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Guest Blogger: Miri Skolnik, Assistant Dean, Office of Undergraduate Advising and Academic Programming

MIT sophomore Paola Ruiz is majoring in materials science and engineering
MIT sophomore Paola Ruiz is majoring in materials science and engineering

Sophomore Paola Ruiz is a long way from home. Growing up in a low-income neighborhood of Los Angeles, Ruiz was not just the first one in her family to go to college, she was also the first to graduate from high school. Being the valedictorian in a graduating high school class of almost 2,000 students, Ruiz was clearly intellectually worthy of a university like MIT. But her family had never heard of it before. In fact, when she first told her Dad that she was accepted, his first question was, “What is MIT?” After some explanation, his next question was, “Where is Massachusetts?”

Like Ruiz, many first-generation students are pioneers in their family, navigating the uncharted territory of college. For these resourceful students, breaking new ground in the world of higher education offers the key to upward mobility, not just for themselves, but for their entire families. As Ruiz states, “having a college degree, particularly from MIT, will allow me to help my family, and ensure that we have more choices and better opportunities and an easier life than what my parents had.”

First generation students in the peer mentorship program, holding a poster of MIT’s president, L.Rafael Reif, who is also the first gen in his family to graduate from college.
First generation students in the peer mentorship program, holding a poster of MIT’s president, L.Rafael Reif, who is also the first gen in his family to graduate from college.

First-generation students, defined as those who will be the first generation in their families to graduate from a four-year university, comprise about 15 percent of MIT’s student body.

Over the past two years, a new program called the First Generation Project, has provided these students with a sense of community, a chance to network, to share advice, and to raise awareness about the common experiences of first generation students. Among those common experiences are managing the two worlds of home and university, worlds that may present competing demands and senses of responsibility. Another common challenge is deciding about majors and careers when there is no precedent for such decisions in their families. Learn more about the First Generation Project.

Are you a first generation alumnus/a who is willing to share your experiences and professional path? If so, please email Miri Skolnik—she'd like to talk to you.

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