By Greg Gatlin
For hundreds of members of the Class of 2026 taking in the majesty of Convocation at Boston’s historic Tremont Temple, not only was this their first official day as college students—it was the first day that anyone in their family had been a college student.
Many of those students sitting in a sea of Suffolk yellow T-shirts on that early September day were, no doubt, experiencing a range of emotions. Deep pride at being the first in their families to attend college, tempered by the weight of carrying family hopes and dreams on their shoulders. Exhilaration about opportunities ahead, offset by flickers of imposter syndrome. Some were probably worrying about how to navigate this unfamiliar landscape, some about how they were going to pay for it all. Yet if these students felt momentarily lost or alone, they were not.
The 515 undergraduates in the Class of 2026—41% of the class—share a common bond not only with each other, but with the tens of thousands of first-gen Suffolk students who came before them and who have shaped the University’s identity.
Those students bring to the classroom and the campus an invaluable diversity of experiences and perspectives as well as a deep appreciation for their educational opportunity—along with a determination, drive, and ingenuity that have become synonymous with the Suffolk name.
They also share ties to the very first Suffolk students—immigrants and working-class people who sought greater opportunity through education, gathering in University founder Gleason Archer’s Roxbury apartment in 1906 to study law. They, too, were first-generation Suffolk.
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Photograph: Michael J. Clarke
A full range of resources
“Suffolk has students from every walk of life and every corner of the globe, and it has made it clear we all belong here,”
Opening doors for first-gen students has been at the heart of Suffolk’s mission since its founding. Talk to older Suffolk alumni who were the first in their families to attend college and there’s a good chance they will tell you, sometimes emotionally, how Suffolk gave them opportunities that changed their lives. They just may not call themselves first-gen—a concept that has its origins in the Higher Education Act of 1965, but which has gained greater visibility as the number of first-gen college students has risen.
The Department of Education defines first-generation college students as those whose biological parents did not complete a bachelor’s degree. According to the National Center for First-Generation Student Success, today one in three US undergraduates identify as first-gen. Many come from lower-income families or underrepresented backgrounds and face systemic barriers to higher education. Their families have had little exposure to the so-called “hidden curriculum” of the higher education system, and no experience navigating the college application and financial aid process. Many first-gen students hold down jobs while in college to pay for their education.
While Suffolk’s commitment to providing opportunity to those students has been steadfast for well over a century, what has evolved significantly is the breadth of support systems and programs that help first-gen students thrive at the University today.
"The landscape has changed, but the need to serve that population has not changed at all,” says Suffolk University President Marisa Kelly. “It is as critical now, if not more critical than it ever was.”
Abraham Peña, MSBA ’21, who helps lead those efforts as executive director of Suffolk’s Center for Academic Access & Opportunity, says support for first-generation students is embedded in every department and program. He describes “a coordinated, across-the-board effort” with offices including admissions, financial aid, career development, the Division of Student Success, the Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion, and others (see below).
“From before they arrive at Suffolk to well after graduation, there is support to help these students through,” he says. In fact, for prospective first-gen students visiting Suffolk, offices that provide support services are some of the first stops on their campus tour. “Other universities might show the dining hall and the climbing wall,” Peña says.
Last year, in recognition of these efforts, the Center for First-Generation Student Success named Suffolk University a First-Gen Forward Institution, one of a select group of US colleges and universities that have a demonstrated record of improving the experiences and outcomes of students who are the first in their families to attend a four-year college. And this November 7-11, Suffolk will mark First-Gen Week for the sixth consecutive year, with a series of events and celebrations.
says first-gen student and Commencement speaker Taylor Monteiro.
Taylor Monteiro, BSBA ’22—who delivered the Sawyer Business School undergraduate Commencement address last May and who now works for the global investment firm Cambridge Associates—has seen Suffolk’s culture of support in action.
