First In Class-UMBC Magazine Features First-Gens

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:09:26 -0500

UMBC's Magazine has a great article featuring amazing first-gen students and their stories! Check out https://magazine.umbc.edu/first-in-class/

Excerpt:

"As the first in her family to graduate from high school, Julia del Carmen Aviles-Zavala, a junior psychology major at UMBC at The Universities at Shady Grove, also found the process extremely intimidating at first.

“I was constantly feeling unsure of what class to take, and anxious as to if my classes would transfer to my major once I got to UMBC,” she says. “Honestly I was just not sure how ‘college’ worked, and I did not have a concrete idea of an outline for my next four years.”

UMBC is known for being a champion of students from all backgrounds, so it’s no surprise to find that first generation college students make up approximately 25 percent of the current student body—or that UMBC would be a huge draw for faculty and staff who come from very similar backgrounds. Fueled by their own experiences, they created the First Generation Network, resulting in programming—covering everything from social skills to financial aid to planning for grad school—and research, and a community truly dedicated to the success of first generation students..."