Grant Dillard
Staff Writer
gdillard@murraystate.edu
Murray State University will celebrate its first-generation college students with the upcoming First Generation Celebration.
First-generation students are those whose parents or guardians have not graduated from a four-year university.
The Council for Opportunity in Education and the Center for First-Generation Student Success hosted the first celebration in 2017.
The COE and the Center for First-Generation Students choose Nov. 8 to celebrate not only first-generation students but the Higher Education Act of 1965.
“HEA was intended to help level a playing field that for too long had been weighed against Americans from minority and low-income backgrounds,” according to the Center for First-Generation Students website.
The legislation created grant and loan programs for students and invested in institutions for higher education.
Student Engagement and Success and Student Support Services/TRiO had a hand in planning the event, according to its coordinator Jennifer Smith.
“National First Gen Day is Nov. 8, and we are excited to recognize our first-gen students, faculty, staff and supporters on Nov. 7,” Smith said.
Smith said Murray State is made up of faculty and staff who truly care about students and their success; stating that when students visit campus, they feel a welcoming spirit.
“We hear it all the time, ‘Murray State University just feels like home,’ and it’s true,” Smith said. ”We are a home away from home, we are a community, we are Racers.”
Forty-two percent of the fall 2019 first-time Freshman class at Murray State are considered first-generation, Smith said and 47.2 percent of the fall 2019 undergraduate population is made up of first-gen students as well.
“To be the first in a family to attend college is not only important to the student, but in most cases, important to their family,” Smith said.
Student Engagement and Success recognizes the large population of first-gen students present on campus and works hard to connect with and support students and their families.
The organization also sends a parent/family newsletter twice a month to any family who subscribes, and we sponsor the Parent/Family Council. In fact, one of the members of the council is the parent of a first-generation student.
“We are honored students chose Murray State to continue their education,” Smith said. Our faculty and staff are committed to supporting our students, not only in the classroom, but with the many resources available on campus.”
The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 7 in the Waterfield Library Patio. President Bob Jackson and Vice President for Student Affairs Don Robertson will speak at 10 a.m.
At the celebration first-generation students students and supporters can enjoy cupcakes,punch and hot chocolate. Free shirts and buttons will also be provided while supplies last.