LEAF Lens: What it means to help a first-generation student during the Pandemic.

Navigating the college system as a first-generation student is already difficult. Navigating it during a global pandemic can seem impossible. The road to graduation is littered with complicated processes, limited access to resources, and unclear, often conflicting, guidance. 

But what does it mean to help a first-generation student during this time? 

Although this global pandemic created a shared experience amongst college students during this time - uncertainty, first-generation college students' realities are often different from their continuing-generation peers. Even more so for first-generation Latinx students. These students are more likely to need to work a part-time or even full-time job, to support themselves or their families. In addition, they are more likely to have technology-access issues, experience food and housing insecurity, and even more likely to experience a decline in their mental health due to the pandemic. 

If the experience of first-generation students is different in a pre-pandemic world, the unequal experience during the pandemic should come as no surprise. 

The LEAF Center for College Success supports over 150 students during the pandemic, mainly first-generation Latinx students.  Here are some insights we’ve gained during the process: 

Mental Health: Students are burnt out. They are having a hard time focusing due to class rigor, virtual school, changing guidance (in and out of the classroom), outside responsibilities (financial or familial), stress, or, the most likely answer, a mix of them all. Studies support what we all feel: the pandemic is taking a toll on our mental health. The realities of COVID only exacerbate the pre-pandemic stress that this demographic of students was already experiencing. At the end of 2021, LEAF Mentors reported nearly half of their scholars were utilizing their mentors as an outlet to vent their frustrations. Following this, LEAF has established a partnership with Uplift Family Services to ensure multiple resources for mental health care get to our students and mentors. Supporting first-generation students during this time must include a thoughtful approach to their mental wellness. 

Emergency Support: Since opening an Emergency Funding application to our cohort in September 2021, LEAF has received applications for additional emergency funding from about a third of our students and distributed over $16,000 in funding directly to those students. Of the applications received, nearly 90% were from first-generation students, citing anywhere from helping their family pay rent, paying for books & homework portals, purchasing or replacing computers, or even just paying for groceries. First-generation students experience these hardships at a higher rate than their continuing-generation peers, hardships that undoubtedly impact their ability to perform in the classroom. If our goal is to keep these vulnerable students in school, we must support them financially through the volatility of their lives, both in and out of the classroom. 

Holistic Support: Supporting first-generation scholars is often to play the role of a case manager, one that can help students navigate a plethora of ongoing issues that, although they may appear separate, intertwine to have a significant effect on not only the students’ ability to perform in school but also to remain enrolled. When surveying students who failed at least one course during the Fall 2021 semester, LEAF found students citing a variety of reasons: necessity to work long hours, emotional stress, physical health, online course fatigue, among other challenges.

A holistic approach to supporting first-generation students is essential to supporting students during this complex time.