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Nervous about starting at Michigan State? Worried about your class schedule, living away from home, or where to even start? The Spartan Orientation Station (SOS) is a podcast hosted by New Student Orientation staff and was created by students for students. This podcast will launch twice a week throughout the summer, and each episode will feature a unique interview with campus departments discussing their services, common misconceptions, and fun Spartan engagement opportunities. When you need help at Michigan State, it is okay to signal SOS! Don’t worry – MSU is there for you.
You're listening to the Spartan orientation station on Impact eighty nine FM, the podcast by students for students. Now this week's episode.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the Spartan orientation station. On this week's episode of campus and community resources, we are discussing first generation college students and the resources available to them. Hi. I'm Kirsten, and I'm one of your hosts today.
Speaker 3:Hi. I'm Ella. I am a current third year majoring in creative advertising, and I am a student coordinator at NSO.
Speaker 4:And I'm Jonah, a third year majoring in advertising management, and I'm also a student coordinator here. Today, we are welcoming Sarah and Marlene with First Generation Student Success. Welcome, and thank you for joining us. Can you guys start off by just introducing yourselves and talk to us about what you do at MSU?
Speaker 5:Sure. My name is Sarah Ward. I am the program director for First Generation Student Success here. My job is to help with coordinating campus wide first gen initiatives, as well as oversee the Fly Vander Plauch Scholar Program.
Speaker 6:Hello, my name is Marlene Villa. My pronouns are sheher, And my position is program coordinator for First Gen Student Success. So I work alongside Sarah, also just helping out with First Gen initiatives around campus and coordinating the 500 plus Scholars Program.
Speaker 2:Great. Well, we're super excited to talk to you guys. Thanks for coming out. Can we start by talking about what a first generation college student is and what does it mean if a student identifies as a first gen student?
Speaker 6:Yeah. So first gen college student, the way that we define it here at MSU is neither parent or guardian completed a bachelor's degree or a four year degree at a university or college.
Speaker 4:What are some common challenges first generation students would face compared to continuing gen students when they first arrive at MSU? How does the First Generation Student Success Initiative help to address those?
Speaker 5:That's a great question. So I think really one of the biggest things is is that our first gen students come to campus and have been lied to, honestly, their whole high school career saying, like, when you get to college, you gotta do this on your own. And it's well intentioned advice, I think, from a lot of high schools. But really when it comes down to it, I think it discourages our first gen students for asking for help on campus. Right?
Speaker 5:And so I really wanna just make sure that students understand that like we are here to help. Like Marlene and I are actually hired to be here to help. And I think that a lot of students think that they're bothering professionals here on campus, whether they be advisors, faculty, staff. And so I just wanna make sure that like, they know that it's cool to ask for help here. And we really actually like talking to the students.
Speaker 5:So we encourage them to do so. So really when it comes down to what do we do in first generation student success, one is we provide resources for our first gen students directly, whether it's through advising, programming, which we'll talk about in a little bit. And then also to just making sure that our students feel connected in a sense of community. Another thing, I think, is a myth that our students think that they're probably one of just a few first gen students on campus, but 21% of MSU campus or students are actually first gen. And so there's a huge community of students, nearly a quarter of the population.
Speaker 5:And so getting to know other students are also facing these similar challenges can be a big comfort. And so we try
Speaker 3:to create communities where that happens. So as a first generation student, I think one of my biggest challenges was just having a bit of a disconnect in comparison to the new friends that I made because I wasn't able to really ask my parents about college related questions, seeing that they didn't have that experience and that was really hard for me. I definitely had a good support system with my friends though and they really helped me through and I was able to talk to some of my friends' parents as well. So I never really felt alone, but it was definitely a hard transition for me in that way.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. So when students are facing these challenges, are there programs or departments that first gen students can visit to find support and resources?
Speaker 6:Yes. So there are actually several programs and offices on campus that help first gen students. One of them is the one that we coordinate, the Fly Runner Plough Scholars Program, which started in August 2022. And this program is open to all first gen students who from any major college. And it's a small program of a it's a cohort program.
Speaker 6:So we support our students with anything from like, you know, how to apply for FAFSA to how to get connected with other campus resources, to helping them with applications for study abroad or internships and things like that. One cool thing about our program is that we do provide funding for our students to study abroad or to do service learning or do undergrad research and things like that. So it's a really good way to get our students involved on campus and for them to just expand their journey here at MSU. We do have other first gen specific programs like TRIO Student Support Services. They are housed in the same office as we are, which is the Pathways Persistence Programs, which is composed of four programs: ours, 500 plus Scholars, TRIO Student Support Services, Detroit Made, and Dow STEM Scholars.
