Stephanie Land grew up in Washington and Alaska. She has a younger brother, a father who is a project manager, and a mother who is a social worker. Her parents divorced, and her mother moved to Europe with her second husband. Stephanie is not close with her biological family; none of them are interested in receiving graduation announcements. She speaks to her father once over the course of Class, and it is implied that he dies soon after. Stephanie’s cousin Michelle arrives shortly before she is due to give birth and drives her to the birth center. Stephanie fled her abusive ex Jamie and, with her daughter Emilia, moved to Seattle, where she worked as a housecleaner. Emilia’s early life was marked by food and housing insecurity; Stephanie and Emilia lived in 15 homes in five years.

Stephanie and Emilia move from Seattle to Missoula so that Stephanie can attend the University of Montana. Since Stephanie moves a few weeks before classes begin, she is admitted as an out-of-state resident. Though out-of-state tuition costs three times as much as in-state tuition, she chooses to pursue her degree immediately rather than working for a year to qualify for the in-state tuition.