Greater Challenges

An excerpt from the Washington Post -

He’s going home for Christmas. But most people at his prestigious college have no idea what he’s facing there. 
By Valerie Strauss

Here is a new, personal and moving piece by Wood that reflects not only his own experiences but that of millions of other students who come from impoverished backgrounds.

By Zachary Wood

On Thanksgiving Day, my uncle, who’s 48, asked me if I could help him find a job. My dad, who works late hours to ensure that I attend college, was at work, so I was the only one around who could assist him.

While we worked together, he kneeled on the floor and I sat on the pile of luggage that had formed in the living room as my family gathered for the holiday.

He didn’t have a résumé, or email, and he didn’t know how to use a computer to fill out online job applications. So we had to start from square one. We began by looking at job descriptions online. For many of the jobs, I had to read the descriptions aloud to him because he couldn’t read some of the vocabulary. After looking through 43 job postings, we narrowed the pool down to a list of 10.

But before we applied, I had to set up his email account and show him how to use it.

After setting up email for him, we began working on his resume. He had never used Microsoft Word before and did not know what a resume should consist of, so the process was tedious. I figured the best way to proceed would be for me to ask him questions about previous experiences and qualifications. As he described each of his previous jobs and credentials, I tried to organize them into coherent sections. After editing what I’d written, he read over it and we began filling out job applications.

As an African-American college student from a poor family, I frequently have to help my family navigate tasks that students from upper-income backgrounds don’t need to explain to their families. But I’m not the only one.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/12/17/hes-going-home-for-christmas-but-most-people-at-his-prestigious-college-have-no-idea-what-hes-facing-there/?utm_term=.5a8e55fa4342&wpisrc=nl_most-draw7&wpmm=1