Nearly one-third of students at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton are the very first in their families to go to college — they’re first generation. For them, walking on to FAU’s campus can feel like crossing over into a whole other world.
“When I got here, I had no clue what I was doing,” said Maisha Daley, a senior and a political science major at FAU.
“I registered for classes at the end of July. And college started like two weeks later,” Daley recalled. “So I was emailing my advisor, like, um, I need help. And she was like, why didn't you talk to me the whole summer? I'm like, I didn't know! I didn't know. I didn't know anything.”
It’s like college had its own secret language that Daley wasn’t fluent in.
FAFSA. Drop Add. Syllabus. Prospectus. Even that label — first generation.
“The only first generation I knew about was like first generation immigrants or first generation Americans. I was like, oh yeah y’all are lucky. Y’all can get help,” Daley said with a laugh. “And my mom was like, what are you talking about? You can get help too! And I was like really?”
‘It’s like a different world’
Daley is the first in her family to go to college. And she's got a full ride — thanks to the Kelly / Strul Emerging Scholars Program at FAU, which pays the way for select first gen students.
“My classmates, they’re like, oh, how are you paying for this? Or I know you live in the dorm. How did you get a dorm? And I'm like, my scholarship. And they're like, really? I was like, yes,” she said with a smile.
“And they say, if I had known, I would have tried! And I was like, that's the story of my life. That's the story of everybody's life. If they had known they would have tried.”
READ MORE: 'First-Gen' Proud: Campuses Are Celebrating An Overlooked Group. But Is That Enough?
Students in the Kelly / Strul program live together on campus. They get individualized advising, peer mentorship, career coaching and financial literacy training. And critically, all their tuition, fees, books, housing and meals are paid for — a cost that’s estimated at $30,000-$35,000 a year.
Daley says her college experience has been night and day compared to her friends who aren’t in the program.
“My other friends, they don't have personalized advisors that are strictly for them that they get priority over. So they will have to wait weeks out to get an advisor meeting. They don't have the same structure that is provided to me,” Daley said. “It's like a different world. Like we're the same, but we're miles apart.”
‘No excuse’ to not excel
Evan Cabrera is a first gen student and is majoring in civil engineering at FAU. He’s also a Kelly / Strul scholar. And he knows the feeling of being worlds away from where you came from.
“The cultural change, coming from Lake Worth to Boca … even though it's a 30-minute drive, it's such a big difference,” Cabrera said.
“My parents met in their small village back in El Salvador. And then I always think … I could have been there in the same situation if they never came here,” he added. “So it's something I gotta be grateful for. For all the sacrifices they made coming here. So there's … no excuse I have to not try to excel.”
Cabrera is proud to be the first. But it weighs on him too — in a way that folks at home don’t always understand.
“I do get a lot of support, but then the support sometimes turns into a lot of weight on my shoulders. And at times, it's a good thing. At times a bad thing,” he said. “But I feel like with that kind of background of support, and also maybe some … expectations set upon you to excel … it's something that has made me stronger, absolutely.”
Schools recognize there are real challenges that many first generation students face — like the social isolation of leaving home and the intense pressure to succeed.
“Other challenges come with this,” explained Ehsan Falasiri at a workshop at Florida International University back in November, “such as developing one’s own self identity, away from one’s community and culture. As one navigates the differences between their family’s culture and the unspoken cultural norms of university life as well.”
And for many first generation students, there’s the pressure of just making rent — running between classes and then rushing off to work a job or two to support themselves and often their families as well.
Those compounding pressures have real consequences. Nationwide, first generation students make up about half of all college students — but only about 27% will earn a bachelor’s degree in four years.
‘You’re not alone’
Nicole Martinez is one of those who made it through. Now she’s working on her Masters in Higher Education Administration at FIU. And she has a message for other first gen students.
“Understand that you’re not alone,” Martinez said. “Even though we all have different experiences, we do have some things in common.”
Martinez now works for FIU’s Student Support Services program, where she helps other first gen students get the help they need — which can mean different things for different people.
“There’s a lot of intersectionality. You can be first gen and Hispanic, you can be first gen person of color, you can be first gen and homeless. Like … we’re all first gen but we come from so many different places,” she said. “So my first gen experience is not the same as someone else’s. And I think that’s important for everyone to understand. And also not to be scared of asking for help.”
Many don’t know what they don’t know
But for all the workshops and welcome weeks and coffee hours, many students still don’t know what they don’t know. They aren’t aware of the support that’s out there for them — scholarships only they can qualify for and dedicated advisors who know exactly what they’re going through.
Studies have shown that in their first year of college, first gen students are less likely than their peers to take advantage of academic advising, health services and other institutional supports.
Jennifer Parra helped lead FAU's Office of First-Generation Student Success before taking a new position with the City of Fort Lauderdale. She acknowledges it can be hard to reach these students.
“A lot of our students work. And so getting involved and coming to events is a challenge. Because they have to go make money,” Parra told WLRN back in November. “They have to make a living. Sometimes for themselves, if they are lucky. For the most part, they are supporting a family member.”
Even if they know where to go, Parra says it can be hard for first gen students to ask for help.
“If they made it through elementary school, middle school, high school, life … and they have gotten accustomed to not asking for help, they are going to come here and they are going to do the same thing. They are going to figure it out. And that's great,” she said. “What we're here for is, let's make your experience less challenging.”
‘I’m the example’
Those challenges start well before students get to college — like when high schoolers have to figure out how to fill out the FAFSA — the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. (By the way, you can get help with that! Go to studentaid.gov.)
Maisha Daley, the poli-sci senior at FAU, has become an expert at those applications. She’s now her family’s go-to college advisor.
“I’m like the staple. I'm the example. I'm … look at what Maisha did. You can do that, too,” Daley said with a smile. “I'm what every cousin comes to now for college advice and experience.”
It’s a way for Daley to pass on all that insider knowledge she’s picked up about what college is really like. To make sure that even though she’s the first in her generation, she won’t be the last.
