MSU celebrates first-generation students with weeklong events
Contact: Ashli Coggins
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State is celebrating First-Generation Scholars Week beginning Monday [Nov. 4] with numerous events recognizing and supporting those who will become the first in their families to graduate with a college degree.
This fall, MSU was one of 65 institutions from across the country to receive a 2024 #CelebrateFirstGen grant. Sponsored by FirstGen Forward and the Council for Opportunity in Education, with support from TIAA and the Strada Education Foundation, this funding helps to strengthen programming and initiatives aimed at fostering success for first-generation students, who make up 37% of MSU’s enrollment.
Launched by the COE and the Center for First-Generation Student Success in 2017, First-Generation College Celebration Day on Nov. 8 commemorates President Lyndon Johnson’s signing of the Higher Education Act, which created federal financial aid programs, including the federal TRiO programs, that promote postsecondary access, retention and completion for limited-income, first-gen students.
The week’s events include:
—Monday [Nov. 4], 11 a.m.-1 p.m., First-Generation Scholars Week Kickoff, Drill Field. Students, staff, faculty and administrators can stop by tables and collect information, free giveaways and learn more about the first-gen community on campus.
—Thursday [Nov. 7], 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Empowering First-Generation Scholars: Strategies for Effective Support and Inclusive Teaching, John Grisham Room, Mitchell Memorial Library. Tailored specifically for faculty and staff, this workshop introduces strategies and effective methods of support for first-gen students. It is cosponsored by the MSU Office of Inclusive Excellence and Center for Teaching and Learning.
—Friday [Nov. 8], 11 a.m.-1 p.m., First-Generation Scholars Day of Celebration, Office of Access and Success. Students, faculty, staff and administrators will celebrate being first-gen with food, games and music.
Additionally, the Office of Access and Success is hosting and launching other November events and initiatives aimed at strengthening the first-gen experience at MSU.
This Friday [Nov. 1], the office will host First-Gen Friday, a networking lunch opportunity at Fresh Foods Company. There, faculty, staff and students will receive free meal vouchers and network with other first-gen Bulldogs in an effort to build connections and share useful resources personalized to each student’s MSU journey.
On Election Day [Nov. 5], the office will launch “But First We Vote,” a social media campaign targeting first-gen students and encouraging them to exercise their rights as voters.
The Office of Access and Success—First-Gen Week host—is also partnering with the MSU Student Counseling Center to host First Gen First on Nov. 20, where first-gen students will take part in a support group encouraging reflection and the sharing of strategies and coping skills from on-campus counselors.
The MSU Office of Access and Success is housed under the Division of Access, Opportunity and Success and provides year-round support and resources for first-generation college students. For more information about first-generation programming, visit www.firstgen.msstate.edu.
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