Nov 3, 2021 24 min read

Maddie Sanders admits the college experience for her was at first quite overwhelming.

The senior at California University of Pennsylvania was undertaking an experience that neither her parents nor her grandparents had ever done. She is what is referred to as a first-generation student.

“it was a new place, new area,” said Sanders, a biology major from Masontown. “I commuted at first so it was definitely a drive back and forth.” 

The formal definition of a first-generation college student is a student whose parents did not complete a four-year college.

First-generation students often deal with financial stress and the pressure of family expectations. Such students tend to graduate at lower rates than their peers with parents who earned a four-year college degree. Experts say the reasons for this are often both social and economic.

Sanders, 21, is quick to admit that she relied, and still relies quite a bit, on Cal U.’s student service support systems club called TRIO, which helps with many ….including filing for financial aid.

“I had TRIO to help me, and get my bearings,” Sanders said. “They have an open-door policy so I was always there.”

TRIO programs are federal outreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. Students such as first-generation students are among those targeted by TRIO programs.

At Washington & Jefferson College, LINK mentors provide peer support and guidance for first-year students.

Sophomore Madeline Heiser of Washington is a mentor who was assigned to the first-generation college student class called First in My Family. 

At Washington and Jefferson, each first-year student must complete a class called First Year Seminar (FYS). First in My family is one such class.

“They’re used to prepare first-year students for their years at W&J,” Heiser said of the classes.

Heiser recently met one-on-one with some of the campus’s first-generation freshmen. She said she’ll even go to lunch with the students to help ease their transition into college.   

“Throughout the semester, I work with these students,” she explained. “I talk with them, establish relationships with them. I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve been able to help them out and find a way to get to know them better. I like to let them know about events that are happening on campus. I’m very open with them. They have my number. They can text me whenever they need to. I feel little things like going to lunch, getting coffee or meeting at a fun event the school is having, I feel that kind of provides a sense of comfort for them.”

There also are a number of programs at Waynesburg University to help first-generation students including the university’s Pathways Center, which helps students grow in their vocation and calling with services such as tutoring, disability services, career development,, student nwork study and diversity and belonging intiatives.

The Seeds for Success Program aids in the transition to college life with programming for students and parents.

“Seeds for success provides information about resources available to support students and families, both academically and socially,” said Stacey Brodak, Waynesburg’s vice president for institutional advancement and university relations.

The academic mentoring program links volunteer faculty and staff members with students who are struggling academically 

“Mentors build relationships with students in the program and provide the advice, support and guidance that are critical in optimizing opportunities for success,” Brodak said. “Employees at all levels participate in the mentoring program. 

“What makes Waynesburg truly special is that its academics are not just about class,” Brodak said. “They’re the foundation for a culture of growth and personalized guidance that nurtures mind and spirit. Focusing on the holistic growth of students means focusing on support services as well. The university’s mission of educating students to make connections between faith, learning and serving so they might faithfully transform their communities and the world drives these priorities.”

Jekai King, junior from McKeesport

College was a life change going from staying in your hometown, living with mom and then going and living on your own. 

There were a lot of barriers I had to break, like what is college going to be like. The simple things that most students would have answered, they were completely brand new to me. 

It was a major adjustment, but I feel like being a first-generation student didn’t put me at a disadvantage at all. If anything, it put me at an advantage. 

Being able to set the pathway for the people who are next up in my family like my little cousins they look up to me. I have a niece now hopefully, she’ll look up to me and say, Wow my uncle was the first one in our family to go to college. I want to be just like him

Geology major  

Been in trio since he was in eighth grade, did it in high school than in his first two years. Went to Clarion and was going to be an officer up there this semester transferred to Cal, plan on being on officer next semester. You have to have a semester being a part of the program.

I can think all the way back to freshman year (of high school), my advisor Miss (Angela) Selembo. She was like my second mom. I just got familiar with what TRIO does to prepare you for college. I really worked on a lot of essays. My favorite part of TRIO was having my own person that I could go and tsalk to and just ask any question that I could think of – question I would think would be too dumb to ask a regular person. You go and ask someone in TRIO and no one judges you.  It was nice having someone I could be completely open with and personal with about my fears and challenges of going to college for the first time.

