Yeah!

(Pensive dramatic music) College for me, like, before coming here was definitely a fright fest.

People telling me, you know, college is gonna be like this, gonna be like that, you're gonna be bombarded with classes.

I'm just, like, overwhelmed.

I finally get here.

Uh, it's great that Loyola's so welcoming, because, you know, I had to ask a lot of questions, I had to figure out what is it that I can do, and there was a lot I could do.

DAVIOIN: [at chalkboard] You use this equation anytime you wanna find if an individual force is being, being applied to something.

You only have the kinetic energy, you wanna find the work for it, use this equation.

Any questions?

YOUNG DAVIOIN: I believe the world doesn't determine what you have to do.

You determine what you wanna do, so if you want to get into a good college, you're gonna have to work really hard for that.

(Uplifting music swells) ♪ My name is Davioin Hill.

I'm 18 years old, and I'm a freshman at Loyola University.

So, the classes I'm taking this semester are: Intro to Engineering, 3-D Art Design and Engineering, um, Physics, Physics Lab, Calc, and Effective Writing.

Yeah, nah, it's still mechanical engineering.

I have been thinking about computer engineering, but we'll just have to see.

I've been thinking about, like, NASA recently, low key, not gonna lie, 'cause I was like, yo, it'd be cool, if I just built, like, this drone on Mars or something, or I help, you know, craft the next rocket.

Knowing that they have a program for first-gen students makes me feel even more welcome.

EDWARD FINE: Loyola is a very welcoming and accepting community.

As a first-gen student, there are a tremendous number of challenges that we face in college, but Loyola actually has a very strong support network for us.

There's so many resources here at Loyola, and I want you to know that you're always gonna be welcome.

DAVIOIN: I'm in a pretty involved major being in mechanical engineering and whatnot, and I have a pretty heavy load, so um, how do you reckon I should, like, bounce back, if I were to fail?

EDWARD: First and foremost, build a relationship with your professor, right?

Professors are phenomenal.

They don't want you to fail your class.

They want you to learn and understand the material, and especially engineering departments.

DAVIOIN: The academics here at Loyola are definitely challenging.

So, do you think I can make it?

Do you think I can work towards getting my degree?

EDWARD: One hundred percent beyond any shadow of doubt, like, you can beyond any reasonable measure of doubt obtain your degree.

I guarantee you, you will have a well-earned diploma that's very respectable and you'll have a community of support for the rest of your life.

DAVIOIN: I was stunned myself by, like, how much I could do here, 'cause I'm not used to being able to do so much or having many options as far as, like, this many clubs or going to the gym or eating at this many places whenever I can, just, yeah.

Coming to Loyola, this was my first time ever going to the gym of the FAC, and about that experience, uh, you know, me being confused and whatnot.

So, I walk up to the first person I see, my friend Kenny, and he offers me to follow him around the gym, and I start doing the workouts that he was doing.

Yeah, um, the boxing community is... Oh, my gosh, like, the club, it's seniors running it, and they all know what they're doing, and it's really cool watching them demonstrate how to, like, kick and how to do these different weaving maneuvers and one-twos.

The gym makes me more confident, so does boxing.

And when I do well on any assignment, that boosts my confidence too, it's just me doing well, that peaks my confidence.

TYLER: He doesn't skip a day.

JOHN: He doesn't!

No, he's crazy.

He's the most determined man I've ever met.

Like, I met him, and he was like, "John, I'm gonna get ripped in college."

And I was like, okay.

And he's, like, working at it... TYLER: He's already looking... JOHN: So wait, what do you go, like, every other day?

TYLER: No, he's every day.

Every day.

JOHN: Every single day?

DAVIOIN: They made me feel like I fit in.

Initially, when I got here, I was like, I'm the only guy that looks like, you know, I'm obviously the minority in the place, right?

Like, you'll see two Black guys out of every, like, 10 White persons, so I'm like, you know, I felt left out.

JOHN: We do everything together.

So, like, there's not much that we don't know that, like, goes on, you know?

But if something, someone has a problem, you know, like, Day will come up to one of us or I'll go up to Day and be like, "Hey, man, like, what's up?

Like, how we doing?"

TYLER: And he came up to all of us, like, introduced himself like, brought us in, gave us a room tour.

I was like, okay, yeah, I love this kid.

I was like, yeah, I'm looking forward to the next year.

