West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech) has been awarded $1,000 through the First-Generation College Celebration Grant. It is the only institution in West Virginia and one of only 65 colleges and universities in the country to receive it.
The funds will help cover the cost of Tech’s First-Generation Celebration on campus, which will be held on Thursday, November 7 at 1:00 p.m. in the Learning Resource Center. The funds will also help launch a book club open to all faculty, staff and students. The book club will be reading “First Gen: A Memoir” by Alejandra Campoverdi, a first-generation college student who overcame barriers to obtain a bachelor’s and master’s degree to rise to a position as a White House aide to President Obama. Everyone who joins the book club will receive a copy of the book for free.
There will be a guest speaker at the event talking about their own first-generation college experience, as well as light refreshments and giveaways.
To further the celebration, Tech is partnering with Pendelton Community Bank (PCB) to host a home-buying question and answer session on Wednesday, November 6 open to all faculty, staff, students and the community.
“Through the book club, we want to encourage faculty and staff to connect with students to share their story,” says Scott Robertson, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of TRIO Student Support Services.
Robertson says data from last fall’s incoming class indicated approximately 17% of Tech’s students are first-generation college students, and 26% come from lower-income backgrounds.
“We want those students to know that Tech is a destination for first-generation students,” Robertson says. “We want to celebrate first-generation students and reiterate the challenges they face while they’re in college. Every year it’s a new level of need.”
The question-and-answer session will be in Life Sciences Building, Room 200 at 1:00 p.m. on November 6. The first-generation celebration will be in the Robert C. Byrd Learning Resource Center at 1:00 p.m. on November 7.