 What I realized after my first semester was time management. It’s probably the biggest thing you’re going to be a part of. Miss Selembo used to preach that to me in high school. I just put myself in a rhythm. I’d wake up., I’d go to the gym, get done eat breakfast, do my homework go to class. I just tried to keep myself in a routine. Just stay as active as possible. Just join in programs.

I joined TRIO. I joined Clarion student senate. I waqs president of Black Student Union for one semester. Staying busy and starting to pace yourself for what life is going to be like after college. First semester at Cal U.

   

   

Waynesburg University’s Pathways Center provides comprehensive student support services which help all students 

Heiser 19, said she has found the first-generation students with whom she’s worked to be doing well with the transition to college life 

I feel like they’re very prepared,” Heiser said. “They’re very organized. They’re very much on top of everything. They’re doing very well for themselves.

Heiser said she was close with her mentor during her freshman year.

I just thought it was a really great program.” Heiser said. “I think it’s a really great way for incoming students to become friends with upperclassmen. I just wanted to help. I like to help. It’s something I want to do when I do graduate from college with my career. It something I wanted to do on campus.” 

The help for Sanders began when she was a student at Albert Gallatin High School.

“They taught me how to apply for colleges, things that my parents where my parents probably weren’t the best to ask for advice,” Sanders said. “They really pushed me to apply for so many schools. I probably wouldn’t have applied to Cal if it wasn’t for (TRIO). I’m very glad I did. I’m actually coming back for my master’s (degree). That’s why I chose to come here. I knew I would have a support system that my parents couldn’t provide.”

In fact, Sanders has a work study through the campus’s TRIO program. She is a secretary for Upward Bound, a program that provides support for participants in their preparation for entrance into college.

“I’m always there,” she said

Alex Dalton, a……major from McKeesport, is the president of Cal U’s TRIO club.

The club does provide opportunities for first-generation students to get to know each other. These include Saturday sessions, to which potential college students from many area high schools were invited.

“They bring students from all of the schools onto campus on Saturdays,” Sanders said. “We would all mingle with each other and do group activities. I definitely met a lot of people and my social skills definitely grew.”

Going through the experience helped Sanders ease the transition for her sister Emily, who is now a freshman at Cal U. 

“She always comes to me for help 

“I would tell them to start preparing themselves. It’s so much different than high school. Take the high school experience and toss it out the window. Apply early. I would do everything early, as early as possible. Put your head forward and go for it. You’re going to have a lot of people, especially your family members, people you rely on a lot in life. You’re going to have a lot of them tell you that they might not give you 100 percent. There going to ask questions like, Can you afford this Are yuou smart enough, do you think yuou’re going to be able to do it witholut family support and anyone who has any doubts or any questions loike that, I tell them to go for it. I come from a very low-income home People like me, we’re not supposed to make it to college. I put all that behind me. You can’t let anybody stop you from doing what you want to do. Go get after it. 

110 percent nervous I went from being in McKeesport to being in Clarion Pa. in the middle of nowhere. It was a big cultural adjkustment. It’s a culturasl adjustment no matter where you go to college, because you’re surrou8nded by someone who may not know what somepone like you is lilke. They may never have spoken to someone like that before. I was 100 percent nervous simply for the fact that i didn’t have any friends going into college like i did going into high school. You don’t get as much control in college as you get in high school. It was a lot to take in. 

Tanisha Atherton, junior, Wilkes-Barre.

At first it was kind of hard, but I had Upward Bound to help me. My mom didn’t really know much about it. She didn’t go to college. Her mom didn’t go to college.  

Hanover Area High School 

I had a lot of connections help me out. 

School came easy to me in high school and in college, it wasn’t that hard. 

TRIO is really good to have. You have someone to talk to all the time. They connect you with others. They help you with financial aid. 

Questions. How can you help me succeed. How can you help me pay off my loans 

They always recommend handshake. It connects you with employers. people who are in your career. Two weeks ago I was on an zoom call with 2 FBI agents because I want to be in the FBI.