DAVIOIN: If it wasn't for the financial aid offers, me being here is very unlikely.

You know, Loyola, for such a good school, it is super expensive.

So, if Loyola wasn't gonna work out, community college was probably gonna have to be my best bet, which I'm super grateful for the financial aid for me being here.

(Music fades out) (Upbeat music) COURTNEY JACOBS III: A big part of me changed my mind as far as going to college was really just taking a step back and realizing that a lot of the things that, you know, I'm interested in didn't necessarily require college.

And um, also in this day and age, I also came to realize that college is not really as big as a requirement to be successful either.

Um, and I kinda, you know, I had the faith in myself, I trusted in myself to make the decision, you know, to kinda take a different route.

And so far, I've definitely been enjoying it.

Um, I've been learning a lot, and I'm happy with my decision.

(Dramatic piano music) YOUNG COURTNEY: I think getting into college and going to a good school depends on what I do because the decisions that I make follow me.

♪ (Applause from crowd) My name is Courtney Jacobs III.

I'm 19 years old, and I'm currently attending Hartford Community College within the electrical apprenticeship.

Well, my parents, they're very, very supportive um, of my decision.

It was more so just explaining to them why, you know?

They was on board from the jump, they just wanted to make sure my "why" was there, and um, once I gave them that why, it was, you know, "We're behind you," you know?

(Reflective music) ♪ WAYNE LLOYD JR: Our requirements are 144 hours of schoolwork and then 8,000 hours.

Their companies that they work for are in the program as well, so hours are recorded, uh, time is recorded, and the pay, so to be in the apprenticeship program, you have to have a job, and we can provide these jobs.

COURTNEY: As far as my weekly routine, uh, it pretty much goes like this: Monday through Friday, I'm working from 6:30 AM to 3:00 PM, um, and Mondays and Wednesdays, I have school, I have night classes from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

When I'm working from 6:30 to 3:00, I'm usually, you know, I'm pretty much more so looked at as a helper, you know?

I'm there to make sure everybody is good, you know, with materials, everybody is, you know, if they need help with working on something, I'll be there, I'll be the helping hand for them as well.

So I'm pretty much, like, that guy, you know?

Just making sure everybody is good and they have what they need.

Um, if they decide to give me a personal project to work on, then I'll work on that as well.

WAYNE: Courtney right now is learning, as a first-year apprentice, is the basic electrical theory, so he'll be learning about electrons, neutrons, articles, definitions, and big terms material.

COURTNEY: This is a 4-year program that I'm in.

Uh, with each year, you know, you progress as an apprentice.

Um, I'm a first-year apprentice right now, uh, I have three more years to go, so for my fourth year, I'll be a journeyman, certified journeyman.

And um, you know, that's when the real work begins.

(Electronic pop music) ♪ WAYNE: Basically, this is your support.

Some of this stuff right here is code-recommended, like, support, this will fail your whole application, your whole job if you don't have a support between boxes.

Hey, uh, Courtney, do you believe the apprenticeship program is what you expected?

COURTNEY: Um, yes and no.

You know, I expected a lot of, you know, a lot more, I guess, difficulty more so getting into it.

I kinda had a different expectation for the whole electrical trade.

But you know, as I got into it, I realized this is something that, you know, is kinda for me, you know?

It's not as hard as it might seem, you know?

Like, you said before, so.

WAYNE: How do you find the class?

Are you finding that it's helpful or difficult?

COURTNEY: I definitely find the class is helpful, you know.

You know, you're pretty much learning the technical part when you're in the class, so it's definitely important to know.

So Wayne, do you think I'm going good in the class?

WAYNE: Man, I think, I think you're going excellent, man.

I like the way you apply, and I also like the way you observe, lately you've been the only one asking a lot of technical questions.

And you also challenge me, you make me go to work, you make me look forward, you know what I mean?

I like that, and I like seeing that inside you.

I think that's good.

Courtney's a great student, he's very quiet and very observant.

I like Courtney because he asks a lot of tough questions, he makes me do my work, he makes me go into the code book and actually find out.

I believe Courtney wants it, he wants to move on, he wants to be successful, and I'm here to help.

COURTNEY: Choosing a career and making a life decision, I just wanted to, you know, let people know that it's okay to change your mind.

