Running Head: AUTOETHNOGRAPHY

College Access Autoethnography

Justin Stoeckle
SDAD 5590
Dr. Erica Yamamura
Seattle University

AUTOETHNOGRAPHY
College Access Autoethnography
Timeline of College Activities
Growing up as a child, the idea of going to college was always present. I came to the
realization that I wanted to go to college when I started to follow college athletics. Having been
born in Michigan, I became a University of Michigan fan in middle school and ever since then

Michigan was my dream school. At the time, community colleges never crossed my mind. When
I was young I wanted to go to a school with a robust athletics program like Michigan and
community colleges did not offer such programs.
My idea of a dream school changed after attending Regis Jesuit High School. During my
time at Regis I came to the realization that I wanted to attend a Jesuit university, which helped
shape my college search process. I no longer wanted to go to a university with an outstanding
athletic program, but rather a university rooted in the Jesuit mission. Due to the fact that Regis is
a college preparatory high school, there were many workshops and college fairs to help students
understand the college application process. Regis helped me understand and navigate through
things such as the SAT/ACT, financial aid, the Common Application, and various scholarship
opportunities. Because of this I did not put much effort into doing research around the four-year
public universities and community colleges because they were not Jesuit institutions.
In making my final choice, there were a lot of factors that helped me. I was able to go
visit and tour schools such as Gonzaga and Creighton. I had a constant line of communication
with the admission counselors and financial aid officers to help me figure out what school was
the best fit for me. Ultimately community colleges were never a factor in my final decision
because after all my research, I knew I wanted to continue my education at a Jesuit university.

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Two Pivotal Moments in my College Pathway

The biggest moment for me in my college pathway was when my parents decided to send
me to Regis Jesuit High School as opposed to the public high school. I did not have a say in
deciding where I wanted to go to high school, but in the end I think that my parents made the
best decision for me. The public high school in my neighborhood did not have the best
reputation. That high school had a reputation of being a bad high school. What made it bad was
the poor academics as well as wide spread problems with drugs, alcohol, and violence. While
majority of students from that high school graduated and made it to college, my parents wanted
to send me the high school where they thought I had the best chance to succeed and achieve my
goals. My parents decided to send me to Regis Jesuit for many reasons but I think the most
important reason was because they knew that with a Regis education I would be able to get into a
good college. Regis was predominantly white with families who were mostly middle to upper
class. Regis was well known for its academics and athletic programs. But it is also well known as
being a school only for the rich white kids. This moment was pivotal for me because by
attending Regis Jesuit, the idea of going college finally became more of a reality. I always had
the dream of going to college but by attending Regis, I knew that the dream of college was going
to come to fruition and actually happen. My parents, teachers, and administrators would do
everything in their power to get me where I wanted to go and I dont think I would have gotten
that same support if I went elsewhere.
At Regis there was not much of an option for students in terms of whether they were
going to college or not upon graduation. Going to college was an expectation for everyone who
attended; therefore the option of not going to college was never on the table. Being at Regis
really pushed me to be the best student that I could be. People had aspirations to attend

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universities such as Notre Dame, Princeton, Pennsylvania, among others. I felt like in order to
keep up with my peers and fit in, I needed to attend a university with high accolades. Therefore,
community college was never really an option for me. I feel as though during my high school
days there was a negative stigma and connotation around community colleges that drove people
away from considering them as a place to continue their education. I graduated with 200 people
in my class and not a single one of them went to a community college. My peers thought that
community college was a place to go if you were not smart enough to get into a traditional
university, or if you did not have enough money to pay for a traditional university. Majority of
my peers went to the in state universities such as University of Colorado, Colorado State, and
University of Northern Colorado. Meanwhile, a large portion of everyone else attended schools
like Creighton University, Gonzaga University, and Notre Dame.
Another pivotal moment for me in my college pathway was seeing all of my older
cousins going to college and all of the praise that they got from the rest of my family. My family
places a high value on education. Majority of my cousins attended a private school at some point
in their lives. I have fifteen first cousins and I am one of the younger ones in the family. My
older cousins all went to college and were attending universities such as Elon, Florida State,
Xavier and Baylor while I was in middle and high school. In my family going to college is the
expectation. My parents, as well as my aunts and uncles, worked really hard to save up enough
money to send their children to the school of their choice. Seeing how my cousins were growing
and developing, and hearing about their college stories made me want to follow in their foot
steps. The language used around the idea of going to college was always encouraging. My family
members always spoke of their college experience assuming that I would experience something
similar. People were always so excited and upbeat when referring to college; it was almost like

