Category: Campus

by Emma Strempfer '24 on November 27, 2022
Editor-in-Chief

Nov. 8 marks National First-Generation Day, and in celebration, the PC1G Initiative hosted a table in the Slavin Atrium last Tuesday. PC1G ran the table with help from the Student Success Center, the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Office of Public Safety, and the Peer Mentoring Program. They offered snacks, stickers, and free swag. 

A first-generation college student is generally defined as someone whose parents did not complete a four-year college degree. There are over 500 first-generation students at Providence College, and this year’s freshman class has the highest number of first-generation students yet. 

Colleges across the nation celebrate this day in commemoration of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965. The law was part of a larger domestic policy push of the Johnson Administration against poverty. It was intended to make college education more accessible by creating loan and grant programs. 

Emily Gonzalez ’23G is studying higher education and was one of the members of PC1G running the table. She said, “We celebrate National First-Generation Day to signify the importance of access to higher education, particularly for lower-income students and students of color.” 

Gonzalez was excited to spend the afternoon talking to students who came by the table to share her experience at PC with other first-generation students running the table. She also mentioned the importance of spreading the word about the PC1G peer mentoring program, which pairs each new student with an upperclassman mentor. This program is intended to build community and offer social and academic support. 

If you are interested in PC1G or the mentoring program, please contact the Center for Orientation, Transition, and Leadership or Emily Gonzalez at egonzal1@providence.edu.