Talking Stick - March/April 2015 - 53

be low-income and nontraditional
and also students of color. Many may
experience feelings of self-doubt or of
being an imposter when they enter the
university; and they are likely to feel like
straddlers, who struggle to find their
place between home life and campus
culture. Despite these challenges, firstgeneration college students also tend
to be highly motivated and resourceful
as they demonstrate inspiring resilience
to overcome the challenges presented
to them. One of the resources that they
bring with them to campus is their
social and cultural capital, which often
is reflected in their unique stories and
backgrounds.
Commonly, many of these students
know that they are first in their family
to attend college. However, they may
not be familiar with the term "firstgeneration college student" when
they enter the university or what that
necessarily entails. More important, it
takes some time for first-generation
college students to understand the
significance of this identity. Attending
college may be the first time they
become aware of the differences that
exist between them and non-firstgeneration college students who have
access to other resources, especially
their parents who have shared the
college experience. Like Kehaulani
Vaughn, some students simply believe
that they are somehow different than
their peers. These differences are
magnified in transitional moments like
orientation, move-in, and the beginning
of classes.
Orientation programs begin the
process of initiating all students not just
to college life but also to the campus
climate of a particular school and
thus can be an important avenue for
communicating college expectations,
setting the tone for the entire academic
year and beyond. To that end, it is
important that colleges and universities,
as well as the housing organization,
are able to identify and recognize
their first-generation students. This
information might be gathered from

the application where students are
asked to provide their parents' level
of education. Since many students
may not fully understand the term
"first-generation college student," the
institution must clearly define this term.
Additionally first-generation status
must be represented using flattering,
celebratory language, such as "scholars,"
"pride," and "success" in order to avoid
stigmas or inadvertent marginalization.
Whenever housing professionals
promote specific programs and events
for first-generation college students,

they should be intentional about
communicating a sense of pride to the
students.
Given that many institutions have
summer orientation prior to the movein process at the start of the academic
year, it would be helpful to identify firstgeneration college students no later
than summer orientation, which would
help institutions develop targeted
outreach during orientation activities
for first-generation students and their
families. The main purpose of these
orientation activities is to increase the

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Talking Stick - March/April 2015

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