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THE SEARCH BAR

What do first-generation students need to be successful?

| 34 minutes | Media Contact: University Communications

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Summary

What challenges do first-generation students face? And, what advice and resources are available to help make the transition from high school to college a successful one for first generation students?

Guest:  James Span Jr., executive director of Student Inclusion and Diversity at Central Michigan University.

Summary 

In this podcast episode, Adam Sparkes interviews James Span, Jr., Executive Director of Student Inclusion and Diversity at Central Michigan University, about the experiences and needs of first-generation college students. James defines first-generation students as individuals whose parents or supporters did not go beyond a high school diploma. He explains that these students face a knowledge gap compared to continuing generation students, as they do not have family members who can provide guidance and support in navigating college. James emphasizes the importance of meeting first-generation students where they are and providing them with the resources and support they need to succeed. He discusses the initiatives and resources available at Central Michigan University, such as academic advisors, peer support groups, scholarships, and mentorship programs. James encourages first-generation students to embrace their unique journey, ask for help when needed, and connect with others who understand their experiences. He emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding from faculty, staff, and peers in supporting first-generation students. The interview concludes with a reminder that the goal is to empower first-generation students to succeed and accomplish their goals.

Transcript

Chapters 

Introduction

James: Your journey is going to be so much different than someone else's. But guess what? You're all going to cross the same finish line. And so, one step at a time. Reach out for help, raise your hand when you need it. Scream, yell, holler, kick. Do something. Get someone's attention, because I guarantee you there's someone on that campus that is going to be willing to help you and offer the resources that you need.

Adam: What do first-generation students really need to be successful? Welcome to The Search Bar. You've got questions. Let's find some answers. I'm your host, Adam Sparkes, and today we're chatting with James Span, Jr., Executive Director of Student Inclusion and Diversity at Central Michigan University. Well, thanks for coming in today, James.

James: Yeah, thank you for having me.

Adam: Yeah, it's a pleasure to have you here. We're going to talk about a subject that, we were just discussing off camera, is… it feels a little personal to me, because, unbeknownst to me for many years, I'm a first-generation college student. And it was probably not until I was having some sort of professional engagement with my former undergraduate institution, and other ones professionally, that that term popped up and I started to go, "Wow, some of this would've applied to me." But it's something we think about, and I know you think about a lot in your work here at Central Michigan. So, I was wondering if maybe you could define what a first-generation student is to you, as it pertains to your work as a college administrator.

How is "first-generation student" defined?

James: Yeah, great question. Very relevant question as well, because there are a variety of ways, nationally as well as internationally, that first generation can be defined. Here at Central Michigan University, we view first-generation students as individuals whose parents or supporters did not go beyond the high school diploma. So, an individual who continues their education here at the university, but they're the first in their family to do so. So, everyone in prior generations within their family, great grandparents, grandparents, parents, stopped after high school. So that individual earns the designation of first generation here at Central Michigan University.

Why is it important to identify first-generation students?

Adam: This is an important designation for us when we are thinking about both student recruitment, retention, just kind of everything that we do to serve a student inside and outside of the classroom. What makes your journey different if you're a first-generation student?

James: Wow, a lot. When we look at the comparative point of view from a first-generation student versus a continuing-generation student, there's a tremendous knowledge gap. Continuing-generation students have, maybe, a family member, brother, sister, uncle, cousin, mother, father, grandparent, whatever the case may be, that has also attended and graduated from college. So, there's a wealth of knowledge and information that those individuals can transfer to the incoming student. First-generation students do not have that. They do not have that availability. They do not have that access. They do not have that resource. They're, in essence, chartering unchartered territory on their own; doing their best to figure it out day-by-day, step-by-step, minute-by-minute, course-by-course, semester-by-semester. And so, when you think about that gap within the knowledge of, “I don't know what I don't know.” But not only do I not know what I don't know, but I don't have someone within my family in my support system that can offer insight. The continuing-generation student, they can have a plethora of individuals within their family that they can reach out to for assistance and feedback. First-generation students do not. So, they're, in essence, figuring life out step-by-step on their own, doing the best they know how, not even sometimes even knowing that they are a first-generation student, or what that designation means, or that there is a certain sensitivity that the university has for individuals that have that designation. So again, figuring it out on your own can be very challenging. College in and of itself can be a difficult transition for anyone, any student, continuing-generation or first-generation. But when you add that knowledge gap in place, makes it that much more challenging.

