Identify, Connect, Amplify: Our Approach to First-Generation Support

 

Being a first-generation student makes you a trailblazer–but forging a new path is easier with support. Gardner-Webb University’s first-generation students make up roughly one-third of the university’s population; while this accounts for a large number of on-campus students, the first-generation community has not historically seen any formal recognition or tailored support. In order to create a robust support network to aid these students in their college journeys, Gardner-Webb University’s Division of Student Success planned a First-Generation College Celebration Week held November 4-8, 2024. Through partnership with multiple offices and departments across campus, we aimed to promote three main themes: identifying first-generation students, connecting them with their peers, and amplifying their voices across campus.

 

Helping Students Discover Their First-Gen Identity

Our first goal was to help students identify whether or not they were first-generation. This was harder than it sounds, as we regularly asked students if they were first-generation only to get responses like “my siblings graduated before me, so I’m not first-generation” or “my parents received a community college degree, so I’m not the first.” Students were hesitant to stop and speak with us if they felt our events were not meant for them, and so we had to creatively approach how to educate them about what being a first-generation student really means.

To engage these students, we created a First-Generation Gallery which featured stories from students, faculty, and staff about their own journeys as first-generation students, alongside explanations of who qualifies as a first-generation student and why it is important to celebrate this population. In addition to this gallery, which passively educated our students, we also tabled alongside our newly established First-Generation Student Association; this tabling event offered an opportunity for current students to actively educate their peers about what being a first-generation student means and how it has impacted their college experience. After both events, many students responded that they were first-generation students and never realized it. Because of their ability to self-identify as first-generation students, they were then able to connect with others who had similar experiences.

 

Building a Supportive First-Gen Community

Our second goal was to help students connect with peers who, like them, were first-generation students and understood the unique perspectives and strengths that come with being the first of one’s family to attend a four-year college. As mentioned above, we partnered with a newly established First-Generation Student Association to promote the network as an option for first-generation students to find community. We also invited first-generation faculty and staff to speak about their experiences, with the goal of these partnerships being to encourage first-generation students to understand they are not alone in their experiences and that others like them have a history of success at the highest levels of the academic and professional worlds.

In all, we had sixteen first-generation faculty/staff and students partner with us to share their stories. Not only did students report feeling more confident while hearing from others who succeeded before them, but staff and faculty also shared with us how connecting with new first-generation students was encouraging as they support their college aspirations. Aubree Bell, a first-generation staff member on campus who now pursues her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling stated, “Being able to help fellow first-gen students feel recognized allowed me to connect with them on a unique level. I look forward to seeing them continue their academic journey and act as trailblazers for future generations of students.” Aubree, alongside many other staff members, worked during our First-Generation College Celebration to get students actively thinking about how being first-generation impacts their lived experiences.

 

Celebrating and Elevating First-Gen Voices

Our last goal was to amplify first-generation voices on campus to share their experiences, which we facilitated through a social media day. We encouraged students to tag us in their first-generation stories on Instagram, and facilitated our own first-generation takeover of social media. We realize that first-generation identity is something to be proud of and wanted to celebrate it alongside our students. By sharing their stories, students helped shift narratives from deficit-focused language to asset-based rhetoric, highlighting their strengths.

In total, we engaged nearly three hundred individuals in our active events with countless others viewing our First-Generation Gallery. Our mission to identify, connect, and amplify first-generation students is one we are integrating into our ongoing support of students. By building bridges to opportunity and fostering a community of support, we are empowering first-generation students to not only succeed but to thrive in spaces that once felt out of reach.

We are proud of our First-Generation College Celebration efforts this year, and know they would only be possible with sound partnership through other departments, including Student Development, Christian Life and Services, Housing and Residence Life, Admissions and Enrollment, and Student Engagement. Collectively, we are continuing to make strides at Gardner-Webb in our efforts to support these pioneering students to and through the finish line of graduation. 

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For more information on Gardner-Webb University's approach, please visit their website here.