National First-generation College Student Celebration

Calendar of Events for National First-Generation Student Celebration, November 8 to 13 2021:

November 8-12: First-Gen Stories: Podcast

K-State Libraries and the Office of First Generation Students are partnering to capture the stories of first-generation students, staff, and faculty at K-State. If you have 10 minutes to spare and want to share your story with future  first-gen  Wildcats, please contact Tara Cole man at tcole2@ksu.edu  to set up a time to make a recording.

 A member of the Libraries will guide you in telling your story, which can be archived in the Morse Department of Special Collections if you chose. Your stories help document the student experience at K-State for future students and researchers to understand what your experience  was  like today. If you prefer, the recordings can also be made anonymous.

Location: Hale Library. Time: 9:00AM to 4:00PM

November 8-12: First-gen Coffee Special: “Proud to be First” available at any Cornerstone Campus Coffee Shop.

Monday, November 8: First-Gen Financial Wellbeing

Hosted in partnership with Powercat Financial & Department of Personal and Financial. Planning. Location: Justin 109. Time: 4:30-5:30 PM

Wednesday, November 10: TLC Workshop: Engaging and Supporting First-Gen Students in the Classroom

In this interactive online workshop, we will talk about why the success of first-generation students matters so much and why universities often struggle to meet their needs.We will discuss what instructors can do to engage and support first-generation students who may be struggling with online and hybrid/hyflex learning or experiencing imposter syndrome, among other challenges. We will also highlight the ways that we can deploy best teaching and learning practices to support our students during this strange not-yet normal of learning with facemasks, multiple learning environments, and a pandemic that won’t go away. Location: https://ksu.zoom.us/j/91689499348 Time: 12:00-1:00PM

Wednesday, November 10: Tri-Alpha Honorary Society's Inaugural Induction Ceremony

Join us in celebrating our high achieving first-generation students at our Inaugural Induction Ceremony of Tri-Alpha, a first-generation student Honorary Society.

Location: Forum Hall. Time: 4:00-5:00PM

Thursday, November 11: First-Generation Student Celebration

Stop by to meet other first-gen students, faculty, and staff. There will be opportunities to tiedye masks, get a ‘Proud to be First t-shirt, grab some food, take photos and join us in awarding our Proud to Be First Scholarship recipients.

Location: Union Courtyard. Time: 11:00AM-2:00PM

Thursday, November 11: Proud to Be First Scholarship Awards

Four first-generation students will be awarded the Proud to be First Scholarship.

Location: Union Courtyard. Time: 1:00PM

Saturday, November 13: First-generation Student Athletes recognition at football game, K-State vs. West Virginia, Bill Snyder Family Stadium, time TBA.

Thank you to the following departments for your collaboration and generous support: Academic Achievement Center, College of Education Center for Student Success, Global Outreach Program, Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science, Department of Kinesiology, Parents and Family Program, K-State Libraries and Union Program Council.

K-State Celebrates National First-generation Week November 6th-12th.

Participate all week with a virtual background!

First-gen student or grad

First-gen Ally

Instructions for setting virtual background

Calendar of Events

Friday, Nov. 6: Virtual First-Generation College Celebration in partnership with NASPA’s Center for First-generation Student Success. Hear a panel discussion about the history of the first-generation student definition, utilizing an asset-based lens. Registration via Qualtrics here. We will send you an email with the zoom address the day before the event. Time: 1:00pm - 2:30 pm

Saturday, Nov. 7: First-generation Student Athletes recognition at football game, K-State vs. Oklahoma State, Bill Snyder Family Stadium, time TBA.

Sunday, Nov. 8: National First-generation Student Day, join us via Instagram @K-StateOFGS #FirstgenForward #CelebrateFirstGen

Monday, Nov. 9: Tie-dye and decorate masks: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Bosco Plaza. Masks and supplies provided. Social distancing practices enforced.

Monday, Nov. 9 & 10: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Stop by the Union in front of the food court to pick up your “Proud to be first” t-shirt!

Monday, Nov. 9 & 10: Breaking Barriers: First-gens in Tech 2020. Register here.

Tuesday, Nov. 10: Join us for a Mini Wildcat Dialogue: Unpacking our First-generation Student and Military Student Identities. 2:30 to 3:30 pm. During this interactive session, a panel of first-generation students, traditional and non-traditional, will talk about their intersecting identities and will share their first-generation experiences at the university. Audience will have the opportunity to participate by asking questions and sharing their own stories.

Register here. We will send you an email with the zoom address the day before the event.

Wednesday, Nov. 11: "Engaging and Supporting First-generation Students" in partnership with K-State First and the Teaching and Learning Center. Time: 12:00 to 1:00 pm. Presenters: Dr. Greg Eiselein, Kiley Moody, Rebeca Paz. Register here.

Thursday, Nov. 12: Wildcat Experience Sessions for first-generation prospective students and their families. Please register here. 4:00 pm. English session, 7:00 pm: Spanish session

Thank you to the following departments for your collaboration and generous support: Academic Achievement Center, College of Agriculture, College of Business, College of Health and Human Sciences, Department of Athletics, Department of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and Division of Biology.

National First-generation College Student Celebration day is Friday, Nov. 8. K-State will be celebrating all week with a variety of activities:

Nov. 4th - Nov 8th: Art competition

If you would like to participate in the art competition please fill out this form. Deadline to submit artwork is Monday, November 4th at 4:00pm.

Nov. 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th: First-generation Student Awareness and Celebration Tabling

Location: Ground floor, K-State Student Union
Time: 11:00am - 1:00pm

Nov. 4th: "Engaging and Supporting First-generation Students" in partnership with K-State First and the Teaching and Learning Center

Location: 109, Justin Hall
Time: 1:30pm - 2:30pm
Presenters: Dr. Greg Eiselein, Kiley Moody, Rebeca Paz

Nov. 6th: KSUnite

Click here to learn how to participate in K-State's movement to provide all members of the K-State Family an opportunity to meaningfully engage and holistically embrace opportunities for respect, civility, and tolerance.

The Office of First-generation Students will be participating in a section of KSUnite's events. Click here to view the poster about the immigration panel.

Nov. 7th: NASPA Webinar - Finding the Right Connections for First-generation Students with Impostor Syndrome

Location: 114, K-State Student Union - CSI Conference Room
Time: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Host: Office of First-generation Students

National First-generation Student Celebration was a week long event in November 2020. During this time, many students were not on campus due to the effects of COVID-19. The committee came up with a hybrid of in person and virtual opportunities to get involved!

National First-generation Student Celebration was a week long event for 2019. Many events were held such as webinars discussing first-generation student barriers, an art competition, a large 1 party that included music, food, and tabling. We even had a photo booth! The success of this week long event would not have been possible without the help of all of the support around campus!

Students from the First-generation Student Organization (FGSO) created this "Big Green 1" with the theme of Building First-gen. The 1 traveled around to different areas for first-gen students to sign, and landed in the Student Union for the National First-gen Student Celebration Day on November 8th!

Dr. Kevin Cook, first-gen college graduate, Associate Director, Housing and Dining

Adrian Rodriguez, first-gen college graduate, Associate Vice President for Student Life and Director of the Department of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs