First in the Pack Builds Community for First-Generation College Students

For any college student, having a sense of community and belonging as they navigate their academic journey and prepare for the next stage of their life is vitally important. 

For students who are the first in their family to walk the college path, it’s even more important. At NC State, the First in the Pack program, under TRIO Collegiate and Pack Support Programs, seeks to do exactly that, bringing together first-generation college students, as well as faculty and staff who were formerly first-generation students. 

This is a way to make that connection so they feel celebrated and honored.

Federally, a first-generation college student is defined as a student who does not have a parent or guardian who completed a four-year, undergraduate degree. At NC State, over 4,000 students identify as first generation. 

“This is a way to make that connection so they feel celebrated and honored,” said Courtney Simpson, TRIO’s senior director of collegiate programs. “It’s a connection to NC State’s land-grant mission as well, recognizing that many of the first class of people that came to NC State were also first-generation college students. So it’s about making that connection so that they feel supported, so that they feel connected to other people on campus who can help push them to reach their goals, and become NC State alums.” 

The First in the Pack program, launched in 2016 by Simpson and TRIO Assistant Director Sarah Wright, holds events throughout the year, including a welcome ceremony early in the semester to connect first-generation students, faculty and staff. 

As part of First-Generation Celebration Week in November, these students will receive First in the Pack lapel pins that will be kept in the Memorial Bell Tower overnight, similar to class rings, to wear during formal occasions such as their graduation. 

Students will also be invited to paint a mural and leave a handprint on the Free Expression Tunnel. Parents and Families Services will also hold events throughout the year for first-generation students and their families. 

“As a first-gen student, it’s not just you bringing yourself here to NC State,” Simpson said. “You’re bringing your family, your friends or whoever you consider to be your squad. You’re bringing them along with you, so why not include them in the events or programs that we’re having too.” 

First in the Pack also sponsors a student organization called F1rst at NC State, and, for the students involved, it’s another way to build community with students on a similar path. 

Tan Francis, a second-year student studying political science and communication, and the club’s president, said that growing up in a limited income neighborhood, she viewed school as an escape. 

When Francis, whose mother is from the Bahamas and father is from Antigua and Barbados, found out she’d be the first in her family to attend college – and have it entirely paid for by external scholarships and need-based tuition – it was an emotional moment. 

“I cried,” Francis said. “I went to NC State for a month in high school. I met mentors and great faculty and staff, and I just fell in love with college. When I got the acceptance letter, I had just finished a basketball game. When I got it, I cried, because in the many years, I never thought that I would have gotten this far, especially with it being paid for. It was a tremendous relief.”

According to Francis, being able to connect with other first-generation college students, and having support from faculty and staff who went through a similar journey, has helped her along her path. 

“I think I get motivation through their stories,” Francis said. “To know that we all excelled through diverse situations and we all have the same end goal, just to be a first-generation student and get that degree. It creates motivation and connection, because we all go through the same thing. We all ultimately have the same end goal, so it’s just motivating each other and encouraging each other. If I can make it, you can make it.”

The faculty and staff involved with First in the Pack find joy in helping students who are walking the same path they did in their education. 

That’s where the magic happens, where you can really talk about your journey and experience in college.

That includes Associate Vice Chancellor and Associate Dean for the Division of Academic and Student Affairs and University College, Kesha Reed, who was a first-generation college student at her undergraduate institution, Alabama A&M University. 

“I am always so excited when I share with students that ‘I’m first-gen too.’ That’s where the magic happens, where you can really talk about your journey and experience in college,” Reed said. “It’s motivating and encouraging to let students know that they can do this thing called college, and they can do this thing called life. It’s important that students have that sense of community and see that they’re not on the journey alone, and that other students have similar challenges and successes. On a campus this large, you need those smaller groups to connect with when you have questions, need support and community.”

Simpson was also a first-generation college student, and has a unique perspective to offer the students, as she also attended NC State. 

In her role supporting First in the Pack, she strives to offer the students the support that she felt in her time at NC State. 

“There is something unique about being a student or staff member at NC State,” Simpson said. “We have such amazing students that are here, and then we have staff who really make the difference between a student leaving and a student staying. Luckily, for me, as I progressed through my undergraduate career, I had people, faculty and staff who were like ‘I see something in you, no matter if you’re first-gen or not. I think you’re amazing, I think you’re a hard worker, here’s some opportunities that I think you should be a part of.’ And then they pulled me along the way to make sure that I graduated on time, and helped demystify what it meant to be a college student, because otherwise I would have just been learning it on my own.”

After the students in the First in the Pack program complete their degrees and move into their professional careers, they get to feel pride in not just their own accomplishments, but setting a new standard for their families. 

“I think at the end of this, being able to hold up my degree to stay ‘Hey, I can create a generation and this doesn’t have to be a no-diploma kind of zone,’” Francis said. “My parents don’t have diplomas, so getting the high school diploma allowed me to just ground myself and say ‘ this is what I want and this is what I’m going to get. Internally, from a young age, I know that I’ve been through so many things that children shouldn’t experience. I stem from my own experience to make a change in the world. Even if I don’t see the change now, this will eventually have a great impact on my life.”