WAB Day 6 3.10.2017 The past week we have learned a lot about the efforts of various different sources that aim at helping first-generation students get into --and stay-- in college. There are various initiatives in which people who are interested in helping first-generation students are lobbying in various government departments in order to raise funding and make it easier for first-generation students to get to college. Something that I personally didn't know,for example, was that the FASFA was available in different languages, as I had to fill it out in English since my parents don't understand the language. Despite these many efforts, I still feel like there should be a greater emphasis on funding for first-generation programs such as Upward Bound in order to get more frustration and minority students into college. We also learned the importance of not only good grades and community are important whilst in college, but also we learned about the value of networking. The various speakers that we have visited have all stressed the importance for making valuable connections with the people we meet as to network with them. Something that was interesting to see was the way that our alumni interacted despite having graduated college a long time ago. It was endearing to know that they wanted to be involved, know about current challenges at Wake, and help us give us ideas for making these changes. In regards to some of the ideas that we want to bring back to Wake Forest University, we discussed some ideas that would make our interactions with other students more encompassing in nature. For example, redefining first generation to apply to a wider group of people would be something that we could pursuit, as everyone who is not familiar with the American educational system has the right to find resources that are available to those other people are utilizing. In addition, when considering the relationship of the current first-year Magnolia Scholars, we suggest that the Scholars office to set up more programs for the First in the Forest students. There seems to be a lack of communication and interaction of people in this program that could prove to be resolved if the students are in contact with each other. Moving forward, I think that if students with similar backgrounds where each other's support system, we will have better retention rates and have more first-generation alumni. -Brendy
