UW Whitewater supports and celebrates first generation students

UW-Whitewater supports and celebrates first-generation students

November 08, 2024

More than half the students on college and university campuses across the United States face an added hurdle when navigating their academic path.

They are the first in their families to be earning a college degree - meaning they may lack the knowledge, support, and financial resources that students whose parents earned a degree can tap into. Those students often struggle to find the resources to be successful on campuses that are not always attuned to the unique needs they have.

National First-Generation College Celebration Day on Nov. 8, 2024, shines a light on the unique strengths and needs of these students and on those who support them.

At UW-Whitewater, where 36% of the students on the Whitewater campus and 54% on the Rock County campus are first-generation, faculty and staff understand those challenges and celebrate those students - because many were first-gen themselves.

That starts at the top - Chancellor Corey A. King was a proud first-generation college student himself.

Pictured right: In his portrait, Chancellor Corey A. King holds a photo of his parents, who paved the way for his academic and professional career.

"Being the first person to go to college and graduate in my family is something very special and dear to me," said King. "I'm proud that I was able to lean into the wisdom that my parents taught me. I'm most proud of having parents who did not go to college, but found a pathway for me to college and then gave me the wisdom and courage to make it happen."

King was featured in an exhibit of nine faculty, staff, students and alumni who are first-generation Warhawks that was the centerpiece of the university's 2024 First-Generation College Celebration. The exhibit included portraits of the participants and their reflections on being the first in their families to attend college.

In addition to King, Warhawks featured were biology major Xitlaly Antonio, pre-nursing major Isabelle Clowes, marketing and finance major Brian Flores-Cordova, Director of Bands Glenn Hayes, Terri Jones, coordinator of the King/Chávez Program, Jenny Krzyszkowski, director of First Year Experience, Joshua Reed, director of Career Services, and Holly Wayne, an alum from the class of 2001 who earned a degree in marketing.

In the exhibit's opening celebration, Krzyszkowski also spoke, sharing her personal experience as a first-generation student and the awareness she brings, as a result, to her role leading the university's First Year Experience office, which plans many of the events and experiences that set first-year students up for success.

"We are here to help students navigate all the spaces," says Krzyszkowski. "I want students to know they are a part of the Warhawk Family, and that means you have a whole community rooting for you. Remember - You've got this!"

Pictured right: Jenny Krzyszkowski shows off the newly painted Warhawk Drive on Sept. 12, 2024. Painting the road purple is a celebrated tradition for first-year students on campus.

Championing student success

Brayden Jones, a finance major from Cudahy, wore a first-generation student stole as part of his commencement regalia at graduation on Saturday, May 11, 2024.

UW-Whitewater, well known for supporting students with disabilities and lauded for its exceptional student experience, supports and champions first-generation students in a number of ways.

A first-generation website gathers available resources and shares the stories of current and former Warhawks. The university's Merit Badge platform, which allows the university to share student achievements with families and other audiences, recently issued a badge celebrating first-generation Warhawks.

UW-Whitewater is dedicated to eliminating barriers to first-generation student success. The TRIO Program, Upward Bound, and other pre-college programs offer additional supports for students on both the Whitewater and Rock County campuses, including summer transition-to-campus programs for incoming students often referred to as bridge programs.

The university recently opened One Stop, a space dedicated to one-on-one support for students to direct them to resources. And more than 40 of the scholarships offered by the UW-Whitewater Foundation - which administers more than $2.5 million dollars in scholarships to UW-Whitewater students every year - focus solely or primarily on first-generation students. Many of them, like the Taylor Family Scholarship, were established by alumni passionate about helping first-gen students.

Isabelle Clowes, a pre-nursing student on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus and one of the Warhawks featured in the exhibit, spoke about the importance of leaning into the help that is available.

"My parents didn't know a lot about the college process when I first started," said the Rockton, Illinois native. "TRIO helps a lot. Otherwise, you have to be persistent about trying to do what's best for you. You make your future yours."

Pictured right: Isabelle Clowes, a pre-nursing student who is a first-generation student, is shown on the UW-Whitewater at Rock County campus on Oct. 10, 2024.

Supporting first-generation plus students

In Understanding the First-Generation Student Identity, the Center for First-Generation Student Success highlights the concept of the "first-generation plus" student, which notes the many identities that a first-generation student may have - as a low-income student, as a student of color, or as a nontraditional student - in addition to being first gen. First-generation plus students often face additional challenges.

The 2024-25 cohort of the King/Chávez Scholars Program along with some of the staff members who support them.

In the UW-Whitewater's King/Chávez Scholars Program, for example, which prepares students from diverse backgrounds for the transition from high school to college and provides them with a peer group for academic and social development, 54% of the students are first-generation.

"We are here to empower our students to reach their full potential," said John Dominguez, director of the King/Chávez Scholars Program. "The summer bridge program we offer is key, as it helps students - who may have never stepped foot on a campus before - with their transition to college. Many find their campus family within the program."

To help new first-gen students navigate their college experience, the First-Generation College Celebration 2024 video featuring five first-generation Warhawks - including Chancellor King - offers advice and inspiration from those who have walked in their shoes.

"Lean into yourself and do what you know is within you," says King. "And let it shine."

Graduate Jasmin Fernandez holds her mortarboard with the words "first generation" in Spanish. The Whitewater native, a Latina who was the first generation of her family to graduate from college, is an example of a "first-generation plus" student, who may face unique challenges.

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