It’s very easy. You just got to send an email They’ll have times on their website. You have to be selected. 

I would say, you can do it, when you come here you can be someone you never thought you would be. You’ll be able to succeed with the right people around you. 

   

  

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported in 2018 that a third of college students fall under the classification of first-generation.

At Cal U., out of about 1,100 first-year students (freshmen and transfers), about 30 percent are fiurst-generation students.

On Nov. 8, the 56th anniversary of the signing of the 1965 Higher Education Act was celebrated at California University. That act formed programs like TRIO.

Dr. Dale….., president of California University, was a first-generation college student.

I worked hard. I studies hard. There were a lot of things to learn in and out of the classroom. Going to the university made a tremendous difference in my life.

Whether you’re at Cal U, Clarion or Edinboro University, you’re working hard, you’re doing well, stick with it, get the help you need. There’s lots of support. People care about success and we want to help you get there.

I understand, and so does my husband, who’s also a first-geenration 

 what it means to be someone whose life was transformed through college. Most of our students 40 percent have either beenn the first in their family to go to college or there’s not a long history of individuals who’ve gone to college.

For those of us who work at Cal and our sister institutions of Clarion and Edinboro

we are committed to that. many of us are first-generation students. We’ve come to work in this field because we believe in the public good.  

Laura, director of trio. At Cal U, we are one of the original TRIO support services. Started in 1968. serving thousands of first-gen students.

When you think about students who obtain a college degree they really are changing  the trajectory of future generations 

Ultimately, our goal is to help students navigate the college system and to earn their college degree. We do a really forward facing approach. When students first apply to Cal U., we begin the introduction in new student orientation in the summer so they see us. We go through orientation with the campus resources 

students assigned to an introductory course First Your Seminar Course. Career Planning and Career Readiness Course and a critical thinking and reading course 

“We provide courses to students not only to have engagement with them, the constant monitoring, but also to help them be academically prepared 

We’re only one piece of their success here. With all of their academic course work, we’re one more addition to help them succeed while they’re here. 

We have over a 90 percent graduation rate 6-year Our six year graduation rate is above 90 percent. It’s over the national rate.

Our true goal is to help the university with persistence, retention and graduation rates. We help that by having successful students come through the program.   

Madeline Heiser

“I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve found a way to not relate to them, but to help them out, get to know them better I have found a lot of joy in helping them 

It’s not like they’re worried about doing bad. They’re doing very well. 

I was very close with my LINK mentor my freshman year. I knew a lot of the LINK mentors 

I just thought it was a really great program from the start. I loved my 

I just thought it nwas a really great program 

Who else would have college students become mentors for these first-generation students 

I think it’s a really great way for these incoming students to become friends with upperclassmen. Upperclassmen have so much knowledge of the campus because they’ve been here so long. I really like to help and that’s something that I want to do when I graduate from college with my career. I wanted to do that on campus. 

She has a really great way of telling students how to build up a resume, different things on campus you might need 

She how to find a credible website if you’re writing a research paper.

Walked around the city of Washington and different restaurants the students can walk to. She’s doing a really great job of helping them adjust to the campus.

She has them going to different events on campus and they have to write a paragraph or two of what the event was about. 

Just doing that gets them involved on campus. Itb almost forces them to see  more people, meet more people and want to get more involved. . 

Dr. Kay McEvoy

First year seminar classes are all themed

I picked irst in my family for first generation college students.

I know we get quite a fw and I’m a first generation college student myself.

The intention of First year Seminar is to introduce students to college and to introduce students in Liberal Arts to Washiongton & Jefferson College.

One thiong that I’ve learned talking to first-genration colege students over the years is they iften fel like they’re starting off behind the other students. They didn’t know what to expect because no one in their family went to college. The worries that they don’t quite fit in The focus of glass is not just to teach them how to be successful at college but also to intrduce them to the notion that first-generation students actually do really well, that they have a lot to offer and trhey have every right to move ahead. that they’ve earned their right to be here just like everybody else. This gives them a support group because they’re surrounded by people like them.

