UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Milan Dukes, a third-year student majoring in psychology and double minoring in sport studies and media studies, is dedicated to improving the college experience for her peers at Penn State. As a first-generation student herself, Dukes is helping to build on the University’s strong foundation of support, further enriching the resources and programs available to first-generation students.

Dukes said her experience being a first-generation student hasn’t been the most traditional compared to other first-generation students because her older sister also pursued higher education and was able to give her advice.

“I have an older sister who went to college before me,” said Dukes, a Philadelphia native. “I have had the experience of being on a college campus, and she has told me what it's like to be in a huge lecture hall and what it means to be a college student. I didn’t go in totally blind, which I am grateful for.”

As her sister went to a different university, Dukes created her own college experience at Penn State. She admitted that being on campus her first year was overwhelming at first, but her extroverted personality and having gone to a bigger high school has helped her navigate a large campus like Penn State University Park.

“It’s been really exciting because every year is something new, but I’d say that feeling of not knowing exactly what you’re doing never really goes away. However, it gets easier with time,” Dukes said.

As a first-generation student, Dukes received support very early on in her college career from the Roz and Gene Chaiken Center for Student Success in the College of the Liberal Arts. She got involved with the college’s First-Generation Committee her first year at Penn State, which is something she is grateful for. She also serves as the vice president of involvement for First-Gen Advocates, a student organization in the University’s Chaiken Center for Student Success that supports and mentors undergraduate first-generation students.

“Yes, I’m a first-gen student, but I also help to advocate for them now,” Dukes said. “I feel like I’ve learned so much more about what our college, as well as what the University, has to offer for first-gen students.”

Dukes got involved with the Liberal Arts First-Generation Committee — a committee of students, faculty and staff that provides support and community to the first-generation population in the College of the Liberal Arts — because her sister helped her realize the importance of being a first-generation student and how different her college experience would be from those whose parents have completed a baccalaureate degree. She wanted to help represent the population of first-generation students.

“When asked why I do this type of work or why I’m passionate about it, I like to say that it’s because I always believe that I should leave whatever environment I’m in better than how I found it,” Dukes said.

Through the Liberal Arts First-Generation Committee, Dukes is helping to solicit first-generation stories for the college and plan events in anticipation of the national First-Generation College Celebration, which is held on and around Nov. 8 each year. First-generation students in the College of the Liberal Arts can stop by the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center for Student Success in 139 Sparks Building during the week of Oct. 28 to pick up a first-gen button and to learn more about upcoming first-generation events.

Additionally, the Liberal Arts First-Generation Committee will host a sip and paint event from 5–6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30 for first-generation Liberal Arts students to paint while enjoying apple cider and fall snacks in the Liberal Arts Chaiken Center for Student Success in 139 Sparks Building.

Being involved on campus has helped Dukes learn about out-of-classroom opportunities. Dukes has held internships at Comcast and Delaware Valley Community Health.

This past summer, she was selected by the Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) program to conduct research in Groningen, Netherlands. The PIRE program, which is housed in the Center for Language Science in the College of the Liberal Arts, allows students who have an interest in linguistics research to travel to a country for six to eight weeks to conduct research. All research-related expenses are covered by the grant, including airfare, lodging, meals and summer tuition and fees.

Dukes traveled to the Netherlands for the second half of her research project investigating age, language production and bilingualism. This was her first time in Europe, and it provided her with an opportunity to get out of her comfort zone and experience a different culture while doing international research.

“Definitely the experience of a lifetime,” Dukes said. “Doing a research project in the Netherlands, I really got to interact with the people, and they were extremely nice. I'm really glad that I took the opportunity because I was afraid at first.”

On campus, Dukes has conducted research in the Language and Aging Lab in the Department of Psychology and Center for Language Science in the College of the Liberal Arts for about a year. She said it has been a beneficial opportunity to determine her interests in the field.

“This has been a very eye-opening experience,” Dukes said. “Beforehand, I don’t think I could’ve truly understood what it’s like to collect data and do real research.”

Dukes said that doing research is more challenging than what she thought due to the process of peer reviews, writing papers and obtaining quality research and data.

“Even the part of trying to get participants in the lab is difficult,” Dukes said.

However, these experiences have helped her shape the path she wants to take in her future career.

“I would be interested in doing research on a short-term basis, but I don’t think it’s something that I want to make a career out of,” she said. “I’m definitely partial to the clinical side of psychology. I want to use it in application — therapizing people and helping communities — so it taught me a lot about that and my interest in psychology.”

Dukes encourages undergraduates to try research because it can assist students in deciding what direction to go in their future careers. She said it can help students explore interests in their particular field.

“There are just so many possibilities and career paths for psychology students, but I really think that getting involved with a research lab that you think could be interesting is a great way to really dip your toe into what you think you might want in your future. Best case scenario you find your niche —you find that passion that you thought you found in just general psychology. And if not, as my mom has told me, ‘At least you can say you tried.’”

Dukes said that research can also help students academically. Specifically, it can help students understand research terms and statistical analyses in their textbooks.

After college, Dukes wants to get her master’s degree in counseling psychology and get licensed to become a therapist. She’s interested in working in different areas, such as government, law and sports, as well as community outreach projects.

“I have a lot of interests in a lot of different places,” Dukes said. “I never wanted my career to be stationary. I really like the idea that I get to bounce around wherever I want to go.”

As Dukes continues her journey through college, she said, she wants to keep supporting first-generation students and building the first-generation community at Penn State.