Speaker 6:Dow and Detroit Made have a huge population of first gen students, but they're not first gen specific. What else?
Speaker 5:I think too, when we think about like departments or resources here, all of them are for first gen students. While we have some specific programs for our first gen students, it really is for you all. And even if you don't know where to start because you don't even know what question to ask or how to ask the question, someone will be there to help. I know myself and Marlene and many others here on campus, if a student comes and asks a question whether they're first gen or not, we're happy to help them find the person to find that answer for them. And so I think advisors are always a good place to go, your RAs, right in your housing.
Speaker 5:But your faculty are great advisors as well, can help you connect with different resources on campus. And again, if we don't know, we will help you find where the next place to look is.
Speaker 4:So on top of all those awesome resources that you guys just mentioned, are there any events that are hosted for first generation students?
Speaker 5:Yes. There's lots of great events on campus. I think it's important to note, like Marlene said, that FLY started in 2022, which brought both of us here to campus and that we're not just running FLY. Right? We are also running first year initiatives on campus.
Speaker 5:And just in the last president Guskovitz announced in his divestiture, an announcement of a new first gen center coming to campus. So this is an institutional top down commitment, and we are just beginning, like, what this is really going to look like. What do we offer now, though? First, we do first gen week every year. It's a national celebration on November 8 each year, and we have a whole week of program dedicated to that.
Speaker 5:And so this year, it will be November 3 through the seventh. So watch for more information for that. We also do first gen Fridays. Those happen monthly across campus. We're hoping someday it will happen in the first gen center itself as well.
Speaker 5:And we partner with campus partners who help sponsor these events and help to provide resources directly to our first gen students, faculty, and staff in a community setting. We also have a few clubs and organizations that are specifically for first gen students. I know we have a first gen pre law club that's on campus, and there's a number of other major specific ones, that we've seen around. One of the ones that Marlene and I actually get to co advise is Tri Alpha First Gen Honor Society. So students who've earned at least 30 credits and have a 3.2 GPA, there's a first gen honor society just for them as well.
Speaker 5:And there's also FGHA through the Honors College as well. This year, we also just had our first ever first gen stoling ceremony, which celebrated all of our graduating first gen seniors. And we're able to provide a stole free of charge to all of our first gen graduates. So it's really cool. So watch her photos this year of commencement exercises and see if you can find those stoles.
Speaker 5:We're really excited to continue that as a new tradition that will hopefully happen every year moving forward.
Speaker 2:Great. Well, there's a lot of exciting events happening for our first gen students around campus. And I know you touched on first gen week, but can you talk a little bit more about what that looks like?
Speaker 6:So first gen week, like Sarah said, is in November. It's a week long of events. It's whenever November 8 falls because that's the National First Gen Day celebrated throughout the country. And this year, it's from November 3 through the seventh. The eighth is a Saturday, so we're not TBD on what's going to happen on the eighth, but I don't we usually don't do programming on the weekends.
Speaker 6:But it's a week long of events and programming and the celebration that we plan alongside with campus partners and colleges. So we make sure that we partner with offices that want to celebrate our first gen students. And our signature program that we plan is on Wednesday of each year, it's on Wednesday. It's the Vander Plaue First Gen Reception and Awards Ceremony. It's a beautiful event where we celebrate first gen students and we celebrate first gen advocates, so staff or faculty who support our first gen students, or who are first gen themselves as well.
Speaker 6:We also collaborate a lot with ASMSU with these events. And this past November, that's when President Gutzkoyevsk was saying he wants to do the First Gen Center here on campus. So hopefully we can see that happen next fall twenty six. And whenever that is up and running, hopefully we'll have our inaugurated First Gen Week at the First Gen Center.
Speaker 4:So if any students were to have questions about First Gen Week, any of the resources available to them, or just general questions, where are some different places that they could reach out?
Speaker 5:Great question. So we have our own web website, which
Speaker 6:is
Speaker 5:firstgen.msu.edu. We do have all of our support information on there, including the Fly Vander Plauch Scholars application, which is due May 20. A little shameless plug if you want some cash and get involved in a first gen scholarship cohort right off the bat, as well as other first gen programs are linked there. So check that out. We also keep that up to date with events.
Speaker 5:So again, that's firstgen.msu.edu. Our email, believe it or not, is firstgenmsu dot edu. So if you have questions or don't know where to go, maybe a little scared to talk to someone on campus, you can email us. It's usually Marlene and I who are answering those emails so you know there's actual people behind it. Happy to answer questions via email all summer too before you get here.
Speaker 5:And then a fun way to get in touch with us is follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn. Our Instagram handle is at m s u f l I underscore number one s t gen. So at m s u fly underscore first gen. If you search first gen MSU, we do come up in there. Someone else already got our favorite ideal handle, but that's okay.
