Some students attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater are legacy students, and others’ parents attended four-year colleges themselves. Yet, a sizable portion of the student body is considered first-generation college students. Campus is looking forward to celebrating this group of students during the First-Generation College Celebration Nov. 3-8, with National First-Generation Day being held Nov. 8.
The First-Generation College Celebration is a nationwide event recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of first-generation college students across the nation. This weeklong celebration honors the date the Higher Education Act of 1965 was passed. The act established TRIO, which includes federally authorized programs such as Upper Bound, Student Support Services, and Talent Search, all of which are designed to increase access to higher education. Educational Opportunity Programs, or EOPs, are state-authorized programs that further expand the capacity of the university to provide for first-generation students.
One of the main ways to aid first-generation students in attaining their educational goals is through grants and scholarships.
“Our King/Chavez Scholars, that is a program for incoming freshmen that are going to take classes on the Whitewater campus,” Warren said. “Another one that we have on campus and actually across the state is funded for Wisconsin Scholars. And this is an amazing program. It’s the focus, the primary focus is on students who are eligible for Pell Grants. However, a high percentage of those students are first-generation students as well.”
Warren also discussed how the university assists first-generation students in their campus and schooling adjustments.
“You already bring a lot of great qualities to the institution,” Warren said. “You just don’t happen to have someone at home that can help you navigate the system, and navigating the system sometimes can be everything. It’s never a barrier of the student. The fact that they’re willing to navigate the barriers at all already speaks to their grit and their tenacity and, you know, how much they want to be a part of the educational system and how much they’re dreaming big and things like that.”
Campus has to be a “one-stop shop,” Warren emphasized. Each staff member, while often not being equipped to answer a question, must direct you to someone who can.
“I mean, they’re staffed with, you know, people from all kinds of areas, financial aid, advising, and success coaching,” Warren said. If you walk in there and you’re like, ‘I just don’t know how this works? I don’t know who to go to? I don’t know what’s next,’ they can get you there. Whether they can help you personally right there in the moment, or they can now get you to your next connection. But I think that’s an amazing tool to have.”
UW-Whitewater staff are eager and willing to assist in recognizing first-generation students this week and seek to create a community of students who are not afraid to trailblaze new paths. A supporting apparatus tailored to the needs of the first-generation student is vital to their current and continued success into the future.
“College is not just a legacy event in life,” Warren said. “College is for you. If you want to go, if this is what your dream includes, just come, get here, and we will help you navigate.”