The Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIE) closed National First-Gen Student Week with a local jazz band on the night of Nov. 7. Aptly titled “Night of the First,” the celebration gathered many first-generation Braves dressed to fit the 1920s theme of the event.
“Every year, we have our first-gen week, where we celebrate first-generation students and our first-generation community,” OIE Associate Director Tahalia McGowan said. “This year, we wanted to do something different for National First-Gen Day, which is always the first Friday of November. We wanted to do a gala where we would honor and uplift our first-generation community.”
The first week of November is no random choice for the occasion.
National First-Generation College celebration day is held on Nov. 8 because of the 1965 Higher Education Act, which increased access to college degrees by laying the foundation for Pell grants, work-study programs and federal loans.
In addition to gaining accessibility through this federal act, Bradley’s first-gen students also rely on the OIE.
“As the executive director of inclusive excellence, my mission here is to expand access to Bradley in regard to student retention and recruitment initiatives,” Dr. Jerisha Farrer said.
Farrer went on to recount a case in which first-gen students’ struggles highlighted this mission.
“I have one-on-ones with a student, particularly a male student interested in cybersecurity, and he writes his notes in binary code … and he was talking about how, sometimes, when he goes to some of these resources [academic support services], they don’t understand his notetaking,” Farrer said.
While the standard approach would have been to teach the student to acclimate to usual notetaking methods, Farrer affirmed the student’s unconventional method.
“Since then, [I was] having this conversation with him on encouraging to keep taking notes that way, because if it’s to the point where he understands it and it’s not disrupting his learning flow, go with it,” Farrer said. “It’s okay being different instead of going to the traditional route.”
The OIE’s encouragement of individual autonomy is valued by first-gen students like senior accounting major Jessica Hernandez, because it spotlights a critical aspect of students’ journey: the motivation to keep trying.
“As a first-gen student, you don’t feel like it’s something that you celebrate; it’s more like a challenge that you overcome,” Hernandez said. “So [the event] is something that brings a lot of fun and importance to first-gen students.”
Aside from presenting awards to students and staff who signified excellence, the night of the first also showcased collaboration within the OIE, with early guests lending a hand with setup.
This attitude of intergroup cooperation also manifests in the structure of first-generation student support, which operates through mentor-mentee pairs.
Second-generation student and senior mechanical engineering major Johnathon Sanchez-Huanca reflected on being a mentee with the common struggles of advising.
“I did have my mom, who does have a master’s in the humanities. So being in STEM was a little different, because even though she could help me navigate the college life, she wasn’t in tune with the STEM commitments,” Sanchez-Huanca explained. “[The OIE] has gotten me connected to not only a wide variety of people who are similar to me or have similar backgrounds to me but also people that I wouldn’t have met before – people who have served as mentors for mentees, they’ve also guided me in my college journey.”
Beyond celebrating first-generation student excellence and the teamwork behind the support structure, the OIE prepares students for their future aspirations by considering their backgrounds.
“Talking to [McGowan] or Dr. Farrer, they really put effective opportunities that are out there, just opening up doors for me that probably wouldn’t have opened up,” junior psychology major and first-generation student Jared Culberson said.
Looking ahead, the OIE has begun preparations for senior week, and students on their way out are already looking forward to it.
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