'First-Gen' Proud: Campuses Are Celebrating An Overlooked Group. But Is That Enough?
When Rhonda Gonzales was in college in the early '90s, the term "first-generation" wasn't part of her vocabulary. Sure, she was the first in her family to go to college and she did have a sense of discomfort on campus – not quite fitting in. But it wasn't something she advertised, or even identified with and no one else on campus seemed to care much, either.
Today, it's a very different story. Gonzales is now a dean and a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she started a program for first-generation students. One important component: match students with faculty members who were also first-generation students –- professors like her, who have worn those uncomfortable shoes, and still found success. They call these groups familias.
And a sense of family, of belonging, is something first-generation students often feel is missing from their college experience — with serious consequences. Many say they feel isolated and out of
