This introspective critical essay elucidates some of the challenges I encountered in my efforts to persist at various levels of education as a first-generation White student from a low-income background and through multiple intersectionalities, primarily class and gender. My lived experiences and transformation from a near high school dropout to a university professor are detailed with particular attention to how these experiences transformed my thinking about my family from deficit to asset, and how I now use this critical consciousness in my teaching and research. Particular attention is paid to the political, social, and educational factors that influenced my philosophy of social justice.