You know, it's okay to not be sure about what you wanna do, because, you know, at our young age, we feel that we have people dependent on us, we have people, you know, drilling stuff in our head that we might not fully agree with, so, you know, when you come to a point in your life where you have to make a decision, I just wanna let people know that it's okay to not be sure and it's okay to, you know, not fully know.

I believe I definitely made the right decision as far as, you know, joining this program.

I could say that I feel good, you know, um, I feel like I'm definitely growing, and, you know, it's only up from here.

(Upbeat electronic pop music) ♪ PRINCAYA SANDERS: This is my room.

This is my bed.

The kitchen area per uh, my mom gave me her coffee machine, her favorite coffee machine.

This is the study area/desk.

YOUNG PRINCAYA: I promised myself, me, Princaya Sanders, I promised myself that education is first.

Always going to be first.

It shall be first.

(Uplifting music) ♪ My name's Princaya Sanders.

I'm 19 years old, and I attend University of Maryland Eastern Shore as a freshman at the moment.

Now that I'm at college, it's better than what I expected it to be, because, number one, I enjoy my classes.

I have a lot of free time, and it's not the heavy workload that I was told it'd be.

Yeah, I had three classes on Monday.

So, I stay in here till like 9:30, go to class, I have a 10 o'clock.

Eleven, I will come back here after getting some takeout, and I will stay here till like 2:30, will have to go to my second class, biology, then I go to psych, which is my last class for the day.

I wouldn't say it's easy, but, like, it's better than what I thought it'd be because I thought it'd be, like, a stack of paper thrown in front of you, do it by tomorrow.

So, the classes I have are ASL, American Sign Language, Psychology, Rehabilitation, English, Biology, amongst others.

[chuckles] So, my favorite so far is psychology.

So, I still want to do psychology, but I don't know what area yet.

On one point, I wanna be a psych professor.

On the other hand, I wanna be a psychiatrist, and on the other hand, I wanna do psychology, so it's about picking whichever one.

I feel like, I will have a grasp on what I wanna do by junior year.

ZAHJUN'YAEL "ZAY": I know Princaya because she's one of my residents.

I think she's a very hardworking, determined young lady.

I think from what I've noticed from her and when anything is presented her way, she tries her best to figure it out.

PRINCAYA: I am really happy I chose UMES because, number one, I wanted to go to a HBCU.

The sense of family and the friendships I made, you can't really make it anywhere else for me.

In a person, that's my personal opinion, I'm sorry.

ZAHJUN'YAEL "ZAY": So, everyone's always there to help you, even if you don't any know anyone, you ask a question, you ask for help, everyone's always willing to help you no matter if they know you or not.

Even when you have hard class work, I think it's important to talk to your professors, talk to your department chairs, because here at the University of Maryland Shore, I really do feel like they try to make, um, they feel as much as a family as they can.

I don't think anyone has ever been, like, presented with a situation that they couldn't go to someone to help get fixed.

PRINCAYA: And all the things I've heard about being Black and going to a HBCU, it's like, now that I'm here, it's exactly what I thought it'd be, the family experience.

ZAHJUN'YAEL "ZAY": She's found family in the dorm that she lives in, and I see that with her group of friends, um, the connection that they have, they always are having game nights, they're watching movies in the lounge, they have their friends over.

So, I really feel like they have a sense of community and they built a bond.

PRINCAYA: So, when I got here, I just started talking to people, and then boom, I have friends.

That's exactly how it went in high school.

And at this moment, I have, like, two or three friends that I'm just always with.

ZAHJUN'YAEL "ZAY": So, I hope for her to finish school and then continue in the profession that she loves.

PRINCAYA: So, I'm already a family leader, so if I go home for vacations or whatever college may bring, I don't think there'll be much of a change in how I'm viewed or respected.

I'm really used to holding everything together.

Like, as I say, I'm the vibe to the family.

I'm gonna be the first person in my family to graduate, also known as a "first gen." I feel like I will be the person to bridge the gap between the worlds, so it's like everybody has a dream, it just depends on where you wanna go, how you wanna go about it.

So, I'll be a "first gen," so I'll be able to help the next generation of students in my family who wanna go to college, so you gotta stay here, you gotta watch me, you gotta come back to see.

(music fades out) (Mellow electronic music) ♪ SHAKEER FRANKLIN: It was my plan to go to BCCC, Baltimore City Community College.

I don't know what it was that I just didn't like about it, it just, I just didn't like it.

