BC F1RST resident Alexandra Kabo 鈥24, right, talks with Hardey Hall Resident Assistant Idris Council 鈥22, center, and Resident Director Marco Aurelien. (Peter Julian)
For first-generation college students, arriving on campus represents a milestone, a triumph over considerable odds. But it鈥檚 also only a beginning, and the rest of the way isn鈥檛 necessarily any easier.
That鈥檚 why, according to student affairs professionals and other experts, 鈥渇irst-gens鈥 fare best when they have resources, including caring, committed campus staff, to help them face educational, social, and economic challenges markedly different from those of fellow undergraduates.
At Boston College, the newest such support, created by Learning to Learn, is BC F1RST, one of eight Living and Learning Communities, known as LLCs, administered by the University鈥檚 Office of Residential Life; LLCs such as Multicultural Learning Experience, Sustainability, and the Shaw Leadership Program offer the opportunity for students with shared interests or backgrounds to live alongside and regularly interact with one another. Fifteen first-year students make up the inaugural BC F1RST LLC cohort, which is housed in Hardey and Cushing halls on Newton Campus. 聽
The BC F1RST LLC, an extension of BC鈥檚 similarly named college transition program, is a collaboration between Learning to Learn and Residential Life to offer initiatives, activities, and services鈥攆rom guided group discussions on college life and other topics and informal to chat-about-what-you-want gatherings (although these have been constrained or moved to virtual formats because of the pandemic)鈥攖hat enable first-gens to connect with one another, as well as with BC faculty and staff. These enable BC F1RST LLC members to develop support networks across campus and beyond鈥攊ncluding with first-gen alumni鈥攖hat will help them succeed at BC, administrators say.
“Coming from a similar background, our mindset is 鈥榃e鈥檙e all in this together,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淵ou find out a little information, you share it with everyone else.”
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One BC F1RST LLC student is Alexandra Kabo 鈥24, a biology major with a Spanish minor from Silver Springs, Md., who plans to become a doctor. She credits her mother, a Cameroon native who emigrated to America a few years before Kabo was born, as a source of inspiration and persistence.
Alexandra Kabo 鈥24
鈥淎merica is viewed as a land of opportunity; that was always, and still is, my mother鈥檚 belief,鈥 said Kabo. 鈥淪he taught me that education, wanting to learn, is key鈥攅ven if you鈥檙e not good at it, if you鈥檙e trying and you have the will, that鈥檚 all the matters. The emphasis on education has always been my foundation since I was a little girl, and I鈥檝e placed high expectations on myself.鈥
Having attended Catholic schools, Kabo felt Boston College was the best place to fulfill those expectations, and the BC F1RST College Transition Program gave her a good start, introducing her to other first-gens鈥攕ome of whom are now also part of the LLC鈥攚ith whom she can share triumphs, setbacks, and handy details about college life.
鈥淐oming from a similar background, our mindset is 鈥榃e鈥檙e all in this together,鈥欌 she said. 鈥淵ou find out a little information, you share it with everyone else, even if it鈥檚 something like how you address a faculty member鈥攊f you鈥檙e used to calling your teacher 鈥楳r.鈥 or 鈥楳rs.,鈥 you don鈥檛 necessarily know you鈥檙e supposed to say 鈥楶rofessor鈥 or 鈥楧octor.鈥 I look forward to our small group meetings, because we get to know each other, and be closer to one another.鈥
Working with ResLife to create a BC F1RST LLC just made so much sense. It鈥檚 helped to expand our office鈥檚 resources, and those of BC, to first-gen students in a new and important way. College life can be difficult for anyone, and first-gens can have challenges that go beyond financial. Yet these students come with a lot to offer鈥攏ot just to BC, but the world beyond.
鈥婩or all their commonalities, first-generation students have their own individual stories, and their own dreams and visions for the future. The BC F1RST LLC is part of BC鈥檚 efforts to ensure first-gens like Kabo experience the Heights in a way that suits their particular interests, personalities, and needs.
鈥淲orking with ResLife to create a BC F1RST LLC just made so much sense,鈥 said Learning to Learn Director Rossanna Contreras-Godfrey. 鈥淚t鈥檚 helped to expand our office鈥檚 resources, and those of BC, to first-gen students in a new and important way. College life can be difficult for anyone, and first-gens can have challenges that go beyond financial. Yet these students come with a lot to offer鈥攏ot just to BC, but the world beyond.鈥
An average of about 260 first-generation undergraduates have enrolled at BC during the past five years, and in the last decade the percentage of first-gen students in the first-year class has ranged from nine to 11 percent. The University鈥檚 commitment to recruiting and retaining first-gens is reflected in its multitude of programs and resources, which in addition to BC F1RST and Learning to Learn include Options Through Education, the Montserrat Coalition, and the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center.
