One month more and Kassandra Vernon’s family will join in an annual end-of-summer ritual: Her family will wave goodbye as they drop her off at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon, where she will study general psychology. 

She is enrolled in a special program that allows her to begin 

This may not seem so very remarkable until Kassandra reveals that she is the first in her family to go to college.

Working her way through problems many students in her shoes face, Kassandra earned her way to a university education.

“My mom was raised by an immigrant mother and my dad ended up getting his GED so there was definitely that educational barrier where I would be struggling with certain things for my classes that my parents wouldn’t be able to help me on because they wouldn’t understand,” Kassandra said. “It was one of those things where I really had to teach myself.”

Still, she graduated with a 5.04 grade-point average from Tucson High Magnet School and won nearly a full scholarship. Her tuition is covered with several scholarships, including a Western Undergraduate Exchange Scholarship, a First-Generation Scholarship from the National Society of High School Scholars and a Hughes Federal Credit Union scholarship. 

Growing up, Kassandra moved between the homes of various family members as her parents, Blake and Mariela Vernon, worked through financial hardship. At one point her grandmother’s trailer became the family’s only stable place to live. Inspired by her parents’ perseverance and determination, Kassandra has remained focused on building a different future through education. She has some advice for students who are entering high school who may be in her situation.

Her first piece of advise is this: Parents do the best they can.

“I give them so much grace because they’ve been wonderful,” she said. “They’ve helped me through so much.” 

Kassandra wasn’t a whiz at every subject. She had to work hard to graduate.

“I had a lot of hard times, especially with math,” she said. “I always struggled with math equations and remembering formulas. I would try and ask my parents for help and they would be like, ‘I’m sorry…’ It was one of those things where I could tell they were trying to help but it was really left up to me.”

It was during the COVID-19    pandemic when she was about 12 that she realized she needed more help.

“My parents graduated back in the early 2000s, so education then versus now is completely different,” Kassandra said. “They were learning things in high school that I would have learned in middle school.”

That’s when she asked for help.

“I reached out,” she said. “I got tutors. I reached out to my counselors. I spent extra time at school with my teachers. I did quite a lot of YouTube.”

She worked with her peers, getting help from her friends and spent a lot of time studying, too. Wherever help was available, she took advantage of it. “100%,” she said.

Although they could not help Kassandra academically, her parents helped in other important ways. 

“They always advocated for me,” Kassandra said. “They reached out to my counselors, they reached out to teachers. They always told me that I could (do it) and that it’s not always my fault if I don’t do the best at something.”

As she looks toward a new goal Kassandra has some satisfaction in a job well done. She knows others can do it too, though it can be hard.

“Success definitely doesn’t come without struggle,” she said. “All you can do is be resilient and just keep trying and looking forward to all the great things. … If you have your mind set on something you can absolutely do it. You will succeed if you put your mind to it.”

Kassandra is an example of this.

“It took a lot of struggle and many hard nights with school and teachers but I persevered and I’m grateful,” she said.