Why can it be challenging to be a first-generation student?

Adam: Yeah. College is a very intricate, kind of, big social web, too. Which, I think, even before you get to the academic, when you're a first-generation student — I'm going to put it as an analogy — it's sort of like if you have recipes in your family. If someone in your family makes tortilla — not tortillas, I'm sorry, tamales, right? Tamales take a long time to make, and if you’ve ever seen anyone make tamales — I don't know how to make tamales, but I've had some friends’ moms that made tamales — and I’m like, “That's wild.” In that family, tamales [are] like a normal thing. But if you ask somebody, “Well, how do you make tamales?” “Well, everyone in my family makes tamales. We just know how to make tamales by the time you're 18.” That's kind of like navigating an education. It's not that everyone gets here and is on the same footing because we're all getting the same student orientation, and we all have this access to the same classes. There's just, sort of, that generational knowledge that gets passed down like a recipe. It doesn't seem complicated to you, because you've been eating it since you were five. 

James: Correct. 

Adam: And by the time you got out of high school, you were cooking it. 

James: Correct. 

Adam: Right? I mean, how to navigate higher education is kind of a, I mean, it's dissimilar, but it's like that's kind of how that knowledge goes down, when I think about it. Which is like, well, nobody taught me how to cook. I just kind of got there and was like, “Whoa,” you almost fall over sideways a little bit.

James: And there's a lot that can be taken for granted in that respect. You know what you know, but you don't know how you know what you know. And so, if I'm a continuing-education or continuing-generation student, I don't know that I have benefited from that knowledge that my family members have said, “This is how you choose college.” Not to take courses by 8:00 AM because you may not want to wake up that early. Or here are some study tips, or here are some test taking strategies. You don't necessarily think very matter-of-factly and intentionally that they are giving me this information and now I'm going to hold onto it and apply it once I get to college. It can just be casual conversation, just dinner conversation. Oh, “I heard little Jimmy's getting ready to go to college.” “Oh, let's tell him about this.” “Let's tell him about that.” Give them some insight. First-generation students, they don't have those organic conversations. And so, that knowledge gap, again, coming into this space, the illustration that I use to help people understand it is thinking about an individual who has some level of visual impairment, not completely blind, but just some level of impairment. In the familiar setting, they can still navigate very successfully. Now, remove the familiarity and put that individual in an environment where they are unfamiliar and now say, “Okay, come find me.” Follow my voice, find where I am. And they're like, “Wait.” They're literally going around in the dark like, “I have no idea where I'm going.” Should I turn left? Should I turn right? Should I stand still? Should I turn around? Should I go sit down? They don't know. And so, for me, that's how I try to help faculty, staff, administrators, and even peers of our students to understand what that journey feels like for a first-generation student. They simply do not know. And it's not their fault, but it's a reality that we have to navigate at the university.

Adam: You have to meet students where they are, I think, when they're experiencing that, because the knee jerk reaction that I know I've heard students talk about is when you experience that — I think the blindness is a pretty good description, because if you can't feel your way around, you start to go, “This place isn't for me.” Whether it's the traditions of the university, whether it's how you navigate somebody having office hours, or the things that are immediately available to you through orientation or onboarding programs. If it doesn't click with you right away, you kind of go, “Maybe I just don't belong here.” And that's usually not the case. I think what happens is that those first-generation students don't know how to find the parts of the university where they're going to feel like they can feel their way through, too. We have, sort of, an obligation to make sure that we're guiding them in a direction where — it's not just about dragging 'em along the finish line, it's making it so they can walk across on their own, and sometimes that can feel just overwhelming to get started.

