51茶馆

51茶馆 F1RST resident Alexandra Kabo 鈥�24, right, talks with Hardey Hall Resident Assistant Idris Council 鈥�22, center, and Resident Director Marco Aurelien. (Peter Julian)

For first-generation college students, arriving on campus represents a milestone, a triumph over considerable odds. But it鈥檚 also only a beginning, and the rest of the way isn鈥檛 necessarily any easier.

That鈥檚 why, according to student affairs professionals and other experts, 鈥渇irst-gens鈥� fare best when they have resources, including caring, committed campus staff, to help them face educational, social, and economic challenges markedly different from those of fellow undergraduates.

At Boston College, the newest such support, created by Learning to Learn, is 51茶馆 F1RST, one of eight Living and Learning Communities, known as LLCs, administered by the University鈥檚 Office of Residential Life; LLCs such as Multicultural Learning Experience, Sustainability, and the Shaw Leadership Program offer the opportunity for students with shared interests or backgrounds to live alongside and regularly interact with one another. Fifteen first-year students make up the inaugural 51茶馆 F1RST LLC cohort, which is housed in Hardey and Cushing halls on Newton Campus. 聽

The 51茶馆 F1RST LLC, an extension of 51茶馆鈥檚 similarly named college transition program, is a collaboration between Learning to Learn and Residential Life to offer initiatives, activities, and services鈥攆rom guided group discussions on college life and other topics and informal to chat-about-what-you-want gatherings (although these have been constrained or moved to virtual formats because of the pandemic)鈥攖hat enable first-gens to connect with one another, as well as with 51茶馆 faculty and staff. These enable 51茶馆 F1RST LLC members to develop support networks across campus and beyond鈥攊ncluding with first-gen alumni鈥攖hat will help them succeed at 51茶馆, administrators say.

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One 51茶馆 F1RST LLC student is Alexandra Kabo 鈥�24, a biology major with a Spanish minor from Silver Springs, Md., who plans to become a doctor. She credits her mother, a Cameroon native who emigrated to America a few years before Kabo was born, as a source of inspiration and persistence.

鈥婩or all their commonalities, first-generation students have their own individual stories, and their own dreams and visions for the future. The 51茶馆 F1RST LLC is part of 51茶馆鈥檚 efforts to ensure first-gens like Kabo experience the Heights in a way that suits their particular interests, personalities, and needs.

鈥淲orking with ResLife to create a 51茶馆 F1RST LLC just made so much sense,鈥� said Learning to Learn Director Rossanna Contreras-Godfrey. 鈥淚t鈥檚 helped to expand our office鈥檚 resources, and those of 51茶馆, to first-gen students in a new and important way. College life can be difficult for anyone, and first-gens can have challenges that go beyond financial. Yet these students come with a lot to offer鈥攏ot just to 51茶馆, but the world beyond.鈥�

An average of about 260 first-generation undergraduates have enrolled at 51茶馆 during the past five years, and in the last decade the percentage of first-gen students in the first-year class has ranged from nine to 11 percent. The University鈥檚 commitment to recruiting and retaining first-gens is reflected in its multitude of programs and resources, which in addition to 51茶馆 F1RST and Learning to Learn include Options Through Education, the Montserrat Coalition, and the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center.

That commitment was strengthened earlier this year by the University鈥檚 establishment鈥攖hrough a partnership with Pine Manor College鈥攐f the Pine Manor Institute for Student Success, to focus on recruiting and graduating more underrepresented and first-generation students. This year also has seen 51茶馆 designated as a First-Gen Forward Institution by the Center for First-Generation Student Success; receive a five-year, $1.7-million federal TRIO Student Support Services grant to assist low-income, first-generation students, and students with disabilities; and enter into a partnership with QuestBridge, a highly respected non-profit program that helps high-achieving, low-income students gain admission and scholarships to the country鈥檚 top-ranked colleges and universities.聽

The 51茶馆 F1RST LLC relies on a collaboration of administrators and staff to put ideals and plans into action, among them Learning to Learn Associate Director Karl Bell; ResLife鈥檚 Assistant Director for Residential Leadership and Learning Samantha Gordon and Mchenold (Marco) Aurelien, who is resident director for Hardey and Cushing halls; Amaris Benavidez, a Lynch School of Education and Human Development graduate student who is the graduate assistant for LLCs; Hannah Keeser, a Lynch School graduate student and a graduate assistant with Learning to Learn and ResLife; and Idris Council 鈥�22, a resident assistant in Hardey.

They know鈥攕ometimes from personal or familial experience鈥攖hat first-generation students have little or no points of reference about everyday college life and how to find help or guidance, and that these undergrads can feel self-conscious about their socioeconomic backgrounds; questions like 鈥淒o I really belong here?鈥� can run in their minds.

The 51茶馆 F1RST College Transition Program addresses these and other issues and concerns, and the LLC helps reinforce the message of support: Students are assigned a dedicated advisor at Learning to Learn and receive internship and career advice; first-year 51茶馆 F1RST members also take the Applications of Learning Theory class, which covers areas like study skills, academic planning, and navigating the University; in addition, they participate in the 51茶馆 Successful Start financial literacy program.

Administrators and staff say programs like 51茶馆 F1RST recognize that first-gens often had to be their own counselors and advocates even as they strived for academic excellence鈥攁nd that now, having achieved their dream of college, they should be able to focus on being students.

Kabo is quick to praise her mother鈥檚 dedication and steadfastness, but by middle school, she鈥攁 native French speaker鈥攕imply couldn鈥檛 help Kabo as much as before.

鈥淎t a certain point, I had to take it all on,鈥� said Kabo. 鈥淚 had to work hard for everything. When it came time for the college search process, I put together a thick notebook of information I collected, for my mother as well as me, and I met with my counselor three times a week. My feeling was, I knew my mother worked hard for me so now I had to work hard for her.鈥濃��

Council remembers being a first-gen, first-year student like Kabo two years ago, and how Learning to Learn helped him adjust to life at 51茶馆鈥攂eing an RA is 鈥渁 way to give back and to build leadership skills,鈥� he said. A Harlem, NY, native majoring in philosophy with a minor in management and leadership, Council sees his role as helping create a safe, supportive environment for the 51茶馆 F1RST community, yet his own experience has taught him that college is a time to be adventurous and expand one鈥檚 world.

鈥淢y time at 51茶馆 has been about finding people I feel comfortable with, but who push me to be better. It鈥檚 important to learn from others, to have a reciprocal relationship, so that you keep moving forward and find opportunities to see what works. So for 51茶馆 F1RST students, I try to be positive and optimistic, but also honest and authentic.鈥