First generation students hear stories of success
Any student can relate to the struggles endured by first-year students when adjusting to post-secondary life, but these challenges can become much more difficult if no one in your family has ever attended a post-secondary institution.
An individual is considered a first generation student if their parents did not attend any post-secondary institutions. There were over 4,500 first generation students enrolled at Humber in 2014 representing about 16 per cent of the student population. The First in the Family program at Humber College began as an outlet for first generation students looking for support services. Recently this program became a part of the First Year Experience program that offers workshops, social events and peer mentoring to first-year students.
Nivedita Lane, coordinator of the First Year Experience program, said that the biggest challenge faced by first generation students is a lack of guidance. “You need a support system within close relationships,” said Lane. The First Year Experience program hosts a variety of events specifically geared towards first generation students and the struggles they endure.
Among those events is the First Generation Panel that took place Nov. 16. The panel featured Humber staff, faculty, alumni and students who had all themselves been first generation students. Each panelist answered a series of questions provided by the hosts and offered advice to students in the audience.
Corrine Johnston, director of strategic planning and institutional analysis at Humber, said that her parents did not pursue any post-secondary education and discouraged her from doing so. “My mother told me to learn how to type,” said Johnston. She said her mother quit school in the tenth grade to become a typist while her father quit school in eighth grade to work in a mine.
Sandra Datillo, an alumni of the law clerk program at Humber, said that she had trouble finding support between taking a full course-load and being a single mother to her three children. “Everything is constantly battling for your time,” said Datillo.
Amanda Soriano, coordinator of orientation and transition programs at Humber, said that a lack of financial support forced her to work four jobs while being a full-time student. “I wanted to quit my jobs or drop my courses, I wasn’t practicing proper self care,” said Soriano. She encouraged first generation students to make use of the counselling services available at Humber. “Once you graduate, counselling isn’t free,” said Soriano. “Even therapists need therapists.”
Racine Senining, facilitator of the First Year Experience program, closed the panel by providing office hours and phone numbers for various First Year Experience services on campus. Students can access all of these resources by visiting http://wegotyou.humber.ca.
About the Author
Drew Yorke-Slader Drew is a journalism student at the University of Guelph-Humber and is currently capturing the hip hop scene in Toronto. Drew is a freelance photojournalist and concert photographer.
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