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Multiculturalism Immersion Project: First-Generation Students

Samantha Danico
Department of Leadership
University of Memphis
4/20/15

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Multiculturalism Immersion Project: First-Generation Students
This immersion project focused on the population of first-generation college students,
specifically students at the University of Memphis. I chose this group because it is one I am not
familiar with. College wasnt as much of a privilege in New England as it was an expectation.
Everyone went to college in some capacity, and if you didnt it was very odd. So most students
that I went to school with or encountered in New England didnt have the same outlook on
college as a first-generation student. My approach to this project was a simple one. To start the
project, I first took a walk around campus with my knowledge of college environments, past
experiences, and expectations of the student body. To end the project, I took the same walk
around again having learned how to view the college as a first-generation student. Throughout
the project I learned about the services that are offered to first-generation students and had
interviews with multiple students to get a better gasp on how they view college and what the
administration is doing to help them.
In my initial walk around campus, I could identify certain buildings and their purpose
without even knowing what the building was called. It is easy for me to pick out which buildings
were for class rooms, administration, on campus housing, and student services. Though the
buildings seem to be scattered around, the small campus still seemed easy to navigate.
Throughout the day there were many students on campus walking around and none seemed to be
heading in a particular direction. I needed a map to be able to find certain places on campus that
did not have clear signage. I also noticed that it was difficult to find places to park on campus .
The first program on campus that I learned about was the First Scholars program. The
first time a heard about this program was during my interviews nearly a year before starting this
project. During my interview to work for the school, the director of the Residence Life

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department bragged about the retention rates of their First Scholar students saying that they were
95% first year to second year returned. Needless to say, I was impressed. The First Scholar
program awards scholarships to first generation students and provides an environment for them
to thrive and become acquainted to college life. The students have to submit an application,
resume, and an essay of interest to be accepted into the program and to receive the scholarship
and be able to attend the seminars. All of these students live together in on area on campus. It is
a requirement of the program to do so. They currently live all together in Richardson Towers. I
spoke with a couple of students who were a part of this program to gain their perspectives and
know more about the program.
The first student I interviewed spoke about the benefits of living all together in the
residence hall. The students in the program would encourage each other to continue with the
program, go to the seminars provided together, and help each other in their studies. At first I was
really against this population living together. It didnt seem beneficial to the students to live all
together. If they had questions about different parts of campus or questions about how to adjust
to college life, the only people that they were surrounded by were students that also didnt have
the answer to this question. But this thought was based off of assumptions I had about the
program. One of the students I interviewed informed me that there were only 20 people in the
program and that is all the college would allow. She said that the program was extremely
beneficial and wished they would allow more people to join. She also said that the seminars
were mandatory and attendance was taken. If they missed too many of the seminars, they would
be removed to make space for someone who would utilize it. They have programs on financial
literacy, study skills, staying focused in college, joining clubs and organizations on campus, and
other programs on how to succeed in the environment. They were also given backpacks as well

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as many other schools supplies. This program is so exclusive because it is funded from a single
donor from Texas and the donation is only good for 20 students. Now, knowing it was so
exclusive, I went looking for other programs on campus that would be beneficial to first
generation students.
Trio is another organization on campus that focuses on helping first-generation students
become more adjusted to campus life and help them succeed in college. I met with the director of
the Trio program on the University of Memphis Campus, Melvyn Harding, to discuss how the
program works and the advantages that students can get from it. This is a federally funded
program which gives access to many more students than First Scholars does. Currently the two
types of Trio programs they have on campus are Trio Classic which helps all students and Trio
STEM which focuses on students in STEM majors. In the coming years they are planning on
extending to teaching majors as well. Trio focuses on first-generation and low income students.
To become part of this program you must fill out an application, write a letter of interest and
meet grade requirements. The program is currently able to offer spots for 320 students and they
want to expand that in the coming years. They recruit through high school recommendations,
having programs on campus and during new student orientation, and getting recommendations
from other administrators on campus.
The program comes up with a plan for each student to be able to achieve a degree within
six years at college. The students in this program are given a lot of attention. They must go in
for meetings twice a month and they must attend seminars (similar to those of First Scholars)
three times a semester. They offer internships and summer jobs for those within the group as
well as grant money for students who meet certain criteria. The organization also helps students
become more culturally aware by offering cultural seminars and events where students can take