James: I agree. But I appreciate that use of the word obligation, though, because I do not absolve myself nor my colleagues of that obligation to say, “We have to meet these students where they are.” We cannot hold them accountable to be where we are, to know what we know, individuals who already have degrees and life and professional experience. We have to meet them where they are and be sensitive to their reality. And as an institution, that's what we try to do. Helping peers to understand that reality as well. But it's a communal-type effort because when you think about it, there's no one singular entity that the students only interact with. First-generation students are everywhere. They're in the residence hall, on campus, off campus, in the classroom, extracurricular, co-curricular, university recreation, registered student organizations; they're everywhere. So, it's everyone's obligation. And I like using that word, and I'll probably take ownership of that moving forward. But it's everyone's obligation to be sensitive to the realities of the percentage, that continues to increase, amongst our student population of first-generation students.

What are some of the challenges faced by first-generation students?

Adam: What types of questions do you run into with first-generation students that come through, I guess, come across your door? What are the things that they're struggling with? What are the particulars at school that might trip them up that they weren't expecting?

James: In the academic setting, within the classroom, for sure. Feeling different, noticing those differences, noticing how they may not, again, come to the table with the same level of insight and knowledge that their peers may. Understanding that they have a different trajectory into the university. Even connecting with other students and making those connections. What we find is first-generation students, some will own it, others may not own it but it's still a reality and you can see it on them. There's a certain stigma that comes with that. Because of the reality of that knowledge gap, they feel some kind of way. Yes, I've earned my right as a student here at the university. I had the academic credentials. I applied, I was admitted, I was accepted and admitted, and now I'm here, but I'm not ‘here’ like you are here. You know what I don't know. You're navigating this space a lot more confidently than I am, and so now I may not raise my hand in class because of that, because I have some fear and trepidation that, “Am I going to say the right thing in this moment?” I may not have that level of confidence because this is new territory for me. I don't have someone that has coached me in my family to say, "Sit in the front of the classroom, shake the professor's hand, get them to know who you are. Let them know your name, interact with them." I don't have that same level of coaching, so there's going to be some shyness, some timidity in me as a student. Academically, I'm prepared to be here; socially, not so much. And so, we find students struggle with making connections with other students, and we find that continuing-generation students sometimes can struggle with making connections with first-generation college students because of that disconnect. Continued-generation students speak very matter-of-factly about things that first-generation students are like, "Wait, what? What are you talking about?” 

Adam: Yeah. 

Adam: “Wait, what do you mean just go here and just do this?” And preface everything by, “Well, all you have to do is…,” and they're like, “Well, I don't—." You're saying that because you know that. I didn't know it was that simple. I'm looking at this as a huge mountain. You're looking at it as a mole hill. And so, just pointing out that disparity. Students make us aware of that all the time. They come into our office because they become familiar with who we are as a resource, a point of contact on campus. Once we develop that relationship with them, that's when the truth starts coming to the surface. Well, “Can you help me with this, then?” “Thank you for helping me with that, but I had a question about this,” and, “I have a question about that,” and my roommate, and my friends, and food insecurity, and this and that, and it's like, “Here we are.” Let's go, now let's go on this journey together.

 

What is the importance of empathy and support for first-generation students?

Adam: You were talking about students who are not first generation having a hard time connecting with students that are first generation. Sometimes that's affluence, too, because if your parents went to college and your grandparents went to college, you start getting three, four generations deep, there's a good chance that there's an affluence gap too. Which means that there's an additional struggle for first-generation students, in that they're usually supporting themselves more. At least they're more likely to need to be supporting themselves through there. There's less of a cushion, right? They might need to be working more often. They might not have a college savings fund or something that a student who's from a more affluent background is likely to have, and the student from a more affluent background is more likely to have supporters who are college educated themselves. 

James: Absolutely. 

Adam: And that can be tough because, as you mentioned, I don't feel like I'm fitting, and the time that I might need to fit in, or to get myself comfortable with this academic situation, I now might be spending it making money. Or figuring out how to navigate some of the other, I guess, some of the financial systems that exist within a university, which can really shut somebody down if you don't have someone to ask.

James: Absolutely.

Adam: How do I get my student loans repaid? Should I file FAFSA again this year?

James: What is FAFSA? 

Adam: Right? 