Several faculty members at W&J are first-generation students. There’s quite a few of us 

Si they can see that being a dfirst-generatiomn student has not stopped this person from getting a PHd in biology, from Johns Hopkins or gettoing a phd in chemistry or getting a phd in English

At least one student has said the course is really great because he hasn’t felt so alone.

This is the first time she has taught the course Very first time it was offered. 14 students in the course.

There are several students who would never speak at the beginning of the semster. last time we met, they were just talking away and had a lot of stuff to share. I thought that was wonderful. I do see some students starting to come out of their shells.

First year SZeminar was once called freshman forum 

We’re constantly tweaking it to make it more useful

Sytate University of New York at Flatsburg First semester 1991

Especially for those of us that go to grad school. It’s a very weird experience opf not having anyone else to tell us what going to college was like. You have to figure it out all on your own and that can be pretty stressful 

I had a class where I didn’t show up and I put Madline in charge> madeline brought some of her friends. I said you get to ask them some of the questions you would not ask me and they had a whole converstaion

I’m old enough to be their mom. It’s hard for them to see me as a peer. She’s been very good at connecting with them.

They ask me all sorts of things. i had  a student ask me what time should she show up for an event. because he had never really been to an event befiore and he was really nervous.

I spend a lot of time walking them through the cxurriculum.

A lot of students coming into college today do not know how to study

Everything has been memorization up to this point. They have to learn how to think.

How do I talk to my firnds back home that didn’;t go to college how do I talk to my pareents.

Sometimes it’s hard to talk to family and firnds when they don’t know what yoiu’re going through. We’ve had a lot of conversations on how to kind of navigate through that.

They need to see there are people like them at the college. One of their professors ios a first-generation colklege student.

President John Knapp is a first-generation college student. 

He came to my cvlass the first day to talk to them and introduce hoimself . I thought that was hiuge for them to see that the president of our col,lege was a first-generation college student just like you.

It was 

The whole application process and even finding colleges was so much harder back then. There’s the pressure to major in something marketable. 

 Alex Dalton third year graduating in May major in econom,ics double minor in finance and marketing.

The Trio organization is an international organization that focuses on guiding and assisting students who are first generation from low-incpome communities.

Fell in love with the TRIO organzation while at McKeesport in the tlent search program got to Cal U In my second semester I felt I need to get as involved as [possible and that’s when I became the president

The preveious president was graduating and the needed trhe position filled and I said there is no one better qualified for this job.

I know the Trio orgtanizatio in and oput I know everything ythat they can provide for people.

Ever since then, I’ve been running these meetings and telling people all they have to offer.

My biggest pitch for thw whole program is most clubs when you’re in college are either an academic club, a professional club or a social club. Trio is actually all 3 of those Trio in an academic sense has counselors – amazing people who can guiide you and actyually put you on the ruight path to graduate early, they can oput you on the right path to take classes There going to help you with scheduling, they’re going to help you with financial aid. That’s a huige thing for first-generation college students 

If you don’t have a parent who’s filled out the FAFSA before or you don’t have a parent that’s been through the college process you have no idea what you’re doing when you’re going through all of those papers, they’re going to help you with that. 

networking events such as Nov. 8 

There’s actually a TRIO faculty member is every department on campus. Just knowing those people has given me opportunities to advance in the economic fielkd.

That’s another huge opart of iot that I think is overlooked. 

We do cool things to stay together as a club

Aound 300 people who are part of the tri organization who reap the benfits of all trio has to offer

25 active members with club.

It’s a great community of perople.

benn in the club his entire career at Cal U, president since his second semester. As soon as I got in, I said I’ve got to be involved more, as much as possible. I got the opportunity and I took it. 

My goal before I graduate in may and this has been my goal since I took over is to get allocated by the University. What that means is to get funded. We’re going to get funded and I know it’s going to happen. WE’re following all of the steps to get there. We have increasing enrollment. We’re making profit as a club. WE’re going to make $100 profit. Onl;y have $300 regularly in the account. WE’re making more money. WE’re running event that are having affect on this community.

No one teaches that  no oin high school teaches you that on a regular basis.

