and tenacious person. Whenever I faced academic challenges or peer pressure, I thought about my upbringing and I was reminded of why I was working so hard to graduate from Berkeley.
The best thing about my college experience:
Falling in love with Cal — the football games at Memorial Stadium, the mystique of the Doe/Moffitt/Bancroft libraries, the support from the faculty in the Rhetoric/African American Studies Departments and the staff of the César E. Chávez Student Center, and realizing that the grade is just the paycheck to the learning experience.
