On The Climb - Aaron Molina
On The Climb is a new series where we bring stories from our students who are on their journey to academic and career success.
Aaron and I have known each other for over 5 years. I believe one of my earliest and favorite memories involved a chess game I played with Aaron, then a High School Junior who had me absolutely sweating during each move. I won the game only because he made a mistake, and Aaron doesn't make mistakes. I knew how brilliant he was then, and its amazing to see that nothing has changed. Other than where we both live now. I moved from Franklin Township, NJ a suburb nestled between the states 2 most prestigious universities. Aaron is now a second year undergraduate at Princeton University - 30 minutes from where I grew up.
Aaron Molina
Secretary, Board of Directors - Princeton University Class of 2026
Aaron is our Student Ambassador Coordinator and is a member of our Board of Directors. He is a first-generation low-income student from Brownsville, TX (the place I call home now). So I'm dying to know how he's adjusted to the change not just physically, but academically, emotionally, and all the ways in between.
I expected to hear the usual things we hear from students - living by yourself is hard, time-management is hard, balancing the social life and the academic rigor is very hard. We definitely know that these are the challenges for a student at an Ivy League. I was surprised to hear this was the case from Aaron, the brilliant mind who let me win at chess. So I asked him tell me about his experience in detail:
"Instead of competing with my high school peers where we all share similar backgrounds, here at Princeton, we have a diverse array of students. It is very challenging to find Equity or Equality in terms of education because one person in the classroom out of a hundred might have gone to a private school with tutoring and additional resources and a tenth of the students in the class might have gone in public school where they did not have that access."
Aaron isn't alone in this. We already know that in the State of Texas, public schools are ranked 28th in America, and with a majority of RGV Schools being Title 1 - adjusting to academic rigor at the Ivy League level is something we are concerned about.
Adam McCann, WalletHub Financial WriterJul 24, 2023
The toughest part is that we know that these top institutions are also the ones that have the largest endowment funds which benefit the financial aid needs of various valley students.
Another point that surprised me in the conversation I had with Aaron included the word transformation. We used it often in our conversation to describe a wide variety of changes and adjustments students normally make, and Aarons use of the word caught me off guard in that.
People think [college] is a simple change, but when in actuality it is way more complex than many people realize. It's like learning more about yourself, learning more about your personality, but also realizing that I'm at a disadvantage which is a harsh realization when coming to college. That can either motivate people or can really demotivate them."
Talking about this transition a little bit more, we started to talk about Princeton a little bit more about how Aaron started to build community and relationships that will help him and other students like him lift each other as they climb those ivory towers. This reason amongst many many others is why we have asked him to join our Board of Directors. 😁
Aaron enjoying his time at Princeton University
He spoke about the organizations he's a part of including Princeton Latin American Student Association, as well as a club focused on helping Latinx students network, connect, and pursue opportunities in business and entrepreneurship. Clubs like these exist at many different schools and programs across the country and are great sources of generational knowledge, which classes to take, and resources that will help you succeed. I'm grinning from ear to ear hearing that he's not only joined those groups but helped pave the way for more students who come from similar backgrounds. It's what we hope each of our students that leave RioProgress considers doing.