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they were looking forward to living vicariously though me during my college experience. This
was a pivotal moment for me because I realized that if I did not go to college then I would be the
only one in my family to not go. I dont think that I felt a lot of pressure to go to college because
that was always a dream of mine. However I do feel that it would not have sat well with the rest
of my family if I did not go to college. I did not want to be the cousin who came to family
reunions without college stories to share.
Privilege and Opportunity Reflection
I would consider my journey to college incredibly privileged. In the traditional ways
which society views social capital, I would say I had an abundance of it. I was surrounded by
people with ability to help me network, research institutions, figure out ways to finance college,
and support me in my journey. Not everyone has the opportunity to attend a college preparatory
high school whose main goal is to get their students into the college of their choice. Everything
about my high school experience was privileged. I was able to attend workshops and seminars
around the topics of resume building, essay writing, and test taking skills. I had to work hard in
high school to get to where I wanted to go but Regis gave me some extra support in areas that
might not be accessible to everyone. I also think that going to a private high school gave me
access to colleges and universities that might not have recruited at a high school with students
from a lower income. When I told my friends who attended the public high school that I was
going to Creighton University, many of them had never heard it because Creighton did not
recruit there. At Regis, I had an almost unlimited selection of colleges and universities that I
could choose from to learn about and get connected with. I feel like the reputation of Regis
played a big factor and helped me put my foot in the door at many universities. This privilege is
something that I am not sure would have been available at another high school.

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I think that although all of these privileges helped me in my pathway to get to college, it
isnt doing me many favors as a student affairs professional. I think that because my path to
college was so privileged, I dont have experience understanding any other ways of getting to
college which might hurt my ability to connect to students who have a different path than me.
People of a different race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion etc. probably experience
obstacles in getting to college that I never experienced. However, as a student affairs
professional it is important for me to recognize that everyone has a different path to college and
resources need to be provided to students who might have had a difficult time getting to college
and might struggle to be retained. In my opinion, student affairs professionals need to establish
communities that first year students can easily connect with. In my finial decision, student affairs
played a big role because at Creighton University I was accepted into a living-learning
community called the Freshman Leadership Program. Knowing that I would be living on a floor
of people who are shared similar values and had similar aspirations as me was comforting in
making the transition to college. The program provided me with a sense of community that eased
my transition into Creighton.
Another thing that was helpful for me was having admissions counselors who cared more
about finding the right university for me rather than coercing me into attending their university.
Each admissions counselor obviously had hoped that I would chose their respective university,
however what made my college pathway easier was surrounding myself with people who truly
cared about me and wanted to find the best fit for my needs. In terms of establishing more
inclusive recruiting practices, I think it would go a long way for university admissions
counselors to approach their work from a care perspective. Admissions counselors need to help
perspective students understand finances and campus resources in order to give the student a

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realistic idea of whether or not the university would be a good fit for them. If an admissions
counselor realizes that a perspective student wouldnt be a good fit at their university due to a
lack of resources, they need to point the student the direction of a different university that would
better suit the student. In that case, I thing community colleges would be of great value to many
students who might not find their place at a traditional university. My ideas of community
college have changed drastically since starting my role at the University of Washington Bothell,
where we share a campus with Cascadia College. I have been able to work with students who
attend Cascadia College and their experience has taught me so much about the value of
community colleges and they types of students that they support.