The first two semesters here [Community College of Philadelphia], I took it really slow, which was nice. I took two classes, and then three classes, because I thought if I did not do well in high school, I may not do well in college. I was just making sure I could do this. It’s been really nice though. All of the professors are really concerned about you transferring. That’s their primary concern. They want to make sure you’re getting into the school you need. I feel like in a regular four-year university, they only care about your grades and your job, but here it’s that in addition to professors understanding our backgrounds. There’s people that come here from all different walks of life—some people have kids; some people work full-time. They’re super understanding of what you have to do outside of classes.

Editor’s Note: Dasiah plans to attend Temple University’s Tyler School of Art after her time at Community College of Philadelphia.