At Indiana University Northwest, nearly half of our Fall 2024 first-year students self-identified as first-generation college students, indicating to us within their family unit, they are the first to pursue a college degree.
This number may sound high, but to us, it is the norm and is precisely the type of student IU Northwest aims to serve by enriching their minds, building their confidence and furthering their future.
And is the reason why every November 8, joined by many other public regional institutions of higher education, we are proud to celebrate First Generation Day.
Many, who have not experienced what it is to be a “first-gen” student, may wonder, “Why?” Why, among all the celebrations at a post-secondary institution might we choose to celebrate this?
First: By publicly celebrating our first-gen student body, we underscore our campus’s commitment to student success in an environment that appreciates what it means to be a first-gen student.
Second: We announce to our first-gen students they are valued, that they belong on our campus and the entire campus community is here to ensure their success.
And third: We know— many times from first-hand experiences—that first-gen students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree have earned an education that is truly transformative: opening doors to professional opportunities, increases in overall lifetime earnings and, often, better health and healthcare outcomes.
A college degree can transform not only the student but also their family—current and future generations—as they, too, consider and adopt higher education opportunities that lead to greater opportunities.
But how might I know? I, like so many IU Northwest students, am a first-generation college student—and for almost 40 years was the only one in my familiar generation to earn a bachelor’s degree.
This is definitely not to say my siblings were not outstanding in their professions, nor that they were unsuccessful. They were and they are. They chose a different—and very respectable—pathway. However, for me, the higher education pathway seemed like a more direct route.
My story is simple and is one that many can relate to: Three of my grandparents immigrated to the United States from Ireland looking for a better life. Their professions: one, a cemetery stonecutter, and the others, house cleaners, for their first three decades in America.
The only non-immigrant grandparent died young leaving my grandmother and their four young children to fend for themselves. Quite literally, my father was a baker, who left school after 8th grade and my mother, a homemaker, who graduated high school.
This is not a commentary on my parent’s intelligence, nor on their work ethic. Rather, it is a commentary on their life situation: children of immigrants, poor, striving to thrive in their adopted country.
My parents firmly believed, thankfully, the key to a better life was found in education. They did everything to support my educational journey to the best of their understanding and ability. Their conviction that education (at any level) would provide me opportunities they never dreamed of, inspired their support of a “determined” child.
So, off to college I went. When I arrived, like so many first-gen students, I had no clue what a “major” meant, how to pay for college, how to interact with faculty, how to ask for help, what classes to choose and so many more unknowns.
I was lucky, though: I attended The College of William and Mary, a public institution in Virginia, that demonstrated care about every student, understood the academic rigor required many iterations of student support and identified students who may not struggle academically, but who might need other kinds of support—and provided it.
Needless to say, I graduated and proceeded to also earn my master’s and doctoral degrees.
However, it is significant that, I still remember my feelings of inadequacy throughout my academic journey, my feelings of being “less than” my peers who had family guidance based on their own experiences in higher education.
The best way to describe my personal experience as a first-gen student is reflected in the modern expression, “imposter syndrome.” I remember believing my good grades, my successes, were really because the faculty “liked me;” that they were not academically deserved. Perhaps the faculty felt sorry for me in my first-gen status?
It is only more recently I have understood I was mistaken, that I may have had something to do with my own successes.
I suspect many IU Northwest students, especially our first-gen students may experience similar feelings. We, the faculty and staff at IU Northwest, strive continuously to reiterate: our first-gen students belong.
Here, at IU Northwest, we have many opportunities for first-gen students to receive support, coaching and advising. The faculty are committed to constantly exploring new ways of teaching that are based on our students’ assets, the gifts our students bring to the classroom—and not deficits, given their first-gen status.
These efforts have contributed to increases in retention and graduation rates, as well as a 10 percent course improvement rate.
We also offer Summer Bridge programs to help students more easily transition from high school to college. We use “block scheduling” for first-year students. And, we offer a First-Year seminar course, designed specifically to help our students navigate those first-year challenges and resources to help them succeed.
We also offer Groups Scholars, an all-inclusive program for first-generation college students. And we are a member of the Class of 2024 FirstGen Forward Network, a devoted community of professionals prepared to share best practices and resources to continue advancing first-generation students nationwide.
It clear to see our students’ lives, just like my own journey, will be transformed by their experiences at IU Northwest—if only they believe.
Because, here at IU Northwest, we are committed to enhancing the higher education experience of all our students. This, we believe, will serve them, their families and our communities as they, too, become the leaders of our region, our state, our nation and our world.
Vicki Román-Lagunas is the interim Chancellor of IU Northwest. She earned her Ph.D. in Latin American Literature and Culture from Florida State University and graduate and undergraduate degrees in Spanish from the University of Arizona and The College of William and Mary.