First-generation students find a home at UC

The two interests provided a synergy that placed her on a path to the University of Cincinnati.

Andrew made her first visit to the Uptown campus with her school’s jazz band to perform with students at the UC’s College-Conservatory of Music.

“It was great exposure to UC and a chance to see there were alumni from the Walnut Hills band on campus,” says Andrew. “They were great advocates for UC, telling us how good a school it is. So I decided to choose my passion which remains science and chemistry.”

Andrew is now a senior at UC majoring in chemistry and completing a Certificate in Cannabis Studies as well. She is one of nearly one in five UC students who are considered first-generation college students — meaning they are the first in their family to attend a four-year institution of higher learning. 

UC is attracting a growing number of first-gen students; their numbers jumped by more than 10% this fall on campus. Currently UC has 10,198 Bearcats who are first-generation. They account for 25.3% of undergraduates and 19.1% of the total student body.

“UC really has been a great place for me to figure out what I like specifically about chemistry,” says Andrew. “I’ve had multiple research experiences in labs that have exposed me to different areas of the profession. Most recently I’ve figured out that I want to go to graduate school, get a PhD in medicinal chemistry and hopefully work in drug development and discovery as a future career.”

The summer after her first year at UC, Andrew worked with faculty in UC’s James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy to study nanoparticles as a form of drug delivery to the eye and got her first exposure to working with animal models. It was part of a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.

She’s also worked with researchers in the chemistry department to use fabricated biosensors in the detention of damaged DNA as well as with scientists in the College of Medicine to study the effects of prolonged lead exposure. Both projects were through the Ronald McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program at UC.

Andrew likes to be prepared when it comes to the future.

“I am pairing chemistry with cannabis studies because it is such a booming industry, ” she adds. “It’s just another form of what I might want to do in the future. Maybe I will want to work in a different industry after a few years in drug development. I could take my medicinal chemistry research and apply it to the hemp and cannabis field. I am all about being multifaceted and having different routes for applying my knowledge.”

Several departments at UC are holding special activities to recognize first-generation students during the week of Nov. 4-8, leading to a national First-Generation College Day set for Nov. 8. And UC admissions is waiving application fees for undergraduate students applying to any program on campus throughout the month of November to celebrate first-gen students.

Suzette Combs, director of the Gen-1/1MPACT House, says UC is continuing its efforts that specifically target first-generation students. 

The 1MPACT House and the Gen-1 program together offer support to about 200 students, with 1MPACT House providing a focused residential community for first-gen students. The Gen-1 program offers scholarships, has a service-learning component, and was the nation’s first living-learning community supporting Pell-eligible, first-generation students in their transition to college life.

The 1MPACT House and the Gen-1 program have been assisting first-gen students for 18 years. First-generation, Pell-eligible students who apply to UC by Dec. 1 will be considered for the scholarship. 

“We consider students with strong academic credentials who have been involved in extracurricular activities or employment,” says Combs. “We are looking for students who are internally motivated - it can’t be their parents’ dream - it has to be the student’s dream.” 

The six-year graduation rate for UC undergraduate students overall is 75% while that of students participating in the 1MPACT House is 78%. For first-generation students overall at UC that six-year undergraduate grad rate is about 64%.

“We continue to have first-to-second-year retention rates that match the general student population at UC and a graduation rate that exceeds that of other students on the campus,” says Combs referring to the Gen-1/1MPACT House program. “This program has demonstrated that when first-generation students are provided with resources and support they do the work and they succeed.”

Combs says first-gen students often come from backgrounds that make it difficult for their families to pay for their college education. 

“So they need some financial capital, but they also need some cultural capital. They need to understand the culture of higher education,” says Combs. “This is not a place that was built for them. It is a place that has a different language and different ways of doing things. They need human capital or people in their lives who care about them. That social capital is important. It helps them feel like they belong and fight that idea of imposter syndrome. It’s something that almost anyone who is first gen can feel.”

Cheri Westmoreland remembers what it was like being the first in her family to attend college. She is now the director of Academic Enrichment Outreach in the Division of Student Affairs and leads a team of four success coaches working to assist students who are Pell eligible and receive the Cincinnati Pride Grant. 

“Even though times have changed since I was in school, I know how it feels to come into an environment that you don't know or your parents don't know, and they can’t help you because they’ve not experienced it.

“One of the key things for first generation college students is feeling overwhelmed because they’re trying to adjust to a new environment,” explains Westmoreland.

The Cincinnati Pride Support Team focuses on troubleshooting. The vast majority of its students are first-gen. Success coaches help with academics, obtaining a co-op, networking for that first job or preparing for grad school after graduation. 

Success coaches are an important way of helping first-gen students, but some colleges at UC use other support models. 

The College of Education, Criminal Justice, Human Services, and Information Technology (CECH) has hired a new staff member to oversee social services and wellness initiatives in the college. Part of that staffer’s work is to focus specifically on support for first-gen students, which make up 27.4% of the colleges' overall undergraduate student population. 

“This new role is designed to help CECH students navigate university and community resources and the challenges that often arise,” explains Laura Carnaghi, associate director for student success in CECH.

The college holds community events and conducts education outreach and the new program director for social services and wellness meets with students one-on-one to ensure success, says Carnaghi.

“Whether it be transportation issues, food insecurity, housing instability or child care concerns, the college is well positioned to help students face obstacles and find practical solutions,” says Carnaghi.

The College of Arts and Sciences has two retention specialists who focus on assisting first-gen students, explains Allison Logan, assistant dean in A&S.

Logan says the college has found that partnering with other programs that offer aid to first-gen students is a good way to avoid duplicating services. 

“What we’ve found is that when we double and triple up on services that makes it too onerous for students to navigate,” she says. “It was becoming too much of a process.”

Logan says A&S is also looking at creating a one-stop service module where students can get answers about financial aid, academic counseling and other matters answered by professionals within the college.