People come with questions on a regular basis. I bounce them to the right people.

These poepl ae my friends. The most rewarding part for me is getting to know these people throughout the term and becoming friends with them in a meaningful way.

What got you interested? leadership has always been improtant to me> I’ve always been a natural born leader. I try to take control of things as much as possible. Talent search program at McKeespport Trio sponosored program. The people I’ve met had more of an impact on my life than anyone I’ve met along my journey.

The percentages at state schools bigger than bigger schools.

I’m definitelyt very pasisionate about it I hope to be imnvolved in it my whole life.

Oprah 

Viola davis.

20 

They coach use on fafsa

Have somneone walking you throiugh step by step on how to fill it out.

TRIO is really big on financial literacy

Allocation by may 7, that’s the day I graduate from Cal U. Allocation is the goal and we are going to get it.

Eva Chatterjee-Sutton, vice president of student liufe and dean of students.

There are a number of things that we do to support first-generation students coming to W&J.

It starts with our process through admissions and the handoff to the Gateway process, which is our summer onboarding.

We work really closely with our colleaugues in admissions to understand who are first-generation students are coming in and work with them, helping to support their process of onboarding through course selection and housinhg selection.

A lot of the Gateay process is designed to educate students not just W&J, but about college and how to take full advantage of college. people are coming with different levels of experience. First year seiminar that is deidcated to students who are first-generation students. to help with some of those transition issues and our LINK mentors also do some training supporting first generation students, especially in the area of helping them connect with resources and the knowdge base to navigate college. 70 students in our first year class which is about 350 people.

There are a lot of expectations people have of college, academically and socially and personally and if you don’t have someone who’s experinced that is close you you. A lot of that is based on media perceptions or passed down stories and they tend not to resmeble the actuality of what college is day in and day out. We want our students to take advantage of every resource that is avialble to them by helping them understand what those things are and why they’re important. It’;s so critical even something so simple as a professor saying I have open office hours. We know it’s really helpful when students and professors make that connection early on That education can be really critical.

I think sometimes students don’t know what they don’t know. as first generation college students

Rachel Stalker, asistant director of the center for professional pathways

They don’t know what questions to ask. Part of our job as satff in the student life division is to prssent areas that might be challenging or presenting ares where they might need some assistance before they might even lknow to ask that question. Here’s some challenges you might face,. here’s some things you should  know about that maybe you don’t know about and trying to be proactively informative about what the college esxperience and what are some resources and things they might need.

‘Our office is dedidcated to ensure career success, working with students on exploring careers working with students on narrowing down their choices on going to graduate school, what they want to do after school working with resumes cover letters, interview skills and just being profesionally ready for life after W&J.

Eva

I think we have a high retention rate among our first year students Have 

I do think that when we have made that connection with students they do take advantage of the opportunity to learn more and feel like they have kind of a home base of someone who will help support their tyransition. 

It’s become increasingly important for evry student because of COVID, because they’ve all been displaced in their educational process and there’s a rwacclimation to especially in-person learning.  when tyou add it at the college level it’s a lot to mkind of manage.

Rachel

DSenior experience program called embark

It’s for students to transition and celebrate and reflect on their time at the college a d really get prepared for what life looks like after W&J.

We spend time working with students on what it means to be finacially literate, look at student loans to see what that looks like. How to find their first apartment and being profesionally ready. How do you present yourself the best you can as you begin your job search or as your starting to network and buiold your career. There’s still questions that may be unaswewred. 

Eva

Usually about 70 a year 1,150

We want W&J to be an accessible institution for students. Not just regionally but for students to feel like this might be the best place to be. For us, it’s really improtant to have programs like this in p;lace. to suppiort any student that;s coming to campus. Recognizing that first-generation students might need a little extra support, but all of our students benefit fvrom the kinds of things that we develop for them but then extend to other students as well we see increasingly that the range of backgrounds that people are entering college from are so much more varied. then they used to be Higher educatiobn lokoks a lot different than it did even 10 tyears ago. All of our students hopefully benfit from the kind of programs we offer.

      

.

.