One morning, I woke up and I sat on the edge of my bed before I got dressed for school, and I was just like, "Bro, are you sure?"

And for me, it was very hard because, you know, my whole life I've been talking about going to college.

College, college, college.

Seeing that and I having that realization actually, I might█ve dropped a few tears, [laughs] but I made the decision.

I was like, yeah, I don't, I don't want to, not yet.

TEACHER: He doesn't know that he's getting this, but he actually won Scholar of the Year, Shakeer Franklin.

(Shakeer cheers) YOUNG SHAKEER: Oh!

Oh, my God!

I don't believe, I control my own destiny, but I'm definitely the biggest influence in my own destiny.

(Applause from crowd) My name is Shakeer Franklin.

I'm 19 years old, and I graduated high school in August.

[Speaking in Arabic] One of the very first things as a Muslim you have to learn because, you know, you have to pray five times a day, just talks about um, seeking favor from God and just talks about the majesty of God and uh, just ask for God to allow us to on a straight path and everything as we go through trials and tribulations.

MAALIK: Now, let's do a little bit of conversation.

[Shakeer responds in Arabic] Okay, I asked him how was he.

He said, "I'm well, and you?"

I wound up in Vietnam in 1970, and I still kinda wasn't focused, but it was, the reality was the reading and re-reading "The Autobiography of Malcolm X."

SHAKEER: Yes.

MAALIK: And to me, he had the correct assessment of the urban Black male in terms of um, the... ...the negative influences that were in our environment.

SHAKEER: [speaking in Arabic] Yeah.

Yeah.

I don't remember, oh- [speaks in Arabic] Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that word.

MAALIK: I decided actually to become a Muslim when I was in Vietnam.

Okay, so that kinda turned me around and made me face myself, and decide who I was gonna be.

SHAKEER: Brother Abi, I just wanna thank you for a little bit of teaching that you gave me today.

I would really, really appreciate it to start studying with you.

MAALIK: And they say, [Speaks in Arabic and Shakeer repeats] I'm at your service.

SHAKEER: [Laughs] Oh, that's good!

After I decided that college wasn't for me yet, everyone was like, "okay, cool, but you're not dropping out?"

Like a few weeks later, he called me, he was like, "Shakeer, guess what I just found out about?"

And I was like, okay, [inaudible] Abi.

And he was like, "There's this program.

Uh, and you can go study overseas, you can go there for a year, like, a calendar year, you could study Arabic, and you could come back and you could, like, do this stuff, and you will also learn a whole bunch of stuff while you're there.

MAALIK: This is gonna be a golden opportunity um, for you to go there and have a new experience.

SHAKEER: Yes.

MAALIK: [clears throat] Um, you know, to meet and learn different things in the Arabic language.

SHAKEER: Yeah.

MAALIK: So, um, what are your thoughts on that?

SHAKEER: I like it, Abi.

I like it a whole lot, it's um really different.

Um.

When I had left school, I wanted something different, to really get away, to go really far.

It's a beautiful opportunity, so I will definitely look more into that 'cause it's heavy and I like it a whole lot.

MAALIK: I always say that may your accomplishments only be exceeded by your dreams.

SHAKEER: That's what you wrote in my card.

[Both laugh] ISLAAH: This there.

SHAKEER: That's the original card.

ISLAAH: Which one do you remember?

SHAKEER: I read it at Bard.

ISLAAH: Uh-huh.

SHAKEER: Um, in 10th grade, and then I read it again at uh, YO Baltimore when I went there.

ISLAAH: Okay, so what, what stands out... SHAKEER: Um... ISLAAH: ...about it?

What made it memorable?

We all thought he was just destined to go to early college and keep moving.

So somewhere along the way, he didn't tap in with us, he didn't check in, so I felt like, well, how did we drop the ball with this child that we have in our midst who's very talented, very intelligent.

I've worked with hundreds of kids who have demonstrated a certain type of potential.

If you don't have a lot of different influences converging upon them, because it's almost like we're at war.

You know, something's trying to pull the kids away from whatever it is they're destined to do that will be great, but something is trying to pull them in another direction.

(Upbeat pop electronic music) ♪ SHAKEER: I love learning and um, definitely wanna continue the legacy that my grandparents and my parents, and everyone has started, and continue that and teach my kids and myself, and my peers, and everything that, so learning that is definitely gonna be a good way to uh, continue the legacy, 'cause it's a beautiful legacy, and I feel the responsibility to continue that the best of my ability.

