How to Celebrate First-gen students in a COVID-19 Environment

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has participated in first-generation celebrations since 2018. These celebrations have been moderately successful with good attendance (about 300 in the first year and almost 200 in the second year). After reviewing the 2019 student attendee survey, we saw that students expressed appreciation for the celebration, but they also wanted ways to share their stories. Although COVID-19 forced the committee to shift the celebration from in-person to virtual, we were able to increase our focus on this piece of sharing student's stories virtually. Based on limited participation in other campus Zoom events and our own interactions with students, we knew that our celebration must go where the students were more engaged—social media.

The social media engagement started off with an Instagram contest, soliciting stories and experiences from first-gen IUPUI students. Students were prompted to share what being first-gen meant to them, how it's affected the way they experience college, and how those around them have motivated and cheered them on. Students had about a three-week window to submit their stories, and the first 50 could win a first-gen IUPUI sweatshirt. Posts were shared on the IUPUI First-Gen Instagram page, allowing students to see how many other first-gen students there are as well as to celebrate each other.

This ability to connect first-gen students, faculty, and staff has been a vital piece of our in-person celebrations and one that we were glad to continue through new avenues.

The next piece of the celebration included tabling for three days of the First-Generation Celebration Week. We were able to do this safely, with masks and limited numbers of students at any given time on campus. The winners of the Instagram contest could pick up sweatshirts, while all other students were given first-gen ear muffs and other celebratory materials like stickers, pins, and pens. This was an important piece as it allowed us to still have a small way to connect with students outside of screens.

We have a large number of first-gen faculty and staff at IUPUI, as well, who are eager to share their own stories and advice. The committee was able to get short videos from many of these faculty and staff members as another way to show students that they are not alone and that others understand their experience. Some of these videos were put together for a day of email on our celebration day, November 10. Other videos were shared via Instagram throughout the day and week as well as posted to our website for students to view at any time. This ability to connect first-gen students, faculty, and staff has been a vital piece of our in-person celebrations and one that we were glad to continue through new avenues.

As with our other celebration years, IUPUI departments showed up to support our first-gen students. We had numerous departments participate in social media engagement throughout the day by sharing stories, advice, and pride. One department set up tables to pass out socks to first-gen students, while another school sent out personalized cards to all newly admitted first-gen students. The involvement of these departments has been critical for our committee, as we know that students are receiving this support throughout their college experience.

Although we wished we could have held an in-person celebration this year, we realized having a stronger social media presence was extremely valuable and something that we can expand upon in the future. The Instagram contest submissions from this year are wonderful testimonials, for example, that can continue to be shared through our website and as we continue to encourage the first-gen students on our campus. This method of engagement also allows us to expand our programming in other ways throughout the year when our budgets may not allow for another in-person event. We plan to continue evolving and adapting our programming for what COVID-19 allows and what our students need. It will require us to evolve, adapt, and overcome—but isn't that what the first-generation experience requires of our students every day?