The coronavirus class: A first-generation college grad confronts a uniquely uncertain future

East Elmhurst resident Jasmine Amigon will be the first member of her family to graduate college. But no one will get to see her walk across the stage to receive her NYU diploma. Photo courtesy of Amigon

By Emmy Freedman

Sitting on the couch in her home in East Elmhurst, scrolling through TikTok videos, Jasmine Amigon tries to calm the worry that her life hangs in limbo. She will soon graduate from New York University, but instead of feeling excited, she’s filled with uncertainty. 

Amigon is one of more than 3 million graduating college seniors across the U.S. whose lives have been upended by COVID-19. The illness has forced them out of their classrooms and dorms, canceled their graduation commencements and left their job prospects in doubt. 

“Generally, as a senior, you know everything is uncertain, and now you add a pandemic to it and everything is even more uncertain and you don’t know what’s to come, and it’s kind of scary,” Amigon said.

Her parents, who came to the U.S. from Mexico about 30 years ago, worked long hours to ensure their children could take advantage of educational opportunities that weren’t open to them back home. 

Thankful for her parents’ sacrifices, Amigon was excited for them to see her graduate and start an internship in the public health field. But many summer internships have now been canceled and with stay-at-home orders in place, she has no idea if her parents will ever get to see her walk across the stage to accept her diploma.

Her grandfather’s death from complications of COVID-19 has made the situation even worse, Amigon said.

“I was just finished with my exam, and then a few hours later my dad called me and I was like, ‘oh my god’ — we as a family didn’t know what to do,” Amigon said.

Because of social distancing regulations, the family was unable to hold a funeral for him, but they hope to be able to bury him in Chila de la Sal, in Puebla, Mexico, where Amigon’s grandmother is buried.

These setbacks weigh heavily on Amigon. So does the threat of the coronavirus in the low-income communities of Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst, where she grew up. 

Amigon’s family live in the epicenter of the coronavirus crisis, and research indicates that low-income people of color are more likely to die as a result COVID-19.. 

Students across the country are dealing with similar situations, said Allie Cooper, the director of Breakthrough Santa Fe, which works with students set to become the first members of their families to graduate from college.

“First-gen students disproportionately come from families who are lower income and who are working jobs that either have been cut due to this crisis or that are on the front lines,” said Allie Cooper, who works with first-generation students in New Mexico.

Amigon said she has long planned to help support her family after graduation because they sacrificed so much to help her on her path to NYU.

Her dad has worked in the restaurant industry since arriving in New York City. He started out washing dishes at a shop called Pizza Pazza in Long Island. There he asked the owner to give him more responsibilities and learned how to manage the restaurant. 

Amigon recalls him bringing home boxes of pizza as a special treat for the family. In 2005, after working in the industry for more than 10 years, he opened his own restaurant, Gina’s Pizzeria, in the Woodside part of Queens, with his brother-in-law. Since immigrating to the U.S. in 1989, Amigon’s father has improved his family’s socioeconomic standing. But while Amigon, the oldest of the family’s three children, was growing up, their economic situation was more precarious.

“Growing up, I really wanted to work to help them out with bills or something, but they would never allow me,” Amigon said. “They were like ‘no, stay at home, study, open that book.’ I’m really happy they allowed me the opportunity to focus on my schoolwork.”

Amigon said she worked hard in high school and had teachers who pushed her to pursue higher education at schools she believed were out of reach.

“When I started asking for letters of recommendation, my French teacher wouldn’t do it unless I applied to more schools because he believed in me more than I believed in myself,” Amigon said.

Now, she’s finishing up her final year on a full-tuition scholarship at NYU. She was eager for her parents to see her in her cap and gown and become the first member of her family to cross the stage to accept a diploma. She’s also missing her grandfather, whom she wishes could be around for her graduation festivities.

“We have such a huge family,” Amigon said. “We as Latinos love to have big parties and I don’t know what my parents would’ve done for me, but I’m sure he would’ve been there for that.”

Amigon studies global public health and biology at NYU, and she planned to work at an internship before applying to master’s programs. Now, however, all the summer internships she applied to have been canceled and her post-graduation plans are now in limbo.

But the uncertainty isn’t stopping Amigon from planning for the future. She’s using her free time at home to start studying for the GRE, she said.

“Knowing that you have all this free time, I think it’s a good way to plan and think about what you want to do,” Amigon said. “And take this time to your advantage.”