According to the Center for First Generation Student Success, first-generation is defined as “the first in their family to attend college.”
Student Success recognizes the nuances of the definition and encourages students to self-identify as first-generation!
Celebrating First-Generation Students
In the words of TC faculty member and fellow first-gen student Dr. Carmen Martínez-Roldán, first-generation college students inspire us “to keep reimagining new ways to honor a diversity of voices and experiences.”
First-generation students make up roughly a quarter of TC’s student population! Student Success hosts a range of exciting events, workshops, and mentorship opportunities for our first-gen students. For more information, please visit TC Engage.
Join Us For Our First-Gen Week Celebration!
In honor of the many students within the Teachers College community whose hard work and resilience have made them the first in their families to attend college or graduate school, TC hosts an annual week-long celebration in the first week of November.
Looking to connect with other first-gen students at TC? Join FLI with TC, a community for first-generation and/or low-income students at Teachers College.
First-Generation Student Perspectives
- The Uneven Climb From College to Career by Karin Fisher
- On Mentoring First-Generation and Graduate Students of Color by Marissa López
- You're a first-generation graduate student – how do you succeed? by Luendreo Barboza
- What I Wish I Would Have Known as a First-Generation Graduate Student by Jiayi Shi
- The Hidden Challenges for Successful First-Generation Ph.D.s by Bailey B. Smolarek