{"id":154896,"date":"2024-10-25T08:03:21","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T12:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=154896"},"modified":"2024-10-25T08:38:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T12:38:05","slug":"wright-state-joins-nation-in-celebrating-first-generation-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2024\/10\/25\/wright-state-joins-nation-in-celebrating-first-generation-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State joins nation in celebrating first-generation students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wright State University will join with other institutions of higher learning to celebrate students who are the first in their families to further their education.<\/p>\n

National First Generation College Celebration Day is Friday, Nov. 8. Wright State will mark the day with a ceremony and events from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Student Union Atrium.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the second year we\u2019ve done the first-generation celebration,\u201d said Marsha Henderson, Wright State\u2019s program director for success programs. \u201cWe\u2019ll be celebrating with colleges and universities all over the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wright State\u2019s celebration will include opening remarks from Kurt Holden, the university\u2019s director of public safety who was a first-generation student; testimonials from alumni, graduates and first-generation supporters; music; refreshments; networking opportunities; and a photo booth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re inviting the entire campus to celebrate first-generation students, faculty and staff,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cWe want everyone to attend and help celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

The date is significant: On Nov. 8, 1965, the federal Higher Education Act was signed. It authorized federal student aid programs to assist students and their families with financing postsecondary education and provided federal support to postsecondary institutions. The result was that people from families who previously could not afford college now had a way to further their education, becoming first-generation college students.<\/p>\n

The national celebration of that day began in 2017. The national event encourages the understanding of the barriers to higher education and the continuing need to support \u201cthis critical and resilient population to continue thriving,\u201d Henderson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I think students see it as a stigma that they don\u2019t want others to know about,\u201d Henderson said of the first-generation label. \u201cBut this makes it even more important to show that it\u2019s not a stigma, but a reason to celebrate that you\u2019re pursuing education and are the first in your family to do so and start a legacy. This acknowledges what an accomplishment it is to further your education and to let the faculty and staff see them and honor them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Henderson added, \u201cIt\u2019s also helpful to students to see faculty and staff that were first-generation students and to let them know they have support.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the goals for us is to push the idea that it\u2019s good to be celebrated and not to shy away from it or not have someone know,\u201d Henderson said.<\/p>\n

Henderson said 573, or 28%, of first-time undergraduate students from fall 2024 self-reported as first-generation students.<\/p>\n

Wright State is already planning for next year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking to expand our celebration beyond a one-day event,\u201d Henderson said. \u201cMaybe a one-week event with more involvement across campus to enhance the experience for students.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State will celebrate National First Generation College Celebration Day on Nov. 8 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Student Union Atrium. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":154901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[729,2048,711,725,715,4293],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-154896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-around-campus","category-enrollment-management","category-faculty-staff","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-student-union"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154896"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":154912,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154896\/revisions\/154912"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/154901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}