Student Success, TRIO to host first-generation college student celebration

Northwest Missouri State University’s admissions and student success unit is partnering with TRIO to host a campus-wide celebration of first-generation students Tuesday, Nov. 7.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is from 2 to 4 p.m. on the third floor of B.D. Owens Library. Snacks, beverages and “finals survival kits” will be provided. Attendees also will have chances to win themed gift baskets, AirPods and a $250 scholarship.

Northwest students posed for photos during last year's first-generation celebration. (Photo by Chandu Ravi Krishna/Northwest Missouri State University)

“The recruitment, retention and success of first-generation students is important to the Northwest campus community,” Dr. Allison Hoffmann, Northwest’s assistant vice president of admissions and student success, said. “We are excited to come together and celebrate our first-generation students each year. Additionally, many of our faculty and staff were first-generation students, which inspires their passion to mentor and support current first-generation Bearcats.”

As part of Northwest’s focus on first-generation students, the University Seminar program offers four sections this fall for new students who self-identify as first-generation. The sections are taught by first-generation faculty and staff and support the successful transition and mentorship of first-generation students.

At Northwest, 37 percent of Northwest undergraduate students are first-generation students, and 38 percent of the University’s first-time freshmen this fall identify as first-generation college students. Students are first-generation college students if their parents or legal guardians did not graduate from a four-year college or university.

Northwest’s celebration coincides with a nationwide initiative sponsored by the Council for Opportunity for Education and the Center for First-Generation Student Success to recognize first-generation students. According to the center, one in three undergraduates – nearly 5 million students – identify as first-generation students.

Northwest received a $1,000 grant from the organizations to support its Nov. 7 celebration.

The seventh annual First-Generation College Celebration marks the 58th anniversary of the signing of the 1965 Higher Education Act, which has helped millions of people become the first members of their families to earn college degrees. To learn more, visit https://firstgen.naspa.org/.