First-Generation College Celebration

Join us on November 8, 2023 from 11:00am-1:00pm on the Taylorsville Redwood Campus for the annual First Gen College Student Celebration. As a NASPA First Gen Forward designated institution, SLCC is committed to First Generation Student Success with 47% of students identifying as first gen. TRIO Programs define first gen college students as the first in their family to graduate with a four-year degree. Register here and if interested all staff, faculty and students are welcome to sign up to share your first gen story, poetry, or music. Contact Brosnan Ika with questions bika@slcc.edu.

If you were or are a first-generation student, we encourage you to share your stories and experiences online. When posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, be sure to include #CelebrateFirstGen and tag @FirstgenCenter @COETalk and @SLCC_TRIO.

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Overview

November 8, 2023 is the 58th anniversary of the Higher Education Act, and SLCC is joining institutions across the country in celebrating the presence and experiences of first-generation college students, faculty, and staff on campus.

November 8th 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. The Higher Education Act (“HEA”) emerged out of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. Much like other hallmark legislation of that era, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, HEA was intended to help level a playing field that for too long had been weighed against Americans from minority and low-income backgrounds.

In 2017, the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) and the Center for First-generation Student Success launched the inaugural First-Generation College Celebration! Given the overwhelming success of this event in 2017 and 2018, COE and the Center now partner to make this celebration an annual event.

On November 8, 2023, COE encourage colleges and universities to celebrate the success of first-generation college students, faculty, and staff on your campus in any and every way possible.

First-generation students are defined as: students from families where their biological parents did not complete a four-year college degree.

This definition comes from the Center for First Generation Student Success

We are asking for your assistance, please, help us identify and capture WHO our first-generation college students and/or graduates are here at SLCC.

We will also use your responses to garner support for this celebration event(s) by reaching out to you for future assistance in our celebration planning and promotional campaigns.

Visit the NASPA First-Generation Student Success initiative webpage for more information.