First-generation college students gear up for new academic year
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) — MSU students are beginning their first full week of classes, and for some, it’s a different kind of first.
They are working to become the first in their family to graduate from college.
Mississippi State is making sure those students have the resources to succeed on campus and in their careers.
Students are getting down to business as the first full week of classes gets underway.
But one group has an added motivation to study hard. They are striving to make family history.
First-generation college students said they do not take the opportunity to pursue higher education for granted.
“It’s really rewarding starting my senior year as a first-gen, knowing that nobody in my immediate family went to school, so it is very rewarding,” Chaniyah Martin, a first-gen student, said.
Nearly 36% of the undergraduates at Mississippi State University are first-generation college students.
A number of organizations on campus are providing resources and support to help these students succeed.
“When I first got here, first in the family and didn’t really know much of anyone here,” Tonka Davis, a first-gen student, said. “They really took me in, and they provided a sense of community there and introduced me to other first-gen students, knowing that I am not alone. So I did not know how to study correctly or use my time-management skills, and so the Holmes Center for Student Success has provided me with workshops and stuff of that nature to help me become a better student.”
Those organizations include the Holmes Center for Student Success, Trio, and Thrive, which can help make college affordable.
Students said they appreciate MSU sharing essential resources to see them through their college careers.
“It feels good because I know when I have questions or I need help with something, I know I can go to TRIO or I know that there is somewhere or somebody on campus that can help with any questions that I have.”
“Basically, we take first-gen students and strive to provide them with the necessary resources that they need to make sure they are successful here on campus.”
MSU is set to celebrate First Generation Student Day on November 8.
“Being a first gen student to me doesn’t necessarily mean just getting a degree, to me it means to be apart of a coalition,” Shawn Byrd, a first-gen student, said. Which is changing the stigma that juts because my parents didn’t do this or my parents did do this that it means I have to do it but it’s about breaking the barriers. The term generational curse is so outdated, I just like to call it a fostering environment for change.”
