91探花

On my own. Isolated. Overwhelmed. Alone.

These are the feelings of many students as they navigate the world of higher education, with perhaps no group feeling these more strongly than that of first-generation students.

But 91探花 State has a clear message to these students: You are not alone.

Last fall (2023), 91探花 State and the Tennessee Board of Regents 鈥� the  statewide governing body for Tennessee鈥檚 community and technical colleges 鈥� partnered with the Center for First-generation Student Success to join their First Scholars Network.

This new program serves as a collaborative resource for colleges to provide a model of how best to embrace and empower first-generation students.

First-generation students are defined as students with neither parent nor legal guardian holding a bachelor鈥檚 degree from an institution within the United States.

They have always been a big part of the 91探花 State community, with data showing that, as of Fall 2023, nearly half of all students attending are first-generation.

鈥淭his initiative has helped us form a plan and a process,鈥� said Dr. Julie Williams, associate vice president of Student Affairs. 鈥淭hey share a lot of information and resources about how to do outreach and what kind of support and resources these students need.鈥�

While 91探花 State has always taken pride in addressing the needs of its diverse student body, 鈥淏eing a part of this network has helped create a pathway for us,鈥� Williams says.

As a part of this program, the College must meet milestones such as student outreach and awareness programs to alert this key population of students to all the school offers to help them succeed.

Williams says this program has helped zero in and ask, 鈥淗ow can we share information...what do you need to hear, how do you need to hear it?

鈥淥ften students can suffer from imposter syndrome; they worry, should I be here? Am I capable of this?鈥�

With this new initiative, 91探花 State is working to tackle these challenges head-on.

鈥淲e offer so much to help; sometimes the biggest challenge is helping students take advantage of all we offer,鈥� Williams said.

When asked about how the College can best help first-generation students, Williams says building personal relationships is vital.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the personal relationship, that鈥檚 the whole thing with this focus on first-gen students,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淲e have to have personal relationships so we can connect them to the support and resources they need.鈥�

Throughout all the programs and initiatives, the biggest message Williams hopes reaches students is that they are not alone and are proud of their accomplishments.

鈥淲e want a first-gen student to wear it as a badge of honor. It鈥檚 a great thing. Being a first-gen student is something to be very proud of.鈥