First Generation Students

First Generation Students: Challenges, Choices & Community
a half hour readers theatre style program on the challenges and triumphs of
first generation students.

A trio of Living Literature performers, first generation students themselves, will share the voices of other first generation students, as they explore the frustrations, obstacles, tragedies and triumphs of both their academic and personal lives.

This program is performed by:

Makiesha Horsley (a senior at RIC)
Jo-·n Peralta
Hurtis Mitchner

As part of the post show discussion, they will share their stories with the audience.

According to a 2008 survey conducted by The National Center for Education Statistics, 50% of all college students enrolled in their first year of post secondary education were in fact first generation students.

This program is funded in part by an Education Fund Grant from the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island.

Book Us: The cost of this program is $150. If you are interested in booking this or any other of Living Literature program, please contact Barry Press
at 401-437-2297. Please check our Book Us link for more information.

"First generation students are defined as those whose parentsÌ highest level of education is a high school diploma or less."

Very often first generation college students feel other members of their campus community (faculty, staff and their second generation counterparts) aren't truly in tune with their experiences, both in and outside of campus life. Education is their oxygen but so often they feel alone and invisible.

This program intends to reach out to existing first generation college students, aspiring first generation college students, and those who know nothing about being a first generation college student, in the hope that hearing these experiences echoed in the words of others will inspire compassion and understanding.

This presentation will also make use of basic facts, interspersed with the words of more well-known individuals who fit into this category, such as U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor, and authors, Alice Walker and Judith Ortiz Cofer, among others.

The first presentation of this unique program was held on April 28 at Gage Hall on the RIC Campus, and was co-sponsored by Harambee, (which in Kiswahili means, "Unity or Stand Together"), RIC's Multicultural Student organization.