In limbo

One of the main themes of Cedric’s first year at Brown University can be summed up by the term “in limbo.” This term reflects Cedric’s uncertainty of how to navigate between the sharp academic, social and emotional learning curve of new situations commonly faced in higher education while keeping his past struggles and lessons in mind.  He distanced himself from his mother (physically and emotionally) Barbara, as a mechanism to protect himself and her from the stress of uncertainty.  His benefactor, Donald, was able to send financial support, but little in the way of empathetic understanding and guidance.  Cedric is undoubtedly steadfast in his convictions, and anyone can appreciate A Hope in the Unseen’s positive message of overcoming the odds.  However, it begs many questions. 

The main focus of this post is what is currently being done, at an institutional or macro, to help students that are “in limbo”? Being “in limbo” tends to occur to lower SES and first generational students. They tend to be, like Cedric, educational and personality anomalies in their families and/or communities. Arthur Levine and Jana Nidiffer write in their book, Beating the Odds: How the Poor Get to College (1996), that starting mentorship early is a key factor to creating a normalcy, rather than anomaly of the poor getting to college. Not only can proper mentorships benefit the student’s likelihood of getting to college, but it can also create a catalyst for social change by breaking communication barriers that often occur across generations and social class.  Mentorship is individual by nature, so it has its shortfalls. Again, what is being done to support students, and their families, that face the situation of being “in limbo”?