firstgenascend-instructions

Step 2: Select a moderator and diverse panel of speakers (30 min.)

The moderator and panelists should be students who study at the university where the panel discussion will take place.

The panel should be made up of eight seniors of diverse ethnicities. Three to five of the panelists should be first-gens*, and three to five of the panelists should be continuing-gens*. Panelists should also represent a diversity of genders.

*First-gen students are those whose parents did not complete a four-year degree. Continuing-gen students have at least one parent who completed a four-year degree.

Previous Step | Next Step

Step 3: Train panelists to discuss their social-class backgrounds (1 hour)

Each of the eight panelists will answer these six questions during the panel discussion:

1. People come to college for many different reasons. What did coming to college mean to you?
2. Students can have a wide variety of experiences when they transition to college and come from many different backgrounds. Thinking back, what was the transition to [university name] like for you?
3. Now we’d like you to share some specific challenges about coming to college. Can you provide an example of an obstacle that you faced when you came to [university name] and how you resolved it?
4. Did your decision to attend [university name] affect your relationships with your friends and family at home? If yes, how?
5. What would you advise other students to do with backgrounds similar to your own?
6. What experiences that you had prior to [university name] prepared you to excel in ways that you wouldn’t have anticipated at the time?

In their responses, panelists should:

• Describe how their college experiences were positively and negatively shaped by their social-class backgrounds, including their parents’ education levels, income, wealth, and occupation; and
• Explain how they used university resources to meet their unique needs.

Below are examples of how first-gen and continuing-gen panelists have answered the six questions. Please note that these examples are meant only to inspire you; panelists should come up with their own original responses.

1. People come to college for many different reasons. What did coming to college mean to you?

First-Gen Panelist: “I’m from a small agricultural town where my parents are migrant workers. To me, coming to college meant getting the education I need to give back to my family and community. At first, the folks back home worried that college would take me away from them forever. But the internship office here at has hooked me up with summer jobs that let me go home and work with my town’s government on a couple of cool projects.”

Continuing-Gen Panelist: “Both my parents and my grandfather went here, and so coming to [university name] meant that I was carrying on the family tradition. At first, I worried that maybe I got in only because my parents are graduates and donors. I had a bit of a complex about it, actually. But a professor who is also an alum reassured me that many so-called ‘legacies’ feel this way, and that my class performance suggests that I got in on my own merit.”

2. Students can have a wide variety of experiences when they transition to college and come from many different backgrounds. Thinking back, what was the transition to [university name] like for you?

First-Gen Panelist: “I’m from a strict religious community, and neither of my parents went to college. So I had no idea what to expect. My first semester was a party like I had never imagined — so many new people to meet, so many new drinks to drink. I got so distracted by the fun that I had a hard time settling down to study, and my first-semester grades showed it. But my roommates and resident assistant sat me down and helped me figure out how to balance work and play. My grades have been a lot better ever since, and I still have a ton of fun.”

Continuing-Gen Panelist: “I went to a college prep high school that sends a lot of students to [university name], and so at first I was sort of underwhelmed. I had hoped that college would be really different from high school, but it felt like more of same. Then I intentionally joined an obscure sports league where everyone was a beginner and I knew no one. Now my teammates are my crew, and I feel like I’ve made a good, clean break from high school and opened an important new chapter in my life.”

3. Now we’d like you to share some specific challenges about coming to college. Can you provide an example of an obstacle that you faced when you came to [university name] and how you resolved it?

First-Gen Panelist: “Because my parents didn’t go to college, they weren’t always able to give me the advice I needed. So it was sometimes hard to figure out which classes to take and which major to choose. But my academic adviser helped me pick a good selection of courses and then, ultimately, choose a major I am really happy with.”

Continuing-Gen Panelist: “I went to a small private school, where we got lots of one-on-one attention. So it was a big adjustment to take classes with 300 other people. I felt less overwhelmed when I took the time to get to know other students in the class.”

4. Did your decision to attend [university name] affect your relationships with your friends and family at home? If yes, how?

First-Gen Panelist: “Yes. School initially put a big financial strain on my family. I got into several arguments with my mom that ended with her telling me that we wouldn’t have had to worry about money if I had just gone to a local college. On the advice of my advisor, though, I went to the financial aid office and managed to get a better-paying work-study job. That took some of the pressure off my family and helped my relationship with my mom.”

Continuing-Gen Panelist: “Yes. My parents both went to a big state school, while I decided to go here, a small liberal arts college. Sometimes I think my parents resent me a little for the expense and the pampering. They worry that I’m becoming some sort of unemployable snowflake. Once our school’s internship office helped me get a summer job at a major tech firm, however, they felt a lot better about my decision to come here.”

