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First-gen low-income Northeastern students experience unseen struggles

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Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

The Huntington News, February 2023

Cynthia Barrera, a second-year criminal justice and political science combined major, has a packed schedule for a Northeastern University student: she’s balancing four classes while working 10-15 hours a week as a peer mentor, a teaching assistant and a receptionist at an office on campus. “There comes a struggle with learning how to balance my work life and my school life. And a lot of professors aren’t always the most understanding when it comes to you having to balance life outside of Northeastern that isn’t solely just student life,” Barrera said.

Barrera is a first-generation, low-income student who needs to contribute to her tuition bills to attend Northeastern.

“We’re trying to earn money and live on our own,” she said.

Continue reading at The Huntington News.

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