November

Introducing the “I’m First Gen Too” campaign

The University will showcase faculty and staff who were first-gen graduates throughout the academic year.

By Matt Watson

November 16, 2017

Nearly one in three Roadrunners – 32.8 percent – are first-generation students. These students embody the run your own road mantra, pursuing education further than their parents and transforming their lives at MSU Denver.

The University has services and systems in place to support first-gen students, but we’d like to show our support even more by highlighting MSU Denver faculty and staff who were first-gen graduates themselves. We’re planning a campaign called “I’m First Gen Too” which will include T-shirts and buttons for the appropriate faculty and staff and show our first-gen students that there are others on campus with that shared experience.

Throughout the academic year we’ll showcase faculty and staff who were first-gen graduates in stories and videos; encourage social media conversation with the hashtag #ImFirstGenToo; and create a webpage to host content and resources for students.

We’ll launch the campaign to students at the beginning of the spring semester, asking all faculty and staff who were first-gen graduates to wear their t-shirts or buttons on the first day of classes (Tuesday, Jan. 16).

In order to better understand the makeup of MSU Denver faculty and staff, we will be asking about the first-generation status of all employees in an email survey later today. The Center for Equity and Student Achievement is also developing a first-gen student program with mentoring opportunities, so you’ll have a chance to express interest in being a mentor or being featured in campaign stories or videos in the survey.