5. What would you advise other students to do with backgrounds similar to your own?

First-Gen Panelist: “Go to each of your professor’s office hours at least once. I used to be really intimidated by my professors. I’m the first in my family to go to college, and I was worried that if I actually met with a professor, they would figure out that I shouldn’t be here. But my frosh roommate and I were in the same class my first semester, and she made me go to office hours with her. I now make it a point to reach out to each of my professors. And so I know several professors well enough for them to write letters of recommendation for me, which turns out to be pretty important for getting jobs.”

Continuing-Gen Panelist: “Reach out to people who are really different from you. If you’re like me, a middle-class White guy, you can easily spend your four years here surrounded by people just like you. But that would be a waste of this place. Go to Black Student Union events. Take a semester of an aboriginal language. Go hear a talk at the First-Gen Student Center. Make your world here bigger.”

6. What experiences that you had prior to [university name] prepared you to excel in ways that you wouldn’t have anticipated at the time?

First-Gen Panelist: “Growing up poor, I’ve been through a lot in my life. But those tough times gave me broader perspective that has made [university name] a lot easier to tackle. Sure, midterms and papers are hard, but they aren’t a matter of life and death. I love having that perspective. My friends here also appreciate that I don’t get so hung up on exams and grades.”

Continuing-Gen Panelist: “I went to a private girls’ school where we had to take four years of Latin. Because Latin was mandatory, we hated it. Also, it kept me from learning a modern language that people other than the Pope actually speak. But the discipline of doing something you dislike has its own merit. Plus, now that I’m studying law, I have no trouble understanding all the Latin terminology.”

Previous Step | Next Step

Step 4: Host the 45-minute panel discussion

Advertise your event as a panel of college seniors discussing the transition to college. Do not mention that the event is targeting first-gens.

Arrange the room so that the eight panelists sit in a row facing the room of attendees.

The moderator opens the event with the following welcome:

“Welcome everyone and welcome to [university name]. We hope that today’s experience will be valuable for your transition to college. In this session, you will get to hear the stories and experiences of your peers. They were once first-years too, and they look forward to sharing their perspective with you.

“There will be six questions addressed to the student panel today. Each of the speakers has prepared some thoughts and remarks to share with you. Our panel moderator, [name], is going to ask the questions.

“First, the speakers will introduce themselves. Then, they will answer a series of questions about their experiences at [university name]. The speakers are excited to have you here and to share their stories with you. Students come from very different backgrounds before arriving at [university name]. These differences make [university name] an amazing place to be.

“Now it’s time for the speakers to introduce themselves. They will start by saying their name, year, major, and where they are from.”

The moderator then asks the first discussion question:

“People come to college for many different reasons. What did coming to college mean to you?”

Each of the panelists replies to this first question.

The moderator then moves on to the second discussion question:

“Students can have a wide variety of experiences when they transition to college and come from many different backgrounds. Thinking back, what was the transition to [university name] like for you?”

Each of the panelists replies to this second question.

And so on for the remaning four questions:

“Now we’d like you to share some specific challenges about coming to college. Can you provide an example of an obstacle that you faced when you came to [university name] and how you resolved it?”

“Did your decision to attend [university name] affect your relationships with your friends and family at home? If yes, how?”

“What would you advise other students to do with backgrounds similar to your own?”

“What experiences that you had prior to [university name] prepared you to excel in ways that you wouldn’t have anticipated at the time?”

Previous Step | Next Step

Step 5: Compare the grades of first-gens and continuing-gens who attended the panel discussion (15 min.)

In the research that inspires this toolkit, the main outcome measure is the gap between first-gens and continuing-gens grades at the end of their first year in college. Studies show that first-gen students who attend this toolkit’s discussion panel earn similar grades to continuing-gen students. Without this intervention, first-gen students typically earn lower grades than do continuing-gen students.

Here is one way to measure whether the discussion panel had this effect on your first-year students (“frosh”):

1. For the year BEFORE you used this toolkit, subtract the average final GPA for first-gen frosh from the average final GPA for continuing-gen frosh (Time 1 Social-Class Achievement Gap)
2. At the end of the year in which you used this toolkit, do the same:  subtract the average final GPA for first-gen frosh from the average final GPA for continuing-gen frosh (Time 2 Social-Class Achievement Gap)
3. Compare the two social-class achievement gaps. The Time 2 Gap is likely smaller than the Time 1 Grade Gap.

In addition, you can use this toolkit’s evaluation materials to measure the impact of the panel discussion. Ask participants to take the surveys before and after the discussion. The surveys assess academic identification, social fit, resource use, and appreciation of difference. All participants should improve on these measures, but first-gen students should show even greater increases.

Previous Step | Next Step

Step 6. Share your story here (optional)

Describe your experiences using this toolkit on the Stories From the Field page. We may contact you and ask to feature your story on this website.

Previous Step