Three events are planned to honor and bring together first-generation students at The University of Toledo this month.
UToledo will celebrate First-Generation Day Wednesday, Nov. 6, with:
• First-Generation Day Breakfast, 9 to 10 a.m., Thompson Student Union Ingman Room. Dr. Denise Bartell, associate vice provost for student success, and Dr. Willie McKether, vice president for diversity and inclusion, will speak at the event; both are first-generation graduates. RSVP on the UToledo Involvement Network.
• First-Generation Day Resource Fair, noon to 2 p.m., Thompson Student Union Trimble Lounge. Representatives from some 20 UToledo offices and departments will be on hand to answer questions and provide information on how they are on campus to help students reach their goals. RSVP on the UToledo Involvement Network.
• Film screening of “Unlikely,” 6 p.m., Carlson Library Room 1005. See the 2019 documentary about the college dropout crisis and the barriers students face while pursuing an education. RSVP on the UToledo Involvement Network.
Robin Stone, director of TRIO Support Services, said it is important to recognize first-generation students and for them to share their experiences.
“These events are designed to bring together first-generation students and to showcase the support services we have at UToledo to help them succeed,” Stone said.
One in three students at The University of Toledo is a first-generation college student or a student whose parent(s) have not completed a bachelor’s degree. This means these students and their siblings are the first in their families to attend a four-year university to attain a bachelor’s degree.
The Higher Education Act of 1965 paved the way for underrepresented and under-resourced students to break the cycle of poverty and become the first in their families to earn a college degree.
In 2017, the Council for Opportunity in Education, in partnership with the Center for First-Generation Student Success, an initiative of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Suder Foundation, celebrated the inaugural First-Generation College Celebration on Nov. 8 with an event on Capitol Hill.
For more information about UToledo’s First-Generation Day celebration, contact Stone at 419.530.3848 or robin.stone@utoledo.edu.
