Members of the Arkansas Tech University Department of Campus Life staff participated in the national First Generation College Celebration 2019 by conducting an outreach program on Thursday, Nov. 7, and Friday, Nov. 8.
Informational tables were set up in Dr. Robert Charles Brown and Jill Lestage Brown Hall as well as at Baswell Techionery. First generation college students at ATU were asked to take a survey so data could be gathered to better assist first generation students on campus.
Questions on the survey related to which campus resources are most important to first generation students, what are the largest concerns of first generation students and how important the first generation student identity is to them.
“We have national research, but we want to learn more about Arkansas Tech first generation students their needs,” said Meighan Burke, director of student transition in the ATU Department of Campus Life.
The national First Generation College Celebration was founded by the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) and the Center for First Generation Student Success in 2017. Nov. 8 was selected as the date for the annual National First Generation College Celebration to honor the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Burke reported that approximately one-third of ATU students are first generation college students.
As part of the effort to better reach and facilitate success for that group of students, the ATU Department of Campus Life has worked with eligible students to create the First Generation Student Organization during the fall 2019 semester.
The next meeting of the group is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. in Doc Bryan Student Services Center room 133.
The conversation on Nov. 19 will center around helping first generation students explain college life and the progress they have made in their academic and personal development when engaging with family members during the holidays.
Learn more about the ATU First Generation Student Organization at atu.presence.io/organization/first-gen-organization.