James: What is this new process? But the reality is, that formulation has changed and now new forms and new definitions. How do our first-generation students navigate that? They were successful in navigating it the first time with their family to apply for financial aid, but now things are changing, and so now that individual has to learn an entirely new process all over again. Now granted, there's a little bit of parody there because continuing-generation students will have the same, but again, that knowledge gap is still going to be different. But yeah, you're right. You're absolutely right. The time that I could be spending getting to know my colleagues, my peers, my friends, and join different friend networks — I don't have the luxury of going to the bar two, three, four or five times a week. I have to go to work. I want to connect. I want to be your friend. I want to get to know you. You seem really cool, but I got to go to work. And now it makes me feel some kind of way. “Oh, come on, James, let's go.” I can't. “Again? Okay, well, now I'm not going to ask you anymore.” And it's like, “How do I make friends?” How do I make friends? How do I help someone to understand my situation and not judge me? And that's why I say the sensitivity and awareness needs to be rampant on this campus to help other individuals understand there is that difference. It's not through a deficit lens, but there is a difference that needs to be owned and acknowledged, because once I acknowledge and own the difference, I can then approach it respectfully and respectively instead of just saying, “Well, students are students.” You all are the same. You completed orientation, right? You're all the same. You're coming to here. Welcome. Here's move in day. I'm going to speak very matter-of-factly. Oh, you go here and do this and go here and go do that. And it's like, “Okay, but where is that?” What do you mean you don't know where that is? I don't know where that is. My parents didn't go here. My parents — I live in the same residence hall my parents lived in. They were on the same clubs and organizations that I'm planning to join. I don't have that. I'm, again, visually impaired, trying to figure things out and you're saying to me, “Why don't where you're going?” Because I don't. So, instead of making a rhetorical question, just make it a legitimate question. “Can I help you to get to where you're going?” 

Adam: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I think empathy is such an extension of your intelligence and your awareness, and I think we could all seek to have more of it. Sometimes when you're navigating through different parts of American culture, there's times when too much empathy is projected as being weak. I'm like, no, I don't know about that, though. I think even if somebody is doing something that seems foreign or weird or even threatening to you at times, starting at — and that is not to be conflated with the way I expect first-generation students to be — but if you're approaching somebody because they don't seem like they belong somewhere, you need to come from a place of empathy because if they really do belong there, and they likely do, you acting like they don't in any way is just going to reinforce a negative feeling that they're already having, right? 

James: It does, yep.

Adam: And you can do that pretty easily without any ill intent, too, because the empathy isn't there. You're just going, “Hey, what the heck's wrong?”

James: Yeah. It's definitely easier said than done. 

Adam: Yeah. 

James: When you look at individuals who've served in a variety of different higher ed capacities for a number of years, it's almost, in a sense, as though it's easy for that individual to forget what it's like to be that 18-year-old student. They have been in this environment for so long, they've seen so many students come in, go to the point of graduation, that they forget about that brand new student and how new everything is to them. Because it's not new to me, so why are you acting like it's new to you? Because it is new to them. And so, it's easy to find yourself in that situation of almost prefacing everything by saying, “Oh, why don't you know that?” And that's why I said, let's change our thought process and almost, in a sense, treat everyone as if they're brand new. I know I've run into the issues with that in the past where I will introduce a student to another student that I know, and then they'll look at me and say, “I already know him.” I'm like, “Well, good,” but I don't want to make the assumption because I would rather put my foot in my mouth and have you say, “I already know them,” versus me assuming that you two know each other, so I don't introduce you all, because this could be a wonderful connection that can be made, and a needed connection. And so, it's just that sensitivity, that awareness, that is lacking in some cases, not all, but in some cases. And just how, as an institution, we can do a better job, a more intentional job, of just raising the level of awareness. Not to view these individuals as the squeaky wheel. “Oh, they need this attention.” Again, from that deficit lens. But just viewing the reality and just saying, well, if this student is showing up in this space a specific way, or I'm noticing changes in their behavior, let's identify the root cause. Because it could be they're working to support themselves through college because they're a first generation-student. They're not getting the sleep they need. They're not connecting with their peers. They're experiencing other issues. It's not just a matter of, “Well, why didn't you complete this assignment?” There can be a million different reasons as to why. But as an individual at the institution — an administrator, faculty, staff member — having that level of sensitivity to just say, “Hey, Adam, what's going on?” Instead of, “Why didn't you do this?” and, “Why didn't you…?” Leave it in an open-ended question. “What's going on?” Especially if the relationship has already been engendered and maintained. That can go a long way.

