More than 25 percent of OU students are the first in their family to attend college, and a new group hopes to connect them
Kaden Gingerich’s family was ecstatic when he made the decision to come to Ohio University, but not just because he was becoming a Bobcat.
Gingerich is the first in his family to attend college, known as “first-generation,” a population that makes up more than 25 percent of OU students.
Gingerich, a freshman studying education, is now one of the co-presidents of We Are First, a program created this fall to connect first-generation students.
The group has nine members, but wants to grow to triple digits within a few years, Gingerich said. The group mainly targets freshmen to help them acclimate to college life.
We Are First complements other efforts OU is making to help first-generation students succeed academically.
And they’re paying off: the retention rate for OU’s first-generation students increased three percent from the 2012-2013 academic year to the 2013-2014 academic year.
“Why would (first-generation students) not want to be in this organization?” said MacKenzie Hintze, the other co-president of We Are First. “I want to see it become a requirement.”
Being a first-generation student can be difficult partly because students and parents are unsure of processes, such as how to fill out the Free Application for Student Aid, also known as FAFSA.
“Think about all of the times you’ve called your parents for advice,” said Chris Castaldo, a sophomore studying psychology and communication, who is not a first-generation student. “First-generation students are very limited in that because their parents have very little advice to give on college because they never experienced it.”
We Are First has no funding, but Janelle Seibert, a board member, and Brittany Schirtzinger, the creative coordinator, sent letters to local businesses asking for money and sponsorship.
According to the Center for Student Opportunity, a national nonprofit based in Bethesda, Maryland, it is estimated 30 percent of students enrolled in institutions of higher education nationwide are both first-generation and low-income students.
However, 90 percent of these students will not earn an undergraduate degree within six years because they drop out of college at four times the rate of peers whose parents have post-secondary degrees.
The center launched I’m First, an online campaign celebrating first-generation college students that partners with colleges and universities to support first-generation students.
OU is partnered with I’m First and is making efforts beyond the We Are First group to help support first-generation students.
OU’s advisors began monitoring first-generation students’ grades beginning in 2012 through a program called Map-Works, which identified students who were struggling.
Advisors began contacting students identified as struggling by the program, referred them to appropriate resources and assisted them where possible. Interaction rose when advisors began reaching out to students via text message, said Angela Lash, OU’s advisor to first-generation students.
Lash was appointed in 2014 to the newly created position.
First-generation students also became a part of the midterm grade collection process in 2012 and were alerted if they received a midterm grade below a C. Students with grades higher than a B- were congratulated.
The Allen Student Help Center, located in Baker University Center, disseminates weekly academic encouragement messages to all first-generation students and their parents.
All first year, first-generation students are also eligible for free tutoring.
Several university officials, including Pam Benoit, executive vice president and provost, and Laura Myers, Benoit’s chief of staff, are first-generation college graduates and understand the significance of making college access a reality for first-generation students.
“First-generation students are often some of the hardest-working and most determined students because we carry the high hopes and sometimes the deferred dreams of our families with us,” Myers said.
Other public Ohio universities are working to expand and improve campus programs serving first-generation students.
Kent State University and Youngstown State University are also partnered with I’m First.
Miami University offers a program, MADE@Miami, to current first-generation, international and multicultural freshmen. These students can move in a day early to become acquainted with the campus and their peers while enjoying a variety of planned activities.
Ohio State University has a program called the First-Generation Student Association that aims to make college a smooth and informed experience for these students.
Being first-generation is “something to be proud of,” Gingerich said.
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