Celebrating 1st Gen Success | 5 min read

Congratulations Class of 2020!

You’ve clicked off your last Zoom class, finished that online final, and maybe posted about your four-year journey’s end. You’ve earned it. Although under different circumstances than anticipated, you’ve graduated from college and are off to bigger and better things, so we take this time to celebrate with you. 

This also marks an especially admirable milestone for a group of individuals: first-generation college students, the first-in-their-family, the trailblazers in academia. You’ve bested the odds and achieved great strides not just for yourself but for your families. We’re proud of you.

We also realized some may not even know what first-gen means, or that they are one! Here, we raise a glass to our firsts (in families), remember our lasts (on campus) and move forward knowing not to cry because it’s over, but to smile because it happened.

WHAT ARE FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS

According to the Center for First-Generation College Students, first-gen: “impl[ies] the possibility that a student may lack the critical cultural capital necessary for college success because their parents didn’t attend college.”. The Center is an initiative from NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) and the Suder Foundation, a program created to increase the graduation rates of first-gen college students. You can learn more about what they offer here. 

We asked first-gen students how they define themselves. Ellie Mummert, an adviser for the Pennsylvania College Advising Corps and a first-gen graduate from Susquehanna, put it in her own words.

“Being first-gen means breaking barriers; it means ending generational norms. As the first in my family to graduate from college, I have the chance to better myself and my life, and hopefully do the same for my family. Being first-gen means working and fighting really hard to accomplish my goals and reach my dreams. Being first-gen means being persistent and persevering.”

Ellie Mummert, PCAC Adviser

Ellie decided to become a PCAC Adviser after having two in high school walk her through the college process, which she largely credits to her success in undergrad. She spent the next four years wanting to have a similar impact on others, and uniquely understood the underrepresented/underaided group filled with untapped potential. 

She believes more colleges/universities should have mentoring programs (both peer and faculty) as first-gen students could see others that overcame the same struggles that they are going through. Faculty mentors could help navigate academic and professional lives, while student resources (tutoring, counseling, career services, etc.) could be better incorporated into first-year orientation programs and other student programming. In short, Ellie’s found the right career for her, and has a number of ideas on how best to serve her target audience, including identifying some benefits and challenges to being first in the family.

THE BENEFITS OF BEING FIRST-GEN

By definition, these students 

• Get to break generational norms, 

• Achieve something their parents dreamed of, and 

• Bring a unique perspective to a university.

All of which can result in bettering themselves and their home communities.Their different outlook often results in some truly creative “out of the box” thinking for offering different solutions to issues and challenges. Speaking of,

THE CHALLENGES OF BEING FIRST GEN

• Unfamiliarity with the college process and culture. We’re including the financial aid and application processes.

• Lack of knowledge on resources made available to them.

• Other external/internal factors. We can’t know each individual circumstance. Are one’s family unit supportive? Do they have a home to go back to? What may be a ‘given’ for one student is an anxiety-inducing uncertainty to another. 

In response to these challenges are organizations like PCAC, and advisers like Ellie and her colleague/ fellow SU alum, Alyssa Bower. We also spoke with her on the importance of initiatives like PCAC, and what they can offer for first-gen families. 

HOW TO HELP FIRST-GEN SUCCEED

“ To me, a first-gen student is any student who does not have the influence of experience or the expectation of higher education in their home. In many ways, each first-gen experience is different. Some students have parents pressuring them into going to a good college, but their parents do not have experience in that itself. Some students want to go to college, but find themselves isolated from their family by that factor. The one thing that advisers can do for each and every student is provide information and support without judgement.”

Alyssa Bower, PCAC Adviser

PCAC advisers like Alyssa help students by often coming from outside the community she serves. She remarks that many advisers are very unlike the other staff and faculty, especially when they are closer in age to the students themselves, who are more comfortable with an adviser who is nearer in age and just went through college. Students are encouraged to invest in their education to move toward college or another path, though adviers’ direct influence is on college applications, admissions, and financial aid.

Advisers also alleviate pressure on guidance counselors who have too many students to support and haven’t been trained in college/career prep and other recent trends, giving attention to students in a way many staff can’t. This especially helps students who have less support at home— guidance counselors don’t have time to walk a family through the FAFSA start to finish like Alyssa can(and would love to do!)

Being first in the family comes with a series of advantages and challenges. You get to pave your own path in life, and at times, yes, that may seem scary. You’re improving your lifestyle in a way that can positively impact future generations, and that means dealing with a lot of unknowns right now. You get to be the first generation to graduate from college, and that is more than enough cause to celebrate. Here’s to the Class of 2020!

Do check out these resources for those wondering about the financial, admissions, and application processes. It’s complex, confusing, and sometimes complicated, so we’ve included several links for your viewing in this article. Class of 2020 may be over, but that leaves 2021, ’22, and so on. Even if you might not need these, pass it on to someone who does!

Let us know in the comments, how confusing was the college application process? What was one thing you wish you knew before completing it?

As always, if you find us interesting and informative, please like and share with a fellow college kid and their parents going through admissions processes right now!