What resources are available for first-generation students?

Adam: So, in particular for students on campus, though, let's talk about some of the resources that are going to be available here at Central Michigan University. We'll talk about those. And I assume that other, lesser institutions probably also have some of these things. If I am struggling academically, where do I go? Whose door do I knock on? What's your advice?

James: Yeah, my advice would be an academic advisor. It's a very different structure that's set up now. In a past life, I was an academic advisor here at the university, and students have an option at that point to consult me as an advisor. Now it's more mandatory. Now, it's up to the relationship that is built between the advisor and the advisee for the advisee to really feel this is someone that I can reach out to because I do need assistance. But that's when other layers of effect come into play. It could be, if they live on campus, a resident assistant. It can be an inclusion assistant, it can be a faculty member. It could be a peer, it could be a roommate. It can be someone that's just noticing a difference and then being able to point that student into the direction of a viable resource to get the help they need. But again, [with the] plethora of resources that exist on this campus — academic advisors, faculty advisors — it's as easy as making that appointment. And I say very matter-of-factly, it's just that easy. But it really is just that easy. All of the individuals that I know that serve in that capacity, they have a link within their email address to make a face-to-face or a virtual appointment. It's just that simple. I have a question, let me make an appointment. And I know that, for a fact, these individuals that serve in this capacity would never make a student feel less than, even if they only had one ‘simple’ question and they scheduled an appointment. They wouldn't say, "Oh, you contacted me for that?" They would say, "Thank you for contacting me for that. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Adam: Absolutely. And that's the fear that we hope we can empower students to get over too, right?

James: Absolutely.

Adam: There should not be dumb questions when it comes to navigating the resources of an institution of this size, right?

James: No.

Adam: And I would — again, obligation, right? I wouldn’t say that… we're all obligated to point those students towards that resource. I would like to think that if a student for — unbeknownst to me why they would do this — were like, “That guy's got a gray beard and a blazer, probably works here,” [and they] stop me and said, "Where's the math resource center?" that I'm not going to be like, “Google it.” Do you know what I mean? Let's go. It's over here. We're going to go over to Park Library; we're going to find the math resource center.

What scholarship and financial aid opportunities are available for first-generation students?

Adam: Do we provide scholarship opportunities for first-generation students?

James: We do.

Adam: What do those look like?

James: Within the Office of Advancement, there is the Ignite First Generation Scholarship. So, individuals who carry that designation, who need some level of support above and beyond the traditional and typical financial aid, can apply for that scholarship. It's specifically earmarked for individuals who have that designation. So, it's not open for all, not competitive in that respect. An individual who has that designation, carries that designation, have access to it. And they apply for it very simply like other —there's an online application on Scholarship Universe. Go on the Office of Scholarship and Financial Aid portal, find all the information that's out there. So yes, we are, fortunately, moving towards the reality where the Office of Scholarship and Financial Aid and institution realizes that that can be a barrier for continuing their education for first-generation students, and we're being sensitive to that reality and basically directing resources in a very appropriate and intentional manner to address that matter.

What programs does Central Michigan University have to support first-generation students?

Adam: Adam: It seems like — and, in hindsight, for me I know this was beneficial because my parents weren't really able to give me specific advice on how to navigate my major, how to, kind of, best position myself to take my undergraduate degree and go on to the next step — it was finding mentorship. It was finding people within that institution that could, kind of, help me be reassured that I had sure footing. Again, hindsight for me, but it can be foresight for our students here. How do you find both the peers and/or the faculty and staff mentors that you need to get through the, hopefully, four years that you need to graduate?

