Project RISE Proudly Celebrates First-generation College Students!

Project RISE has been honored to serve first-generation students at Heartland Community College (HCC) for close to twenty years! We proudly celebrate their bravery and support their academic and personal aspirations. For our 2020 first-generation celebration, we offered a variety of ways to make sure students felt affirmed, encouraged, and inspired.

We kicked off this year’s celebration by spotlighting the journey of two students on our institution’s podcast. Tijuana and Tawnya also serve as peer mentors in our program. They are outstanding leaders and tenacious in their pursuits. This podcast was an intimate look at their decision to pursue higher education and the resources that have made all the difference.

On our Facebook page and in our email message to students, we spotlighted famous first-generation graduates. We did this to remind students that their dreams are worthy. Just like each of these individuals, they have the power to leave a remarkable mark on the world.

While we were not able to host a large event on-campus, we still wanted students to feel the support and love from Project RISE staff. To do this, staff recorded a special message to share with students for First-Generation College Celebration. Hearing peer mentors share about their own personal journey and offer words of encouragement was very impactful.

This year, we also collaborated with HCC President Keith Cornille for our celebration. He has always been a supporter of Project RISE; he normally shares words of encouragement at our annual recognition ceremony. This year, we wanted to make sure all first-generation students, especially those not in Project RISE, had an opportunity to hear his words of support. We shared his message on social media platforms and in an email to HCC employees.

Our central event for First-Generation College Celebration was a Self-Care Bag giveaway. We wanted to take this opportunity to pour back into first-generation students at HCC. Our hope was that this self-care bag put a smile on their faces and provided some momentum as they finish this semester. Students also had a chance to enter a raffle with the prize of a self-care journal and relaxing candle. As students came in to pick up their bags, they filled out a writing prompt about how it feels to be the first. Their responses were heartfelt and powerful. One of our peer mentors helped pass out bags; she was able to connect with students and motivate them as a first-generation student herself. This event was also open to non-Project RISE students. We used this as an opportune time to share about Project RISE and our services. Students were excited to hear about this great campus resource. Some took applications and one even filled it out on the spot. Overall, it was a fabulous event that planted a seed about the importance of practicing self-care on a regular basis. Life is stressful, but with tools and healthy ways of coping, we find the strength to keep working towards our dreams. We RISE.