I'm no longer scared.

I'm ready to go, when I see the opportunity, I want it.

I'm going to go at it, and I'm down to try it, I'm down to try, I'm down to try.

Try it, try it, try it, because I see the success.

(music fades out) (Voices of conversations on police scanner] (Police sirens) TYLER MCKENZIE: This community here is definitely a different environment.

I do feel safer in the aspect that, like, back home is, like, an all-out war here, like, people don't really, you're not coming to college to fight or steal or shoot somebody, you know what I'm saying?

So, I feel safer in that aspect, you know what I'm saying?

So, I do feel safe being there and not just 'cause it's a HBCU but just 'cause, like, it's college.

You know, I don't really think, like, when you go to college you're supposed to, like, not feel safe, you know what I'm saying?

So, me personally, I would say I do feel safer being on this campus than being back at home.

(Mysterious music continues) TYLER: Well, yo, you gotta be aware of Baltimore 'cause, like, it's really dangerous.

It's a dangerous city.

It's top five dangerous city in the States, so.

You gotta be aware, if you live in Baltimore.

Anything can happen out there.

(Mysterious music fades) (Uplifting dramatic music) YOUNG TYLER: Me staying in school is gonna help me basically get beyond West Baltimore, it's gonna help me do my dreams.

(Uplifting dramatic music swells) ♪ (Cheers and applause from crowd) TYLER: So, this is where I do my work at.

I normally do all my essays and stuff right here.

My Dad's watch.

I really miss my Dad a lot, and he gave it to me before I came here, like, came to college.

So, I just feel, like, every time I go somewhere special, I always wear it.

It's like a statement for me.

I'm not gonna be distant from my Dad because I have a college degree.

Like, that doesn't, I don't think anybody becomes distant from their family because of that.

I think it's much more personal reasons.

But nah, me and my Dad, like, unbreakable.

And I don't think there'll ever be a disconnect, um, especially not about school 'cause, like, he might not understand it, but that's what I'm here for.

You know, it's like, what he doesn't understand, I'll be here to tell him.

And that's how it's always been, so I don't think there's gonna be a disconnect just 'cause I got a college degree.

Um, I'm a "first-gen" college student.

To me, I guess, it means a lot, but like, to me, it doesn't mean anything at the current moment 'cause I didn't finish.

Not finished, so it doesn't mean nothing to me.

'Cause like, okay, I made it, but can I finish?

I gotta finish it in order for it to mean something to me.

The freedom.

I can do whatever I want.

And that's kinda what, I guess, what I like.

That's really about it though.

TYLER: The work doesn't make it any better, it's more work than it is in high school.

It's like they give you all your responsibilities, you just gotta be able to do 'em.

I take English, I take two bio classes, then I take Psychology, and then I take World Civilization.

Well, I'm changing my major from sports management to journalism because I wanna be a sports anchor.

So, in order for me to be a sports anchor, I have to have a journalism major.

So, I guess my career path now would be, like, to be able to, like, talk about sports and stuff on TV.

Come over here, I have my basketball stuff.

I got my little poster right here.

My aunt actually made this, this is my favorite one.

Nah, I just didn't play this year.

I just didn't play this year.

I'll play next year.

I just, I really didn't, I really didn't pay that much, too much attention to basketball 'cause I wanted to focus on school.

'Cause I know that when I was in high school, I struggled a lot with trying to focus on both basketball and school.

So, I just wanted to focus on school this year, and that way, if I know I was able to maintain it, then next year I will go for basketball.

(Dramatic and reflective music) ♪ TYLER: I don't wanna live in Baltimore.

Like, I can't see myself living in Baltimore 'cause it's just like, I've been there for 19 years, [sighs] seen some things most people don't wanna see.

It's just, it's not been a good experience.

So, the first chance I get, I'm gone, and I'm not looking back.

And my Dad and everybody else know it.

That's the motto.

My Dad don't want me to live, nobody wants me to live in Baltimore.

Regardless of what career path I choose, they don't want me to live in Baltimore.

I don't want myself to live in Baltimore.

Is UMES my way out?

I would suppose so, I would think so.

It's like the door to my way out.

UMES would be the door, and I gotta open it.

(Voices of teens talking among themselves) (Upbeat electronic pop music over credits) ♪