James: Yeah, great question. Back in the fall of 2022, there were a group of administrators, faculty and staff members who asked that very question, and sat down at the table and started brainstorming and thinking, “How can we make this a reality?” How can we as an institution do a better job of being very intentional about the type of support that we offer first-generation students? So, there was a task force that was formed through the Division of Student Affairs. And then that has evolved, now, into what's known as First Gen Central. So, we actually have an initiative here on the campus. It involves, the advisory board rather, involves faculty, staff, administrators, and even first-generation students who sit at the table, have conversations, figure out how to offer those ‘how-to’ moments for individuals who hold that designation to give them that positive head start that they need as they transition into the university, and their matriculation throughout the university. So, from an institutional aspect, that's one way. On the peer side of that: Central Bridge, a registered student organization of and for first-generation students. So, these are students who understand firsthand what it feels like to be a first-generation student. They're upperclassmen and they turn around and reach back to our incoming students, transfer, international, whatever the case may be to say, “I am here for you as a resource.” So, if you look at it from both capacities, faculty, staff, and administrators as well as peer, yeah, we're covering this campus pretty well. Getting that information out, helping individuals to understand that those resources exist, that's where we are now. We're creating a presence on this campus. We've got a bunch of t-shirts printed up. We got a bunch of buttons and stickers. We're hosting events on campus so that our first-generation students realize: "I'm not the only one. There are more people here like me." So now, I have a point of contact. We're also creating mentorship networks with faculty and staff who are first generation, and who also are continuing generation but just have the capacity, who want to help those students. You might not be a member of my college. I'm a faculty member in College of Science and Engineering, you're a business major. Doesn't matter. I'm first gen and so are you. I'm here to help you. So, normalizing the reality of the existence here at the institution, First Gen Central, putting out that word: We're here for you, we want to be a part of your academic journey. We are going to offer what we call snack and chat sessions. Let's meet with the students, inform them, talking about financial aid and things of that nature. In January, we're planning to put out information about how to apply for financial aid. We're bringing in officials from the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid to meet with our first-generation students. So again, they can make that connection with that very viable resource. We have faculty and staff members; we're putting together professional development sessions so that they can develop the competency, the wherewithal, the sensitivity, the awareness. And we're also empowering, through our resources as well as logistics, with Central Bridge to help them to understand you also play vital a role in this process. But you don't have to figure it out on your own because, again, you're first gen yourself, and so you still have questions that you don't know the answer to. You still have questions that you don't even know is the question. And so, again, working very closely in concert, First Gen Central, Central Bridge, those are the starting points, and I'm happy to announce, even, that there also — we're starting to see it bubble up in some of our colleges. College of Medicine, they're focusing on first-generation students. The College of Business, they're focusing on — they actually have a cohort of students that they're working with now. And so, it's starting to happen. The university is really starting to understand the viability of this population, but also the required needs for us to meet them where they are and offer the type of support that they need.

Why is it important to address the stigma around being a first-generation student?

Adam: But we're bringing in hundreds and hundreds of kids every semester who are in that boat. 

James: Correct. 

Adam: And you all can become a support system for yourself if we can only find a way to make sure that you all feel supported too, right? 

James: Absolutely. 

Adam: I mean, I think that part of it is probably really big. It's hard for — and admittedly, at the age that I'm at, I'm a little ripe — so it's hard for me to reflect on the value that having friends that are in a similar situation is. I know when you're young, it means a little bit more. We get a little more hardened when we get older and we kind of go, “All right, whatever, I'll be uncomfortable.” It's harder to be uncomfortable when you're younger. 

James: It is. 

Adam: You learn how to navigate those situations a little bit better with experience, and I think sometimes it's easy for some of us who've been around for a while to forget that. 

James: Correct. 

Adam: We have short memories.

James: We do, unfortunately. And for me, that's why I think it's important, again, to have that peer-to-peer component, because I graduated from college many years ago, so I'm not always as in tune. Even though I work with college students every day, I'm not always in tune with what their journey is like today. Their journey is very different than mine.

Adam: Yeah, I'm reminded of that a lot, too.

James: Exactly. And so, having those peers in place, because they know, their finger is on the pulse. I'm trying to find the pulse, but they're already there because they're still in that same space. And so, again, empowering the students to understand you have a vital role in this whole success of this designated population, not absolving them of responsibility. It's a very interesting dynamic because while they are also standing in need of some type of support, they're also providing support. And so, the symbiotic nature of that; I receive, and then I give, I receive, and then I give. And so, for me, I like where the university is going with this. I like that it's becoming more normalized to use the terminology first generation. I like that we're removing the stigma that our students feel that way. I like that we're starting to shake the tree and starting to see more faculty and staff members that are willing to announce, “I was a first-generation student and now look at me,” and now they're happy to wear the t-shirt and wear the button and wear that designation, literally, so that students can see, "Wait, my chemistry professor was a first-generation student? Wait, the Vice President of Student Affairs is a first generation. I didn't know that." And so, now, there's this connection, and now they can say, "I was a first-generation student and now I'm also the Vice President of Student Affairs, so you can do it."

