In Experiences from First Generation College Graduates, 31 alumni who were the first in their family to obtain a college degree share their experiences in college. These stories illuminate how the struggles of first-generation students are primarily due to a combination of multiple social inequities that are ignored, reinforced, and perpetuated by exclusive college systems. These authors speak directly to current and future first generation students, offering tips and advice for success, along with powerful words of encouragement in their emotionally rich narratives. College faculty and staff are challenged to shift their perspectives from viewing these students from a deficit lens or attempting to make them more like continuing-generation students, to instead having deeply honest confrontations with the pedagogies and structures of college, which are frequently so ingrained that they are invisible, and that cater to continuing-generation students, who are often predominantly white, middle- and upper-class. Colleges can create a more equitable system in which universities are enriched by the wisdom, experiences, and talents of first-generation students while promoting a generative culture for all students.
Adam J. Rodriguez, PsyD, is a first-generation college graduate and psychoanalytic psychologist in private practice. His pursuit of a college degree took him 15 years, spanning 4 community colleges, including Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, CA; 2 four-year universities, including San Francisco State University where he completed his bachelors at the age of 32; and four years of graduate school at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. In his practice and scholarly work, Dr. Rodriguez is interested in the study of first-generation college students, multiracial identities, the intersection of race/ethnicity and class, and the connections between music and clinical work. He is a board member of Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN), an organization which advocates for therapies of depth, insight, and relationship. Yolanda Norman, EdD, currently serves as Associate Vice President of Student Development at Concordia University Texas and CEO of FirstGenCollege Consulting. As a low-income first-generation college student-athlete when she entered college, Dr. Norman often questioned her own journey for a college education and daily fought the negative thoughts telling her she did not belong. Today she spends her time on campus and within the community championing strategies focused on successful student development, working nationally with organizations to help students aspire to and persist towards college graduation, and engaging with first-generation college graduate professionals helping to build strong leadership. Learn more about her work at MyFirstgenCollege.com and stay engaged with her online at @FirstGenCollege. Contributors include: Sonja Ardoin, Glynis Boyd Hughes, Kallie Clark, Maria Dykema Erb, Jeremy Edwards, Mayra Gonzalez Menjivar, Racquez Gutierrez Cortez, Patricia Harris, David Hernandez, Karen Hill, Emilee Claire Inez, Dawna Jones, Jennifer Lieurance, Yvonne M. Luna, Adj Marshall, Ivonne Martinez, T. Mark Montoya, Ulises Morales, Mytien Nguyen, Lynn Pepin, Henry Rosas Ibarra, Kamina P. Richardson, Sean Richardson, Mike Santaniello, Stephen Santa-Ramirez, Clifton E. Shambry, Jr., Joyce Stewart, Anthony Vargas, Desiree Vega, David Winston, and Kevin L. Wright
Foreword (Yolanda Norman) Acknowledgments Introduction (Adam J. Rodriguez) Section I Introduction: Stories Featuring Academic Experiences (Adam J. Rodriguez) First Generation Students Defined College Culture Structure and Content of the Book Contributors Emergence of Themes Sections Critical Self-Reflection The Strengths of First-Generation Students Chapter 1 (Anthony Vargas, Student Affairs, Campus Living University at Buffalo) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 2: Mapping Out College to Career Goals in Real-Time (Jeremy Edwards, PhD, Lecturer for the Program in Writing and Rhetoric at Stanford University) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributions Toward College Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 3: Success is Not a Linear Path (Ivonne Martinez, Pursuing Master's in Data Science) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 4 (Desiree Vega, PhD, Associate Professor, School Psychology) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 5 (Yvonne M. Luna, PhD, Associate Vice Provost and Professor of Sociology) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success: I Didn't Do It Alone Role of Mi Familia Tips and Advice Chapter 6 (Maria Dykema Erb, MEd, Director of the Newbury Center, Boston University) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 7 (David Winston, MD, PhD, Forensic Pathologist) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 8 (Mike Santaniello, Professor of Sociology) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 9 (Lynn Pepin, BSE, Completing PhD in Computer Science) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 10: From North Philly to Faculty: Testimonio of a First-Generation Latinx College Student Surviving and Thriving