Welcome! 1st Gen Class meets with higher ed professionals to break down college concepts, from admissions to graduation rites, and provide helpful tips, success stories, and a number of mentors in academia to better shape our students’ futures. Click below to learn more, and thanks for stopping by! Be sure to visit our social medias at:
Facebook: @firstgenclass Twitter: @gen_1st Instagram: 1stgenclass Youtube: 1st Gen Class
how first-gen become first-class students at college
We are a collection of students, faculty, and others interesting in collegiate affairs focused on improving the college experience for students whose parents never attended college, though anyone looking to learn more about academia has come to the right place.
We offer a variety of mentors in both academic and employment fields of study, who’ve been in your shoes before, and can provide a more complete advice session via phone call, Zoom session, or in-person meet-up. Additionally, some informative posts can break down what questions to ask on college tours while other videos highlight the pros and cons of a virtual graduation.
our mission
Educate, Collaborate, & Cocreate with our first-gen family
We are educating young minds on the basic concepts of college to better manage expectations for leaving home for higher ed.
We are collaborating with authorities in the fields of study you are interested in to gather the most accurate and specialized information for our dedicated readers and listeners.
We are cocreating a unique experience through our content, tailoring blog posts and videos off what our base needs most, bringing more experienced collegians in for perspective and recruiting new people who need to hear these messages.
Our community engagement
1st Gen Class currently has multiple university partnerships and works with a number of central Pennsylvanian high schools to best reach out to our target audience of college hopefuls. Annually, we take on ten or so high school ‘ambassadors’ to help serve on our board and bring fresh ideas to the forefront, so reach out to us at our social media pages if you want to help give back to your community!
executive board
Noah James T. Fenstermacher
1st Gen Class Founder
Noah is a first-generation college student from Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He graduates from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations (Class of 2020), and is the founder of 1st Gen Class.
He has worked in various student affairs positions from 2016 on, including service in residence life, admissions, tutoring, and student conduct over the past four years. Noah, a trans-racial adoptee growing up in a loving blue-collar family, understood the value of hard work and scholarly pursuit from a young age.
As such, he went on to be the first in his family to attend university, and through working six jobs while in school, saved money to help pay off student debt. In addition, this led to his attaining numerous international experiences, visiting Greece, Rome,(a planned Tokyo internship before the Coronavirus) and South Africa.
He created 1st Gen Class to relate their stories, break down higher education concepts, and invite diverse backgrounds from all walks of life to come together and share knowledge on navigating college. An older brother to Jonah and Luke (all four years apart), he hopes to pave a path for them to more easily transition into a collegiate lifestyle(if they so choose).
Noah currently is thankful to continue his studies at Penn State University Park, where he will perform duties as a Graduate Assistant with the SMART – Undergraduate Admissions.
Academics gave Noah a second home, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and the path to his chosen career as a higher education administrator. In short, he’s never leaving school.
Reach him at noahjtf@gmail.com.
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