Over the past six months, four new interns have established or expanded several programs serving first-generation students and creating ways for them to support each other.
Their work is part of the First Generation Initiative, which aims to provide a welcoming campus experience for the more than 40 percent of UC Santa Cruz undergraduates whose parents did not graduate from a college or university.
A gift from the Jacques M. Littlefield Foundation has enabled the First Generation Initiative to hire the new interns, themselves first-generation students. The interns are:
- researching mentoring best practices and documenting campus mentorship programs, with the goal of connecting first-generation students with effective mentorships
- spreading the word about scholarships to help first generation students take advantage of research opportunities
- building a first-generation network through outreach and social media
- creating online resources for students, faculty, staff, and parents of first-generation students
- organizing events to share the experiences of first-generation faculty and staff as well as students and alumni
Through her internship, Joseline Arreaga (College Ten ‘19, sociology/psychology) organized workshops and a reception to raise awareness about opportunities for first-generation undergraduates to pursue real-world research. The Koret Scholarships defray expenses for undergraduates conducting research with faculty or graduate student guidance.
“This internship is allowing me to support my peers in their efforts to develop their research interests,” Arreaga says. “It’s an opportunity to diversify and demystify undergraduate research.”
Her internship has enabled her to recruit first-generation research applicants in a year when the chancellor’s office added funding that increased the program to 64 scholarships.
Chancellor George R. Blumenthal, noting that he too is a first-generation college graduate, applauded the emphasis on mentorship.
“When I was an undergraduate, I was lucky to have faculty members who mentored me and who took an interest in my future,” Blumenthal said. “Those relationships had a lasting influence on my career, so I’m thrilled that this program will help us cultivate more faculty-student connections. They can be life-changing.”
Intern Rodrigo Mora Sandoval (Kresge College ‘19, business economics) is organizing an event dubbed “Life Happens: Personal Stories of Courage and Resilience Overcoming First Failures.” The event (April 24 at Stevenson Event Center) will share stories and highlight resilient responses from faculty, staff, students, and alumni who have experienced failure or navigated structural barriers at the university or in their lives.
“Events like the “Life Happens” event we are planning for spring will provide meaningful stories about tackling failure head on. We will hear from alumni, faculty, staff, and students about their own experiences, what they learned, and tangible skills that we hope will boost confidence and help our first-gen students be more successful,” Gwynn Benner, Assistant Vice Provost for the Division of Student Success said. The event will also create opportunities for prospective students to network with alumni.
In addition, research is under way by Professor Rebecca Covarrubias looking at what measures contribute to first-generation success. Covarrubias, in a collaboration with Professor Sarah Herrmann at Weber State University in Utah, is assessing whether it makes a difference for first-generation students to learn about faculty who are also the first in their families to finish college. Covarrubias is also guiding student research into what makes peer mentoring programs effective.
The Jacques M. Littlefield Foundation supports educational opportunities in California and Colorado with a focus on ensuring that first-gen students make it to and through college. Board President David Littlefield attended UC Santa Cruz and has expressed gratitude that his is able to give back to the campus through the First Generation Initiative.
Nicole Bergeron, who coordinated the gift through her role as an advisor to the foundation, said she appreciates that the program directly assists students at the same time as it expands research about how to help students succeed.
“We know that any first-generation student who got herself as far as UC Santa Cruz has what it takes to graduate,” Bergeron said. “We know that the world needs their gifts, and we want to help those students cross the finish line.”
The First Generation Initiative started in 2017 with a campaign to increase the visibility of first-generation students, faculty, and staff. The UC Office of the President, UCSC Chancellor’s Office, campus Alumni Relations, Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning, Student Success Evaluation and Research Center, School of Engineering (Undergraduate Affairs), Office of Campus Advising Coordination, Arts Division (Student Opportunity, Success, and Equity) and the Educational Opportunity Programs, and other campus groups have collaborated on various aspects of the initiative.
Vice Provost for Student Success Jaye Padgett expressed gratitude to the Littlefield family for its recognition of the initiative.
“This generous gift is expanding programs, providing greater support to faculty, and enabling the development of a peer mentoring program for first-year students,” Padgett said.
