Georgetown Scholars Program Celebrates 20 Years of Uplifting First-Gen College Students

In 2004, the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) was founded to provide wraparound support for first-generation college students and students from low-income backgrounds. Twenty years later, GSP has served over 2,600 students and prepared Hoyas to succeed at Georgetown and beyond.

GSP provides students with advising, mentorship, professional development, community building, specialized programming and microgrants to help Georgetown students thrive before and after graduation. After two decades, the program boasts a 94% graduation rate for first-generation students - the graduation rate for first-generation college students in the U.S. is 26%.

"GSP's success is as a community-driven effort that positions students to show up as their full selves in the classroom, in their dorms and in their internships," said Missy Foy, executive director of GSP. "Graduates are now working in the White House, in the foreign service, at NBC and Netflix, in nonprofits, getting their PhDs, and running for office and winning elections. The world is better when our students are able to bring their lived experiences to these leadership positions."

Navigating College

GSP currently serves over 650 undergraduate students in its mission to make Georgetown more inclusive for first-generation and low-income students. The program seeks to create a more equitable educational environment in the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, or care for the whole person, to ensure a quality Georgetown education is accessible to all its students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds.

Throughout the academic year, GSP hosts programming that helps students navigate life as first-generation and or low-income college students.

Through GSP, students participate in programs and events that build community. GSP also connects students to Georgetown alumni and mentors, including professors who are first-generation college graduates themselves, who can help support students throughout their four years at Georgetown.

In addition to community building, GSP provides resources to help ease the transition to college, which can be challenging to navigate as first-generation students. Mastering the Hidden Curriculumis one of the ways GSP helps students to navigate that transition. Taught by first-generation college professors, the 12-week, two-credit class helps demystify the unspoken expectations of higher education and empowers students to confidently adjust to the college environment, refine their academic and career goals and deepen their understanding of their own identities.

Sofia Chen Ma (B'23), a first-generation college graduate who served as president of GSP, said the course helped open her eyes to fellow students who were experiencing the same things she was.

"It was an environment where we would just go in and talk about the things we experienced day-to-day," Chen Ma said. "For me, being able to vocalize what I was experiencing and listening to other people vocalize a lot of my issues was eye-opening. For the first time in the classroom, I felt seen."

Helping Students When They Need It Most

GSP also provides modest grants to students encountering unexpected, out-of-pocket expenses throughout their four years at Georgetown. The program's Necessity Funddistributes several thousand microgrants annually for needs such as medical co-pays, tutoring fees, grocery costs during breaks when the dining hall is closed, mental health services and travel home for first-year students. The fund also helps offset costs related to commencement, such as regalia, family travel to celebrate graduation and events such as the Senior Ball.

GSP students during commencement weekend in 2024.

"The support GSP provided me, and many others, is unparalleled," said Adrian Abrams (C'18), a Baker Scholarand GSP alumnus. "It gave me the freedom to truly enjoy my undergraduate years and the confidence and resources necessary to start my career in digital marketing immediately after graduation. Just five years later, I was able to buy my mother a house on the 10-year anniversary of us facing homelessness. It was a very sentimental, full circle moment that would not have been possible without GSP."

For Sabrina Perez (C'24), who served as the president of the GSP Student Board last year, GSP was there for her when she needed help.

"GSP has funded the glasses I am wearing today and my wisdom tooth removal," Pérez said. "They have acted as my work-study [employer], connected me to alumni, and even allowed me to uncover what I want to do post-grad."

In addition to the Necessity Fund, GSP provides microgrants for professional development. Juniors and seniors can use the grants to attend conferences, prepare for graduate school admissions tests, secure professional attire, travel to interviews and cover grad school application fees.

Together, the Necessity Fund and professional development microgrants are one of GSP's most utilized resources, with over 90% of GSP students accessing the microgrants last year. The Necessity Fund has also been hailed as a "model program" in an Insider Higher Edarticle.

Recently, with help from a foundation and donors, GSP announced achieving its $20 million goal to endow the Necessity Fund, ensuring that future generations of GSP students will benefit from the microgrants.

"We aspire to serve even more students," Foy said. "We aim to continue centering student voices in our decision-making, so we are nimble and flexible enough to meet students' changing needs as higher ed continues to transform."

Setting Up Students for Future Success

GSP is just one of many ways Georgetown supports students from underserved backgrounds.

Georgetown is also home to the Community Scholars Program (CSP). Founded in 1968 during the Civil Rights Movement, this sister program to GSP invites incoming students for a five-week academic and pre-orientation program during the summer that prepares them for life at Georgetown. This year, CSP welcomed 88 first-year students, the largest class in the program's history.

Recently Georgetown announced that it has the most Pell-eligible students in more than a decade, with Pell-eligible students comprising approximately 15% of the undergraduate Class of 2028. This milestone comes as Georgetown just began to consider students' Pell eligibility as part of its holistic and comprehensive admissions process.

This story was adapted from an article by Kimberly Clarke originally published in the The Feedon June 27, 2024.