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First Gen Podcasts
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Being First Podcast (Part 1): First-Generation Students' Experiences
First generation students are the first in their families to attend college. How has the needs of this student population evolved over the last decade? Listen in as Dr. Glenn DeGuzman sits down with Dr. Robert Longwell-Grice, Dr. Rashné Jehangir, and Dr. La’Tonya Rease Miles to discuss this topic, the latest research, and explore what campuses can do to support this vulnerable population.
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How To College: First Gen
As first-gens that have experienced the process of going to and through college, the hosts are delighted to be able to share some of the insight and lessons learned along the way.
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HumanizED: On Being First
This episode examines the journeys of three first-gen higher education students: Jake Pacansky, a 78-year old retired research chemist with a Ph.D., and Ariana Borroto and Demetri Williams, two community college students with plans to transfer to a 4-year university.
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First Generation: One of Many
On this very special episode, we hear from two guests: Deana Waintraub Stafford and Claude Taylor, who share with us the efforts they are involved with to support first-generation students and families across the nation.
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A Work in Progress: Serving First Generation Students in Higher Education
Listen in as Dr. Morales discusses the unique challenges facing first-generation students and his insights on how overwhelmed higher education institutions can make a difference in supporting diverse students.
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A Firsthand Look at “First Gens”
First-generation college students face specific challenges such as decoding the “hidden curriculum” of college life, but they also bring strong positive traits such as perseverance to the table. Hannah Harding, a summer intern at Reaching Higher, talks about the research she’s conducting on “first gens” at UNH as well as her own experiences as a first generation college student.
Scholarly Articles
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Employing Resistance and Resilience in Pursuing K-12 Schooling and Higher Education: Lived Experiences of Successful Female First-Generation Students of Color
Drawing upon standpoint theory and phenomenology, this study chronicles the lived experiences of 16 successful female first-generation students of color as they pursued K-12 schooling and accessed higher education. Findings indicate that a complex set of school, family, peer, and personal factors affected students’ lived experiences in their urban environments; three holistic student profiles illustrate the interconnectedness of these factors. Stories of successful female first-generation students of color demonstrate how they, despite facing numerous challenges, used resistance and resilience during their K-12 urban schooling and when accessing higher education.
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“Dropping Out is Not an Option”: How Educationally Resilient First-Generation Students See the Future
First‐generation college students (FGCS) often have different cultural values, practices, and goals from those of students from college‐going families. As they navigate college, FGCS coordinate these values, practices, and goals with those of their families, noncollege‐going friends, and communities.
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Mental Health, Life Satisfaction, Supportive Parent Communication, and Help-seeking Sources in the wake of COVID-19: First-generation College Students (FGCS) Vs. Non-first-generation College Students (non-FGCS)
Using a cross-sectional survey (N = 1,225), this study examines the psychological well-being (stress, anxiety, depression), life satisfaction, supportive parent communication, and likelihood to seek mental and emotional support from different sources between FGCSs and non-FGCSs during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Navigating the First Year of College: Siblings, Parents, and First‐Generation Students’ Experiences
Although college education is a key to upward mobility, students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to enter and complete college than their more advantaged peers. Prior literature has illuminated how cultural capital contributes to these disparities. An alternative conceptualization of cultural capital, however, suggests that it can also play a role in social mobility. In this study, we build on and extend the literature on cultural mobility by proposing that exposure to education can benefit not only individuals but also families.
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Identification Among First-Generation Citizen Students and First-Generation College Students: An Exploration of School Sense of Community
The current study explored the relationships within a higher education institution between school sense of community among first‐generation U.S. citizen students and first‐generation college students compared to students of non‐first generation studentship and citizenship (N = 3,025; M age = 27.21), and of varied racial backgrounds.
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From “First in Family” to “First to Finish”: Does College Graduation Vary by How First-Generation College Status Is Defined?
The purpose of our study was to examine the relationship between alternative definitions of first-generation college students (FGCSs) and graduation from 2- and 4-year colleges.
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Reframing first-generation entry: how the familial habitus shapes aspirations for higher education among prospective first-generation students
Despite the shift from elite to mass education, the odds of accessing university remain stacked in favour of those with a university-educated parent. Not only are first-generation students less likely to engage in higher education, but the dominant narrative surrounding their enrolment emphasises cultural deficiency, constructing individuals as 'too different' to succeed.
