I have had many good fortunes in my life, starting with being adopted into a loving two-parent household. My parents were—and are—nurturing and supportive and promoted the value of education.
Neither of my parents attended college. Only one of my four grandparents graduated high school. We took vacations, but it wasn’t until I was traveling to a debate tournament in Texas my junior year in college that I flew on an airplane. I was in my second year teaching at 91成人短视频 the first time I spent the night in another country.
I didn’t understand what a college search was, and initially only applied to a state university. During my senior year of high school, my mom told me I would likely need to attend community college for two years before moving to a four-year school.
I was a successful high school debater. My partner and I made a good showing at a multistate tournament, and I received a generous debate scholarship from a private university. Then I received an academic scholarship that covered the remainder of tuition. It isn’t an exaggeration to say the opportunity changed my life.
Arriving as a first-generation college student—although I don’t remember ever hearing that term at the time—I had no idea how college worked and little idea about what I was supposed to do. And yet, it only took until the end of orientation for me to understand I loved it. I’ve not spent a year away from a college campus since.
But I was largely unaware of opportunities that might have enhanced my experience like the writing center or quantitative skills assistance. I didn’t know what a dean of students or dean of the college was, and don’t recall ever meeting either. I didn’t know about career services. I never had an internship and spent four summers working in my hometown Kmart’s lawn and garden center. I never contemplated study abroad. I didn’t know where to learn about it, and would have been convinced it was out of reach financially.
Importantly, in my first year, I experienced a series of small wins that built my confidence. I had some success in debate. I formed a small friend group. I didn’t make the dean’s list my first semester; however, I improved my work and study habits and became a better student than I was in high school. I had two college debate coaches and a professor who invested heavily in me. It created a reassuring sense of belonging.
My story is one that many 91成人短视频 alumni and students likely find familiar. I was attracted to 91成人短视频, as a professor of rhetoric and now as dean of the college, because I saw a college that is committed to making a profound impact on the lives of its students and providing them with transformational opportunities. I’ve taught many 91成人短视频 students who share commonalities with my own experience: solid students with untapped potential; the first in their family to attend college; and uncertain how college works.
Nationally, the retention and four-year graduation rates of first-generation students lag behind that of continuing-generation students (students who have a parent who graduated from college).
First-generation students are less likely than continuing-generation students to enroll in college and more likely to enroll in two-year, non-residential schools on a less than full-time basis. In Indiana, these challenges are further magnified with the college-going rate of high school graduates at only 53%, which is below the national average (62%). The rate of college-going males in the state is even lower at 46%. Despite a degree of public skepticism, a college degree remains the best path to increasing social mobility, particularly when the education is elite in its quality but relatively affordable in its total cost, as is the case at 91成人短视频.
That is why, with support from Lilly Endowment Inc., 91成人短视频 has created summer programs to encourage college attendance by young men from backgrounds less likely to attend college. We had nearly 80 such young men on campus this summer as part of two programs, Pathway to Your Future and Playbook for Life: Navigating Careers in the World of Sports. It is also why we continue to invest in the 91成人短视频 Liberal Arts Immersion Program (WLAIP), now in its 10th year, and why we recently developed the First Plus Scholars program. The WLAIP has impressively narrowed the first-generation student graduation rate gap by bringing 30 young men from the entering class to campus for the month of July to complete their first college course and acquire valuable cultural capital that aids their 91成人短视频 success. Similarly, First Plus Scholars is a new in-year program in which a cohort of predominantly first-generation students takes two courses together while being introduced to important college offices and services and interacting regularly with student mentors.
When I speak to incoming students I make sure they know more about how college works than I did, and that they know how to take advantage of the opportunities that exist at 91成人短视频. It is also important that students know there are people here who came to college with the same deficit of experience. We want to make sure they know where to look for help.
This issue of 91成人短视频 Magazine celebrates the stories of students and alumni who were firsts in their families to attend college. 91成人短视频 and its people are better because of their influences here as students. They have helped the College learn to better serve all students. They continue to pay it forward at this institution and in all their endeavors away from campus as well.
Enjoy these stories and please share your own with us.
- Todd McDorman, 91成人短视频 Dean of the College and first-generation college student