Graduating is always a momentous occasion, but being the first person in a family to navigate the complexities of college successfully is an extra-special reason to celebrate. Lehigh University recognized the accomplishment of these first-generation graduates and their families at a First Generation Celebration luncheon held after the undergraduate Commencement ceremony on May 21.
This year’s celebration featured two speakers: Mireya Tenorio ’23, an accounting and business analytics major and Spanish minor, and George White, a first-generation student and Lehigh education professor emeritus who helped launch the inaugural First Generation Celebration in 2019. White was instrumental in creating the Lehigh University Student Scholars Institute (LUSSI), which strives to cultivate a sense of community, belonging, and empowerment for entering first-generation students. He retired in 2019 as the first managing director of the Center for Student Access and Success.
Tenorio and White talked recently about their mutual experiences of being first-generation students.
What was most challenging for you being a first-generation student?
GW: I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I’d never been away from home and I was living in the dorm as a freshman. I got a note saying I needed to pay my bill at the bursar’s office. I didn’t know what a bursar was or where it was located, and I didn’t want to ask what I was afraid was a stupid question. So I spent more than two hours wandering around campus, trying to find a sign that said “bursar’s office.”
That’s why, when I started the Center for Student Access and Success, I ran a series of focus groups to find out what challenges our first-gen students had, what they wished they had known, and how we at Lehigh could help.
MT: The hardest part for me was the culture shock. Being in the accounting program, the classes were hard and the other students didn’t look like me, which made things difficult. My classmates would discuss the homework and talk about how they studied for the exams — I didn’t have that. It wasn’t until I decided to join Beta Alpha Psi, the honors accounting society, that I started to make connections and feel a sense of community.
How important is community for first-gen students?
GW: So important — that’s why we have programs for first-gen students at Lehigh like the F1RST Club, LUSSI, and Passport to Success. What allowed me to be successful as a first-gen was that I found my community. For me, it wasn’t a fraternity, it was student government. For some students, it’s the LUSSI group, for others, an athletic program or a club. As an institution, we have a responsibility to make sure that every student finds their niche, their community.
MT: I agree. I definitely found my group of friends through the Center for Student Access and Success. I also joined a multicultural sorority on campus. I lived in a first-gen dorm. When you have those communities and you build those friendships, it helps you stay in school.
What advice would you give first-generation students?
MT: Don’t be afraid to use the resources available to you. Lehigh has so many resources for first-gen students. Take it all in and build a plan for how you can use those resources. If you don’t pursue them, they’re there for no reason.
GW: I have three pieces of advice, First, find a mentor — and allow yourself to be mentored! Second, stretch yourself — step out of your traditional comfort level. Coming to college allows you to not be who you were in high school; it allows you to explore things you may never have thought of. And third, be open to asking questions, because if you don’t know what you don’t know, you have to ask others to help you. I didn’t need to walk around campus for two hours looking for a sign. I was afraid to ask because I didn’t want to seem like I didn’t belong. We have to realize that everyone feels at times like they don’t belong, even if their moms and dads both have Ph.D.s.
How have your families reacted to your accomplishment?
MT: My parents are rejoicing! My mom keeps calling me to ask what she should wear to see me graduate. Both my parents are super excited that my brother and I both have jobs.
GW: My parents didn’t have any knowledge or understanding at all about college. My dad wanted me to be a journeyman plumber with my grandfather. But my grandfather was the one who was instrumental in me going to college. He talked to my father and said, “Give him a chance!” And then, on my graduation day, my dad came up and gave me a hug, and whispered in my ear, “I was wrong.” That was probably the first time I’d ever heard him say those words — that this is the right thing for you. My dad’s 91 and we still joke about that.
My parents drove 18 hours to attend my graduation. Mireya, I’m sure your parents are coming a long way. Those are special moments — they’re what every parent hopes for, that their child will do better than they did. That’s the legacy we have to pass on to our children.