That commitment was strengthened earlier this year by the University鈥檚 establishment鈥攖hrough a partnership with Pine Manor College鈥攐f the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success, to focus on recruiting and graduating more underrepresented and first-generation students. This year also has seen BC designated as a First-Gen Forward Institution by the Center for First-Generation Student Success; receive a five-year, $1.7-million federal TRIO Student Support Services grant to assist low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities; and enter into a partnership with QuestBridge, a highly respected non-profit program that helps high-achieving, low-income students gain admission and scholarships to the country鈥檚 top-ranked colleges and universities.聽
“It鈥檚 important to learn from others, to have a reciprocal relationship, so that you keep moving forward and find opportunities to see what works. So for BC F1RST students, I try to be positive and optimistic, but also honest and authentic.”
The BC F1RST LLC relies on a collaboration of administrators and staff to put ideals and plans into action, among them Learning to Learn Associate Director Karl Bell; ResLife鈥檚 Assistant Director for Residential Leadership and Learning Samantha Gordon and Mchenold (Marco) Aurelien, who is resident director for Hardey and Cushing halls; Amaris Benavidez, a Lynch School of Education and Human Development graduate student who is the graduate assistant for LLCs; Hannah Keeser, a Lynch School graduate student and a graduate assistant with Learning to Learn and ResLife; and Idris Council 鈥22, a resident assistant in Hardey.
They know鈥攕ometimes from personal or familial experience鈥攖hat first-generation students have little or no points of reference about everyday college life and how to find help or guidance, and that these undergrads can feel self-conscious about their socioeconomic backgrounds; questions like 鈥淒o I really belong here?鈥 can run in their minds.
The BC F1RST College Transition Program addresses these and other issues and concerns, and the LLC helps reinforce the message of support: Students are assigned a dedicated advisor at Learning to Learn and receive internship and career advice; first-year BC F1RST members also take the Applications of Learning Theory class, which covers areas like study skills, academic planning, and navigating the University; in addition, they participate in the BC Successful Start financial literacy program.
Administrators and staff say programs like BC F1RST recognize that first-gens often had to be their own counselors and advocates even as they strived for academic excellence鈥攁nd that now, having achieved their dream of college, they should be able to focus on being students.
Kabo is quick to praise her mother鈥檚 dedication and steadfastness, but by middle school, she鈥攁 native French speaker鈥攕imply couldn鈥檛 help Kabo as much as before.
鈥淎t a certain point, I had to take it all on,鈥 said Kabo. 鈥淚 had to work hard for everything. When it came time for the college search process, I put together a thick notebook of information I collected, for my mother as well as me, and I met with my counselor three times a week. My feeling was, I knew my mother worked hard for me so now I had to work hard for her.鈥濃
Council remembers being a first-gen, first-year student like Kabo two years ago, and how Learning to Learn helped him adjust to life at BC鈥攂eing an RA is 鈥渁 way to give back and to build leadership skills,鈥 he said. A Harlem, NY, native majoring in philosophy with a minor in management and leadership, Council sees his role as helping create a safe, supportive environment for the BC F1RST community, yet his own experience has taught him that college is a time to be adventurous and expand one鈥檚 world.
鈥淢y time at BC has been about finding people I feel comfortable with, but who push me to be better. It鈥檚 important to learn from others, to have a reciprocal relationship, so that you keep moving forward and find opportunities to see what works. So for BC F1RST students, I try to be positive and optimistic, but also honest and authentic.鈥
Kabo, Council, and Aurelien
It seems like an inauspicious year to launch a program like BC F1RST LLC, but Bell has a different view. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 no better time, actually. It gives us an opportunity to talk and work with first-gens during one of the most challenging times for higher education, and forces us to be at our best and most creative. These past several months have made us all appreciate the importance of human interaction鈥攖alking face to face, or even just shaking hands.
鈥淪o, for us at BC F1RST, developing inventive ways of capturing the quality of that interaction is vital at a time when it鈥檚 less possible,鈥 added Bell, noting that Zoom has been a boon to linking BC F1RST students with first-gen alumni.
The personal touch still counts, however, and BC F1RST administrators and staff use it whenever they can. 鈥淔or me, the thing is being visible,鈥 said Aurelien, a native of Haiti who, along with two of his siblings, were first-gens. 鈥淎nytime I see these students鈥攚hether they鈥檙e hanging out or coming back from Main Campus, or we鈥檙e sharing meals or snacks鈥擨 celebrate them as if it were their birthday. I鈥檓 their supporter, their biggest cheerleader and want them to feel welcome.
鈥淎nd I pound them with questions. It doesn鈥檛 have to be a formal, 鈥榳hat-are-you-going-to-do-with-your-life?鈥 conversation, just basics: How are you doing? How are you feeling? They know they can talk to me.鈥
Kabo wishes circumstances were different for her first year at BC, but she is philosophical about it all. 鈥淚f something is just given to you, you don鈥檛 know how to work to get it. And you can even wind up becoming ungrateful that it鈥檚 there. So we鈥檙e going out of our way to brainstorm and find ways to gather and have fun, yet also stay safe鈥攁nd I think we鈥檒l actually get more out of this first year as a result.鈥
Sean Smith | University Communications | December 2020