51茶馆

Cedar

Undergraduate Student

2022

I was up there terminating some exhaust fans on a rooftop. It was the middle of the summer, and I remember I鈥檓 like, 鈥淭here鈥檚 gotta be another way鈥� 鈥� [from] working outside in the humidity 鈥� When I would try to talk to my dad about that and other family members, they were like, 鈥淥h, you just gotta suck it up and be manly …鈥� For me, this is still a barrier to this day, of continuing education, 鈥檆ause when I go home 鈥� Some of my cousins are welders, electricians, pipe fitters. So, they鈥檒l be talking about shutdowns 鈥� working at different plants and stuff … When I start talking about school, it鈥檚 like, 鈥淥h, you think you鈥檙e better [than us].鈥