Adam: We don't want them to feel — you're not an anchor, you're a pioneer. You know what I mean? 

James: Yeah. 

Adam: You're out there, you're doing it. You're blazing a new path for your family, for your children, for your grandchildren. I mean, I think it's an important thing. And I hope everyone can feel proud of that designation versus looking at it as a hindrance. You might have different needs, but if those needs are getting met, then the whole experience should hopefully be empowering by the end, even if there's some discomfort in the beginning.

How should first-generation students prepare to enter college?

Adam: If you could give an elevator pitch to a first-generation student who's applying for college — they're going to start here, or anywhere else really, in Fall of '24 — what are the things they need to be prepared? What are the questions they need to answer for themselves before they step foot onto campus?

James: I'll say, I'll start with, first of all, giving yourself credit for where you are. It can be human nature to be comparative and look at your situation through someone else's lens, or look at their situation through your lens and feel, “I'm not where they are, so something might be wrong with me.” Own who you are. Own where you are. Give yourself that pat on the back for making it to this point of saying, “I am going to continue my education. I am going to attend that college and that university. I am going to be the first in my family to graduate; turn that tassel and throw the cap up in the air.” Own that. And then once you step into that space, announce it loud and proud. I'm first gen. Because what you do is, if you announce that, there's someone that will hear that and say, “Oh, well, can I help you with something?” But if I hide and I hold back and I'm timid and I'm shy about that, then I might not receive the assistance that I need. I'm from Florida, and down south we make it very plain. We say a closed mouth doesn't get fed. If I don't let you know that I'm first gen and that I may need some level of assistance different than a continuing-generation student, then I might not receive it, and then I might not make it to that four, or less than five years, to the point of graduation. So, give yourself credit for making it to where you are, but also own and acknowledge that you don't know everything. No one does. So again, from a comparative point of view, don't think that a continual-generation student knows what… everything that you do not know. We're all learning this. We're all navigating this space together. Give yourself credit for making it where you are. Take it one step at a time. Be comfortable asking questions. Become comfortable being uncomfortable, and just navigate that space. Everyone's journey is different. Again, I think from a communal, even a collaborative, point of view, even a community-based point of view, it's easy to look at everyone's situation and think we're all starting from the same space. You're not, and that's okay. Doesn't make you less than, doesn't make you deficient, doesn't retard your progress or anything of that nature. It's just a unique status. Your journey is going to be so much different than someone else's. But guess what? You're all going to cross the same finish line. And so, one step at a time. Reach out for help. Raise your hand when you need it. Scream, yell, holler, kick, do something. Get someone's attention because, I guarantee you, there's someone on that campus that is going to be willing to help you and offer the resources that you need to get you throughout that institution onto the point of graduation, for no other reason than for you to be successful. Not wanting anything in return other than for you to be successful and to accomplish the goal that you want to accomplish. So, be comfortable being uncomfortable. Give yourself grace. Take it one step at a time. Ask for help when you need it, as challenging as that might be. Find those friend groups that support you and your unique status and will offer the level of support that you need on an individual and continual basis. And then let's just go on this ride together.

Adam: I think you unpacked that really, really well. 

James: Thank you. 

Adam: And I appreciate what you're doing here and what you're doing for these students, too. Because I agree with you that that's the job, that's the goal. We're here for your success. That's the motivation. And I hope that the students get the message from that, and that the rest of us who are here all the time beyond those four years, we can maintain our obligation… 

James: There you go. 

Adam: …to push that success out the door. 

James: Perfect. 

Adam: Thanks so much, James.

James: You're very welcome. Thank you.

Adam: Thank you so much for stopping by The Search Bar. Make sure that you like and subscribe so that you never have to search for another episode.

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The views and opinions expressed in these episodes are strictly those of the host and guest speaker.