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advantage of opportunities that they may have not been able to pay for. Recently the organization
took 60 of its members to see the lion king for free.
Though they are an organization on campus that offers a large deal for the students, they
are still not at max capacity. I spoke with two students that are currently in the program. One
student did not join until her junior year of college because she did not know that the program
existed. The other joined right out of high school based on a recommendation given by an
administrator at the high school. These students are not forced to live on campus, therefore they
tend to miss a lot of students that are living in the residence halls that do not know of these
programs. Both of the students I spoke with say that they have a very hard time making it to the
seminars because they are during the school day, most of them being at 3pm, but the ones they
were able to make were highly beneficial. They also both take advantage of the cultural
programs put on by the department, since those tend to be after hours.
I spoke with a total of 6 first-generation students. Two of these were in the First Scholars
program, two were in the Trio program, and two were in no programs. All of these students
discussed similar limitations to being a first generation student, but the ones in the programs
seemed more confident in addressing these issues. One of the major issues discussed was
finances. A few of the students discussed how they had no plan to pay for their loans once they
finished school. Financial literacy seemed to be something they were all lacking at some point.
The female student that did not join Trio until her junior year said that she had a really
hard time socially when she first started school. She only focused on her school work, so she
would go to class, get food and go home. She was so motivated to get good grades that she
forgot about a personal life. She said that this took a toll on her until she joined trio and learned
how to benefit from a college environment more. Multiple students described not knowing how

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to balance school and a social life. It was either they were very distracted by the college social
environment or they buried themselves in their studies. Those who were in the programs stated
that they were able to find a balance after starting the programs. The ones in First Scholars
explained that living in the community of other First Scholars gave them the benefit of living
with people that understood them and gave them a new social circle.
The two students that I interviewed that were not in any program on campus were two
freshmen women living in the residence halls. Each of them stated that they felt overwhelmed
by the amount of students on campus. They both described having anxiety when going to get
food or attending events on campus, because in such a large community they didnt feel as if
they knew anyone. One of the students said she became more acquainted with the girls she lived
with on her floor in the residence hall and started doing more on campus with them. The other
girl said that she is still struggling to find her place on campus.
A few of the students I spoke with, in a program and not, said that they had trouble
picking a major. A few of them were still currently undecided. They had a lot of trouble in
picking classes. One of the freshmen women who was not in a program stated that she needed to
go to her advisor four times in trying to figure out what classes to take, how man she needed to
take, and how to register. She said the whole process was confusing.
Before this project, I never really thought about first generation students having a harder
time than any other students. In my head I thought, all freshmen are having a new experience
and needing to adapt, which can be difficult for anyone. But, first generation students really do
have a harder time adjusting for many reasons. A student in Trio described her family life and her
parents not having graduated college. She said because they were uneducated, they unfortunately
were not able to obtain higher paying jobs and could not help her pay her way through college.

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This is why she focused so much on her education and forgot about her social life. She was able
to obtain many scholarships based on her grades in order to pay for college. But many students
do not have this opportunity. They have to pay their way without scholarship. This may force
them to have a job or multiple jobs while going to school, which takes away from their studies
and their focus. Also, without the motivation from their parents to stay in college, they may lose
interest once they have hit a speed bump. One student described how she almost dropped out of
college her first semester because she thought it was too hard. Without the support from her
family, she didnt think the time or the money was worth it. But thankfully, she decided to stick
out the year and has now adjusted very well. She could have easily just not come back, but she
was strong willed and struggled through to the other end. She is now planning on coming back
for a second year. These students have so much to think about other than just school work, that it
must be very difficult to maintain relationships on campus and become involved in clubs or
organizations. The programs on campus are a huge help to benefit these students, but it doesnt
seem like they are reaching the whole demographic. The retention rate of first generation
students was only at about 20% from first year to graduation. That number is increasing because
of the work that these organizations on campus are doing. It would be beneficial if these
organizations could market themselves to more students and if they could invite the whole
student body to their lectures and seminars.
Taking a second walk around campus I saw more issues that I saw previously. Many of
the buildings do not have clear signs on what the buildings are or what they are and some have
confusing signs that may cause a student to get lost, miss meetings, or give up on finding
resources. Also, the overwhelming amount of students walking in all directions may cause a new
student to have no idea where they are going. It is the sensation of being a little fish in an ocean.

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With the time that is taken away due to jobs, school work, taking care of families, etc., it can be
difficult for a student to find a place on campus that they feel like the belong. This is a huge
aspect of wanting to continue the college experience. Feeling as if you dont belong in college
and having a lack of support system to be in college makes it easier for someone to tell
themselves that college isnt for them. You can see many organizations all over campus with
tables set up, events going on, or just marketing themselves. With other time commitments, first
generation students may feel as if they do not have time for these organizations. Or they may join
these organizations and focus more on those than their school work. The very small difficulties
such as finding a place to park on campus, may seem like not a big deal to me, but may end up
being a big deal to a student. They may not have money to pay for better parking on campus, or
parking far away may make them late for classes and stress them out more than need be. I am
very happy to see these organizations seem to be benefiting its members so well, but I would
really love to see them branch out to help more students. The biggest thing I learned from this
project is that everything matters. Every conversation, every helping hand, every drawback,
every minute, and every single person has made an impact to cause a student to stay or to leave.
As future administrators, we need to be aware of these students and make the effort with them,
and all students, to make sure we are helping them to stay in college and succeed in the future.