{"id":115422,"date":"2020-11-09T10:50:16","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T15:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422//?p=115422"},"modified":"2025-06-24T15:21:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T19:21:22","slug":"first-gen-student-perseveres-through-family-struggles-hopes-to-provide-financially","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422//first-gen-student-perseveres-through-family-struggles-hopes-to-provide-financially/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422//","title":{"rendered":"First-Gen Student Perseveres Through Family Struggles, Hopes to Provide Financially"},"content":{"rendered":"

The day after Oneisha Eugene/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019s seventh birthday, her father, a St. Lucian native, was in a car accident that deprived his brain of oxygen long enough that he temporarily lost the ability to walk, move or talk. The accident altered his well-being for the rest of his life./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201c[Since] then, we basically had a very challenging life emotionally because my father was the breadwinner and glue of our family,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201d says Eugene, who is studying communication and conflict. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201cFor about a year, we had to travel an hour away to Lakeland Hospital to visit him. I remember my siblings and I often had to do our homework in the hospital./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

Once her father was able to come home, he was still unable to function on his own, and her mother, who is from Dominica, had to become his primary caretaker, leaving Eugene and her two siblings to essentially take care of themselves, she says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201cAs a result, my mother went through depression, and my siblings and I had to grow up and mature really fast and basically raise ourselves,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201d Eugene says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201cBut I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019m very close to my mom and despite these trying times, she always expressed the desire for her children to get an education because she did not have the opportunity to do it and taught us the importance of getting an education./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201cI hope with my degree I can help relieve financial burdens and help take care of them.” – Oneisha Eugene, UCF student/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

While recovering at home, her father, a former construction manager, has been able to relearn some skills, such as walking, talking and cooking. Now, Eugene enjoys seeing him garden and care for their home, going for ice cream with him, and listening to him sing along to the music on the radio. Her mom has also improved some and she says they remain close and are there for one another./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201cMy father has gotten better but is still unable to work. Since my mom has dedicated her like to taking care of him, she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019s unable to work as well, so I hope with my degree I can help relieve financial burdens and help take care of them,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201d she says./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

Strength Through Support/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

Using settlement money from the car accident, Eugene/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019s mother would always buy whatever learning materials the New Jersey native needed when she was younger and enrolled her in tutoring, she says. But when it came to covering costs for college, without aid /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2014 such as the Black and Gold Grant, the UCF Scholars Award or the Derrick Sutton Endowed Scholarship /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2014 it wouldn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019t be possible for the DirectConnect to UCF student to complete her degree and go on to pursue her goal of becoming a teacher./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201cI/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019m studying communication and conflict because I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019ve had a lot of failed friendships and relationships due to lack of communication and I can see how being a better communicator can help me in professional and general life settings,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201d says Eugene, who is also a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success, which helps college students build career skills./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

First-generation students are those whose parents have not earned a bachelor/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019s degree. Although her older brother, 27-year-old Greg Eugene /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201918, earned a bachelor/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019s in computer engineering from UCF, she feels like she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019s had to navigate her college journey on her own since their fields are so different from one another./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

But their strong bond as siblings, including her older sister, 30, has helped her stay strong through their family struggles and whenever she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u2019s felt overwhelmed with coursework./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201cStrength in numbers definitely helped. We overcame a lot through laughter and jokes and our faith. Being close in age, we were able to relate to one another a lot,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/u201d says the 26 year old./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/115422/n