Delaney Christy
Share Your Story
My parents are Michiganders, as am I. They taught me to shoot for the stars and never back down, working hard and making sacrifices to give me and my siblings a better chance at life. Growing up in Southeast Michigan with family across Metro Detroit, I was a witness to the exhausting, unfair, and complex reality of the Rust Belt working class. For generations, a bachelor’s degree was an impossibility for my family (let alone a degree from the University of Michigan). For as many generations as our UofM peers have had relatives with four-year degrees, most First Gen students have had relatives living in poverty. But for just as long, we have come from people who persevere. As a First Generation college student at UofM, I found an unshakable community united by our shared drive, ambition, compassion, and perseverance. I felt seen and understood by other First Gen students who also came to UofM hoping to create a better world and a better life for our communities and our families. I graduated from the University of Michigan in May of 2026 with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and am now a member of the full-time research staff at Michigan Medicine. Many of the Faculty Members, Staff, and Graduate Students who gave me a chance and believed in me were also first-gen. The classes will be difficult, and the imposter syndrome might be grueling, but never let yourself lose sight of the end goal: Getting The Degree. I did it, and you can do it too.
Your advice for other First-Gen students
Your skills are a commodity. You have a unique and extraordinary blend of talents, not only as a first-gen student, but as a first-gen student who will graduate from *the* University of Michigan. Your process might look different from your peers. Your results may take a different shape than the norm. Don’t let anyone tell you that your differences are weaknesses. You are more than a score out of 100. Stop scrutinizing your place on the bell curve and keep your sights set on your passions and your purpose. You are a trailblazer. You’ve got this, and the UofM First-Gen Community has your back. Go change the world.