Why does participating in #CelebrateFirstGen matter?
Hi, my name is Kevin Kruger and I'm the President and CEO of NASPA, and a proud first- generation college student. You know, when I think about first-generation college students, I think about the enormous opportunity we have in our education to change the lives and trajectories of tens and tens of thousands of students. You know, the talent is amazing among our first-generation students, but sometimes the opportunities aren't equally distributed. Nor do the students face the same barriers as some of their peers. That's why I think celebrating first- gen day is so important, right? It's important for us to give visibility to those of us who have been first- generation college students who have achieved a college degree and a career afterwards. And and I think that 'lighthouse' is important for students to see that potential. Last thing I'll say is I think that this is an enormously important issue for higher education. We know that first-generation college students historically have completed college at lower rates than their peers. So we have a lot of work to do to address this gap and to create really intergenerational changes that will affect millions and millions of college students. So let's get started!