Speaker 5:We love them and we support them. So follow us there because we do post all of our fly events there if you're involved with fly, but we also do share all of the other first gen events happening on campus, including first gen week, first gen Fridays, and other resources as well.
Speaker 2:Great. So if a first gen student was thinking about reaching out, what is one thing you would tell them if you couldn't tell them anything else?
Speaker 6:I think that I would say don't be afraid to ask for help. Like Sarah said at the beginning, like, it's it's really daunting. Like, I'm a I was a first gen student. So when I went into college, it was really scary and daunting to go into a new setting for me away from home. What I didn't do was ask for help my first year.
Speaker 6:And so I think it's really important for students to catch that early on in the semester or in the year. Talk with your faculty, talk with your professors, your advisors, talk to us, like come email us, send us a DM on Instagram and we can help you. As long as you talk to someone, like they'll be able to help you out or like they'll be able to direct you to the right office or people that can help our first gen students out.
Speaker 3:I would say just doing your research before coming onto campus because when I came, there was a lot of stuff that I didn't know about that a lot of people did know about because they related, their parents related their experience to their children and they talked about welcome week and they talked about activities and those things they didn't know about. So honestly, I would say, I mean, go on TikTok, everybody posts. You know, people post about resources, people post about things that are happening. Go on Instagram, look it up, look up the resources, look up CAPS because I understand it can be isolating sometimes when you feel like you don't understand things that other people do. Talk to your advisers.
Speaker 3:Just really generalize yourself with the resources that MSU has for you because you can meet a lot of people and gain a really great community
Speaker 5:within that. That's great advice. I'd also add read your emails too. That is the number one official way of communicating with our students because we can guarantee it to you. You know, it's not the most fun one, but it's important as well.
Speaker 5:That is not my advice, however. That is good advice for all students, whether you're first gen or not. But I think my advice was just to remember you belong here. I think so often as first gen, like I am also a first gen graduate and a first gen MSU alum. I think it's easy to doubt whether or not because you don't have maybe the fam familiar background, of college campus or you haven't seen someone in your direct family do this before, you can doubt yourself really easily.
Speaker 5:People call them imposter feelings, right? Like feelings of like, maybe I'm not good enough or things, but please remember that you do belong here. You earn this place, you earn this education. And so you belong in every space that you wanna belong in on campus. So take advantage of the opportunities, try new things, study abroad, go to your advisor, do all of the things.
Speaker 5:Don't limit yourself just because you don't understand it. Invite yourself, ask questions, and know that you definitely belong as part of the Spartan community.
Speaker 4:That is some really good advice from all three of you guys. Before we wrap up, I just wanna say thank you again for joining us today. And then one more kind of fun question. What is your favorite part about working at MSU or being a Spartan?
Speaker 6:I think for me, I so I work at MSU. I didn't I didn't go here, but I love the campus. It's such a beautiful campus. We work in Bessie Hall, so like we have the river right there. So especially, you know, in the summer, I love to take my go for walks, clear my mind when work is really stressful or just like I just need to get out of the office because I don't have a window in my office.
Speaker 6:I just love to walk around the campus and just kind of clear my mind because it really does help with like just resetting my mind and coming into my work and my job with a clear set of mind and all that stuff. So I'd definitely recommend new students and current students to just go for walks around campus. It's a really good way to just kind of like take a step back and recenter yourself. But other than that, think just working with our students has been awesome. We this year, we had like our biggest group of students graduate from our program, which is really sad.
Speaker 6:So we're definitely gonna miss them, but I think working with them has been amazing. They bring so much to the table. They brought so, like, many great things to our program and so many awesome ideas. So I think the students are just incredible.
Speaker 5:I don't know how I can even add to that, but my favorite part about working at MSU and being part of the community is just endless. There's always something new to explore, whether it's walking around campus, which was my original thought favorite thing to talk about. There's always somewhere new to explore. There's always new buildings. There's new gardens.
Speaker 5:There's new trees. There's things to explore, but there's always just endless opportunities. Speakers come in. There's lectures. There's activities.
Speaker 5:There's games. There's excitement. And it's all part of a really fantastic community. I think that's kind of part two to it is that, like, everybody wants to be here. And I think that's a real gift about being a part of this campus is that people know they're part of something that's really cool and vast.
Speaker 5:And though it's a large massive campus space and community, there's something for everybody.
Speaker 2:For sure. Absolutely. Well, thank you guys so much for coming out today. That's all from the Spartan orientation station today. Make sure you guys tune in next time.
Speaker 2:Bye.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to this episode of the Spartan orientation station on Impact eighty nine FM. Let us know what you think by connecting with us on Facebook, Twitter, or