Bowdoin closed out a week of honoring students and their accomplishments with an afternoon get-together in Ladd House on National First-Generation College Celebration Day.
The day is observed on November 8, which is when, in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Higher Education Act to expand opportunities for low-income and first-generation students by establishing federal grants and loan programs.
Anthony Parker-Gills said National First-Gen Day is an opportunity for him and his team to highlight the positive contributions of the first-generation community to the College. Parker-Gills is the director of THRIVE, Bowdoin’s multi-faceted program to support students who are the first generation in their families to attend college.
“It’s important to show all the great things they’re doing,” he said, adding that a celebration like this “also gets the word out there more,” both about the students and about THRIVE. The party was open to first-generation students as well as their friends and peers.
In the first hour of the party, Ladd’s living room filled with students coming by after their last class. One table was laden with refreshments, another offered “swag and giveaways,” as Parker-Gills put it, including pins and bags with slogans such as, “First generation and proud.”
Khoa Khuong ’04, associate dean of students, stopped in early. A first-generation student himself, he said he tries to connect to as many others as he can to offer his support. He can relate to the challenges of navigating a college system without the advantage of having parents who can draw upon their own college experiences or cultural knowledge to advise them.
THRIVE is made up of several initiatives: Bowdoin Advising in Support of Excellence (BASE), an intensive academic advising program; Bowdoin Science Experience (BSE), which supports students interested in science and mathematics; Geoffrey Canada Scholars (GCS), which offers a pre-college summer institute and support throughout the four years of study; Joshua L. Chamberlain Scholars, who receive scholarships for research, independent study, internships, and service learning; and peer mentoring, which matches first-year students with an upperclass advisor.
Calling the week between November 4-8 “First-Gen Week,” the THRIVE community celebrated on Monday with a kick-off party, on Tuesday with a peer mentor panel, on Wednesday with bagels and coffee in the morning and karaoke in the evening, on Thursday with games and other activities, and on Friday with a party and later, a movie night.
“Being first-generation can be lonely,” Khuong said. “Being in college, especially a place like this, you can feel like you don’t belong. You operate on a deficit model.”
To counter this, Khuong said it is imperative to have a community, including with others who share a similar background. “Because we understand one another, we celebrate each other, and we remind each other that we are awesome!” he said, with a smile.
As part of his effort to strengthen THRIVE and make it work as well as possible for students, Parker-Gills last year set up a student advisory council. The group is tasked with developing new programming and offering feedback to Bowdoin administrators on how the College can best support students.
Mauricio Cuba Almeida ’27, who serves on the advisory council, stood up during the celebration to welcome students and offer a few remarks. He noted that he appreciates the first-generation designation because it signals equality among those who can claim it. “There is nothing that makes you more first-gen than me, or me more first-gen than you,” he said.
He grew up in Cuba and moved to Miami with his family when he was one year old. “My first year at Bowdoin was hard,” he acknowledged. “Making friends here was hard. But there is something about being first-gen, you click so easily with people who are also first-gen. I’ve been happy to meet so many different people and happy to have a place and create a space for us to cherish our identities.”
Cuba Almeida also noted that many first-generation students are studying at Bowdoin not just for themselves, but also for their families, many of whom made significant sacrifices when they immigrated to the US seeking a better life. “I am happy to be here,” he continued, “in this place with all of you also striving to achieve.”
Carlos Hernandez Santiago ’27 is another member of the THRIVE student advisory council; his specific role is chair for the Geoffrey Canada Scholars program, which he credited for giving him confidence and a sense of belonging at Bowdoin. He said he wants to use his role on the council to bring together GCS cohorts from different classes, to widen the network for first-generation students.
“Having a community and celebrating like this makes you feel more at home and appreciated,” he said. He credited THRIVE’s staff for always being ready to give students “a push” when they need it and to remind them they are valued here, as well as helping with basic needs, such as health emergencies or just getting new glasses.
Additionally, the community of first-gen students, he added, is welcoming. “We bring new perspectives and are breaking boundaries,” he said. “We look after each other and we take care of each other—we’re a small community, and we’ve got each others' backs. We all need to move together so everyone can succeed.”
