We Are F1rst starts new event called First-Generation Fridays, Sept. 1, 2023. Students were able to eat free pizza, find a community and adopt wisdom from speakers.
The event will occur the first Friday of each month and are open to all students regardless of being first-generation or not. A first-generation speaker with connections to Washburn will share their personal story with the club. The speaker for the first meeting was Washburn’s president, JuliAnn Mazachek.
At Washburn, a first-generation student is someone in which neither parent completed a bachelor’s degree. It is a common misconception that if a parent obtained an associate’s degree, or if a sibling has a college degree that they are not considered a first-generation student; this is false.
According to Jenny Lieurance, first-generation specialist, about 47% of Washburn’s students are first-generation. With this large population, some staff felt it was necessary that the students had guidance throughout their college journey.
“They have helped me a lot these past two weeks. I thought it was great and inspiring,” said Maliya White, freshman radiology major.
The idea for First-Generation Fridays stemmed from the high amount of first-generation students but also time constraints of students not being able to attend the We are F1rst meetings at 4 p.m. In the past, they have had speakers for the club and students always seemed to appreciate them.
“Having a president who is first-generation and her being able to share her story, I thought would be really unique,” Lieurance said. “I remember when I was a student here we had the president [Jerry Farley] share his general story and I remember how impactful it was for me.”
After the president finished sharing her story, she opened the floor for questions. She then introduced Lieurance to say a few words to the crowd. Students responded well to the event as there was a big turnout.
“I like them because I get to be around people who are going through the same thing. Then I get to interact and hear other people and their experience,” said Lauren Rogers, freshman radiology major.
Lieurance teaches the first-generation WU101: The Washburn Experience class and always gives her students three pieces of advice before they embark on their college career.
“First, you’re going to find your place in college, but you gotta get out of your comfort zone a little bit,” Lieurance said. “You have passion, and it’s okay you don’t know what it is yet. The third one is, it’s okay to be proud to be first-gen, and you should be proud to be first-gen.”
Any student, regardless of being first-generation, can attend the club We are F1rst. It is geared towards those who are first-generation, but all students are welcome to join.
The next club meeting is Sept. 13 at 4 p.m. in Mabee Library room 302.
Edited by Aja Carter and Christina Noland
