{"id":160491,"date":"2025-08-11T12:08:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T16:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=160491"},"modified":"2025-08-22T10:36:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T14:36:22","slug":"wright-state-right-down-first-generation-students-alley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2025\/08\/11\/wright-state-right-down-first-generation-students-alley\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State right down first-generation student\u2019s alley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Paige Patterson, a first-generation college student and standout on Wright State\u2019s Division I bowling team, has embraced campus life, excelled academically and athletically, and aims for a career in sports marketing after graduation.<\/p><\/div>\n

Paige Patterson is an original in her family.<\/p>\n

Is it the bowling? Patterson is a key member of Wright State University\u2019s NCAA Division I bowling team<\/a>. No\u2014her parents bowled, and she matter-of-factly said, \u201cI grew up in a bowling alley.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s simply\u2014and successfully\u2014this: Patterson is the first person in her extended family to be in college, a first-generation higher education student.<\/p>\n

Patterson, of Springfield, is entering her senior year as a marketing major<\/a> with an economics minor and a marketing and promotional intern with the Wright State athletics department. Bowling and her becoming a Raider are linked. Initially, she did poorly in the former and received no encouragement to become the latter. Both changed.<\/p>\n

Throughout high school, her bowling improved so much that college recruiters noticed and came calling. Higher education wasn\u2019t in her plans, though. Patterson said no one on either side of her family ever attended college, and there was no encouragement for her to be the first.<\/p>\n

Then as a high school senior, Wright State approached her, and she began to embrace the idea of furthering her education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought maybe college would be good, but I had doubts,\u201d Patterson recalled. \u201cAfter discussing it with my mom, she said I should try it\u2014and if I didn\u2019t like it, I didn\u2019t have to do it forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patterson immediately embraced life as a Raider, living on campus and diving into university life. A self-described extrovert, Patterson said she went to as many events and activities as she could to get the full experience of being a collegian.<\/p>\n

Aside from bowling\u2014which has its demands through practice, weight training, and competitions, some of which involve travel\u2014and her Athletic Department internship, Patterson serves on the Student Athletic Advisory Committee, is the director of the NCAA affairs subcommittee, and takes part in the Emerging Marketing Leaders program and the Economics Club.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Paige Patterson enrolled at Wright State for the chance to compete on its Division I bowling team.<\/p><\/div>\n

Patterson also attended last November\u2019s on-campus National First-Generation College Celebration Day, noting those who, like her, are pioneers in a sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t feel that I stand out,\u201d she said, referring to her being first-gen, \u201cbut when I think about it, it is a big deal, and it\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cWright State does a really good job celebrating and honoring all the different types of groups it attracts. There is a wide variety of groups here, and the university does a good job hosting events.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for life after graduation, scheduled for the spring of 2026, Patterson aims to work in sports marketing, hopefully with a professional football or basketball team.<\/p>\n

Patterson said she considers Wright State a home, and her parents are proud of her accomplishments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Wright State,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s the best experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was originally published in the 2025 issue of the Wright State Magazine. Read more stories at\u00a0<\/i>wright.edu\/magazine<\/i><\/span><\/a>.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paige Patterson, a first-generation college student and standout on Wright State\u2019s Division I bowling team, has embraced campus life, excelled academically and athletically, and aims for a career in sports marketing after graduation. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":160508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4309,2798,748,725,4827,715,4298,4908,2061],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-association","category-athletics","category-business","category-home-news-sidebar","category-magazine","category-news","category-student-profile","category-supply-chain-management-marketing-and-management","category-undergraduate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160491","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=160491"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":160507,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160491\/revisions\/160507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}