FIRST GENERATION

Neither of Geena Matthews’ parents attended college, but Matthews learned what hard work looked like growing up with her grandparents, who jumped into the military and workforce straight after high school. Matthews joined Campbell’s program for first-generation college students as a freshman, figuring that while she may not really need it, having a mentor couldn’t hurt and might help.

Matthews’ mentorship was one of many in the First Generation Camels program designed to provide students like her with meaningful relationships with faculty, staff and alumni who were also first-generation college students. Now in its fourth year, the program has led to the formation of a student-led First Generation Club and has fostered more than 100 mentoring relationships that guide students through college life and beyond.

The students who took part in the program when it launched four years ago are now seniors. They talked about how the program helped them transition from inexperienced freshmen to upperclassmen in the Fall 2021 edition of Campbell Magazine