UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — All members of the Penn State community are invited to present at the third annual First-Gen Student Support Summit on Wednesday, April 3.
This one-day conference, sponsored by the Student Success Center, will be an opportunity to recognize, learn and build community surrounding the first-generation student experience at Penn State. Last year’s event brought together more than 400 Penn State faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, graduate students and undergraduate students from 20 residential Penn State campuses and Penn State World Campus.
This year’s summit will focus on the first-gen experience and intersectionality, how intersecting social and political identities relate to systems of oppression and discrimination. Presentations on this topic should help participants enhance their support for first-generation students who possess a diverse range of identities and experiences (veteran, adult learners, rural/urban, racially minoritized, and marginalized due to gender, sexuality or ability). Members of the Penn State community are invited to submit a presentation proposal on this form by the Feb. 23 deadline. More details, such as accepted presentation lengths and suggested topics, are provided on the form itself. All presentations will be delivered virtually via Zoom and streamed through the summit platform, Whova.
The summit will include virtual sessions on Whova, along with opportunities for in-person networking. A registration link (along with more information on the summit) will be posted to Penn State News and available on the Student Success Center website in the coming weeks.
Penn State defines “first-generation student” as any student whose immediate parents or legal guardians have not completed a baccalaureate degree. Approximately 1 in 4 undergraduate students at Penn State identify as first-generation, according to demographic data from the Office of Planning, Assessment and Institutional Research.
Questions about the summit can be directed to Denise Poole at dmp6115@psu.edu.
The Student Success Center is part of Penn State Undergraduate Education.