First Gen students are not one note. Despite the generalizations we know our First Gen students are as diverse and bring a myriad of skills to our universities. However, most conversation on First Gen is centered on a “deficit model” or the idea that First Gen students are people we need to fix. However, Florida Consortium universities are working more on an “asset model” much like Tara Yosso’s Cultural Capital Theory to think of students in terms of what advantages they bring to college and how that advances their college experiences. This session will mobilize our collective wisdom to build an intersectional assets experience for First Gen students by matching assets to opportunity.

This session is a facilitated discussion of potential obstacles that our first-generation students may face during their time in college. Topics will include emergency aid, food insecurity, and housing insecurity.  This will be an interactive session, so bring your own topics to discuss and share your best practices related to these areas at your institution.

This session is a facilitated discussion of issues that are relevant to first generation students in their first year.  Topics will include academic advising, student engagement, and mentoring.  This will be an interactive session, so bring your own topics to discuss and share your best practices related to these areas at your institution.