Finding their own direction – The Ferris State Torch

(From left to right) President Shannon Gamel, Jaylin Love and Janiayah Moore create fun event ideas at the first-gen RSO meeting. Photo by: Marianna Searl | Freelance Photographer The university experience, for most, consists of studying, making connections and earning a degree. For first-generation students, it’s about changing direction. According to the first-generation student support welcome site, first-generation students are defined as students who “come from families where neither of their parents completed a bachelor’s degree and/or students who identify as having minimal prior exposure to, or knowledge of, the university experience.” According to David McCall, an assistant professor within the Retention and Student Success Deans office, first-generation students come to school with a lot of excitement and anxiety due to their lack of previous experience with higher education. “They are the generation of trailblazers,” McCall said. “They are trying to make a change and a difference, not just for themselves but for their families. To change that direction, a lot of feelings, from excitement to anxiety, occur to be the first person to graduate in their family.” Ferris’ faculty does their best to provide support and a community for first-generation students. They are able to do this through the…
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