Monteiro grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the daughter of an immigrant and granddaughter of a Cambodian civil war veteran. Neither of her parents attended college, and she had to navigate the college application process on her own. “As a first-gen college student, you have to ask a lot of questions and go looking for the answers,” she says. “No one is necessarily handing them to you.” That changed when she transferred to Suffolk in 2019.
“From the time I applied, Suffolk worked with me and guided me through the process,” she says. “They didn’t just accept me, they wanted me to succeed.”
Faculty and staff members, she says, were supportive and accessible. When the pandemic shut down her parents’ nail salon, Glory Peguero, BSBA ’95, MPA ’97, associate director of financial aid, helped her complete her financial aid applications and steered her toward potential grants and scholarships. Monteiro was awarded the Bert J. Samia Scholarship, established by Sawyer Business School alumnus and philanthropist Leonard Samia in honor of his father. She was later able to meet and thank him.
“In the community I come from, people aren’t able to give away millions of dollars to support education,” she says. “But here’s someone, another first-generation college student, who went to Suffolk who is now paying for hundreds of other students to get ahead. That’s incredibly inspiring and something I aim to do in the future.”
'Suffolk wanted me to succeed'
Peña, himself a first-generation college graduate, understands the pressure that many first-gen students feel. “The biggest thing is their sense of duty to their community and their family. So that can be a burden. They think, ‘I can’t fail, because I will let everybody down.’”
But most persist, and when a student does not, it is almost always for the same reason, he says. While Suffolk awards close to $130 million in financial aid to undergraduates, including first-gen students, gaps remain. “Too often, the thing that causes our students to not finish their education is that they can’t pay for it,” Peña says. “What holds our students back is almost always related to money.”
He says donors who fund scholarships don’t always realize just how much impact their gifts can have on the lives of these students. But it’s huge, he says, as is their gratitude.
Kelly says some Suffolk students are working nearly full time to pay for their education, and in some cases, to also support their families.
“The more that we can do financially for these students, the more that they can focus on making the most of their college experience,” she says.
It is, Kelly adds, a wise investment. “Every dollar that a donor gives us to support scholarships and financial aid is a dollar that is going to make a difference in the life of a person who is going to make a difference in their community and in the world.”
Closing the financial gaps
Photograph by John Gillooly
A Network of Support
The Center for Academic Access & Opportunity is a central hub for first-gen students. Run by an entirely first-gen staff, the center administers the federally funded TRIO programs Upward Bound, Veterans Upward Bound, and the McNair Scholars Program, which helps prepare first-gen students for graduate school.
The Division of Student Success runs the Connect the Dots program, which pairs first-gen students with staff or faculty mentors to help them navigate university life, and also offers workshops on financial literacy, academic planning, major/career exploration, time management, and other topics.
The Center for Learning & Academic Success offers free academic coaching and skills workshops and administers a team of 80 tutors, who cover material from more than 400 courses every semester.
The Center for Career Equity, Development & Success offers a six-week introductory program for first-year, first-gen students that provides guidance on career planning, résumé writing, networking, and other skills.
The Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion is a central resource for first-gen students, many of whom come from diverse backgrounds. It provides support and mentoring for Suffolk’s many affinity clubs and organizations, and administers the Diversity Peer Educators program, a student ambassadors program for campus DEI issues.
Law students started their own First Generation Law Student Association to help first-gen students better navigate the nuances of law school, and hosts regular meetings, guest speaker events, and its own podcast series.
Today, Suffolk provides a robust range of resources and support services for its first-gen college students, including:
FEATURES
| Fall 2022
Their Road to Success
With ‘$200 and a typewriter,’ brothers Michael and Larry Smith built an auto insurance empire—and a legacy of support for Suffolk and its students
To Be a Part of It
During an inspirational trip to New York, Suffolk accounting students learn they can rise to the top from someone who did exactly that: Stacy Mills, an electrician’s daughter and first-gen college student who’s now global controller for a Fortune 200 company
First Generation Voices
They span decades, yet these first-gen grads and students share a determination to get ahead—and to give back