at an Historically White University (Stephen Santa-Ramirez, PhD, Assistant Professor of Higher Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, University at Buffalo) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Critical Self-Reflection 1 (Adam J. Rodriguez) Two Primary Questions Further Discussion Questions Section II Introduction: Stories Featuring Social Experiences (Adam J. Rodriguez) Chapter 11: The Little Girl from Gay, Georgia (Patricia Harris, MA, Senior Director of Education, Operations and Initiatives, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College: I Love My SSU Contributors to My Success: Tell Them We Are Rising Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 12:In My Own Way (David Hernandez, Associate Professor, Latina/o Studies, Faculty Director of Community Engagement, Mount Holyoke College) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 13 (Jenny Lieurance, First Generation Specialist) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 14 (Glynis Boyd Hughes, Grant Writer and Storyteller) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 15 (T. Mark Montoya, PhD, Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 16 (Joyce Stewart, Senior Academic Lecturer, English Department) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College: The Enjoyable and Annoying Contributors to My Success: What Worked for Me Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 17 (Kevin L. Wright, EdD, Senior Equity Facilitator/Consultant at the Center for Equity & Inclusion) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College The Classroom Reslife Campus Involvement Contributions Toward College Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 18 (Sonja Ardoin, PhD, Associate Professor & Program Director, Student Affairs Administration) Applying to and Preparing for College: LSU was my Harvard Experiences in College: Finding My Tiger Stripes Contributors to My Serendipitous Success Role of Family: It's Not My Degree, It's Ours Tips and Advice: "My Two Cents" Offering Chapter 19 (Kamina P. Richardson, Assistant Program Director and Pre-Law Advisor for Legal Studies Program at Temple University's Fox School of Business) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 20 (Emilee Claire Inez, Admissions Representative, University of Wyoming) Applying to and Preparing for College: Before the Bachelors Experiences in College: Growth in Undergrad Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Critical Self-Reflection 2 (Adam J. Rodriguez) Two Primary Questions Further Discussion Questions Section III Introduction: Stories Featuring Psychological Experiences (Adam J. Rodriguez) Chapter 21: To the Garden that Blossomed Seeds of Dreams (Ulises Morales, Executive Assistant) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 22 (Mayra Gonzalez Menjivar, Communications Associate) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 23 (Kallie Clark, MSW, PhD, Educator and Researcher) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 24 (Dawna Jones, MEd, MSW, Director, Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture at Duke University) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 25: The Paths We Pave (Mytien Nguyen, MD-PhD Student) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 26 (Sean Richardson, Pursuing Master's in Higher Education Administration) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 27: Navigating Uncharted Waters (Adj Marshall, Families Program & Policy Administrator, Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College: Assets and Drawbacks Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 28 (Clifton E. Shambry, Jr., Assistant Director of Life Design for Diversity and Inclusion) The Beginning: Why College Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of the Family Tips and Advice Chapter 29 (Raquel Gutierrez Cortez, MSCP, Associate Marriage and Family Therapist, Associate Professional Clinical Counselor) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 30 (Karen Hill, BA, Completing Master of Science in Counseling) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Chapter 31 (Henry Rosas Ibarra, Political Consultant) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to My Success Role of Family Tips and Advice Critical Self-Reflection 3 (Adam J. Rodriguez) Two Primary Questions Further Discussion Questions Chapter 32: Discussion and Analysis (Adam J. Rodriguez) Applying to and Preparing for College Experiences in College Contributors to Success Role of Family The Costs of Upward Mobility Conclusion Chapter 33: Tips and Advice for First-Generation College Students and Their Families (Adam J. Rodriguez) Advice for Parents Conclusion Chapter 34: Creating Equity and Justice: Recommendations for Colleges, Faculty, and Staff (Adam J. Rodriguez) Laying the Groundwork Institutional Changes Early Intervention Admissions Process Financial Aid Assistance Tutoring Services Residence Halls Academic Advising Mentorship Programs Counseling/Mental Health Services Increased Representation Classroom Level Normalizing Adjustment Difficulties Conclusion Glossary of Select College Terms Appendix A: Resources References Index About the Contributors
