If there is one thing we know, It is that stress and college go hand and hand, even more so for a First-Generation college student. Everyone that has had the opportunity to attend a higher education institution knows the importance of finding your inner peace, or as we like to call It,"finding your zen". However, the balance between academic, social, and wellness is difficult to juggle for an incoming freshman, especially for the students who are the first in their family to attend college.
We want to help First-Generation students balance daily life while also finding
(and keeping) their inner zen.
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We created a leadership retreat series, called "First-Gen, Now & Again", that intertwines leadership knowledge, development, training, observation, engagement, and metacognition over the course of an entire academic year. The multiple retreat and virtual session format is designed to insure that the First-Generation students in the program are using the knowledge, experience, and skills learned with us, during their experiences in college. The program explores the reality of "now", being a First-Generation student, and what that entails coming into college, while providing knowledge for continuous leadership growth "again", and again to foster success throughout their personal, collegiate, and professional lives.
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Welcome!
We are First-Gen Zen.
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Our Why
First- Generation students, by definition, are students who are first in their family to pursue secondary education. Research shows that First-Gen students make up about a quarter of traditional college students. These students present unique needs and strengths within a higher education institution. Along with that, these students have a difficult time adjusting to college, more than students who come from college-educated families.
Even though there are programs that support these students, there is not enough resources to support all of them. Understanding this and the needs of First-Gen students is how First-Gen Zen was created. We strive to provide a space where First-Gen students can learn leadership skills along with providing resources needed for success in college.
Gibbons, M. M., Rhinehart, A., & Hardin, E. (2019). How First-Generation College Students Adjust to College. Journal of College Student Retention: Research,Theory & Practice, 20(4), 488–510.
Our Style
Our retreat series, First-Gen, Now & Again, was designed as an integrative program. Integrative Programs emphasis "developing undergraduate students' integrative learning through multiple forms of engaged educational experiences" (Guthrie & Jenkins, 2018, p.90). With a retreat style program, multiple forms of experiences are able to happen due to the time available both during each event and over the course of the series. Within our retreat series, we incorporate opportunities for students to connect with other students, reflect on personal leader development, and create positive change using knowledge and skills learned throughout the series. Integrative leadership programs " should weave together various experiences, content areas, and learning opportunities to create holistic learning experiences"(Guthrie & Jenkins, 2018, p.91). Our retreat encompasses those elements by unifying different elements of leadership to further deeper learning. It also allows First Generation students to develop throughout the year by incorporating the learning, done within the retreat, into their everyday life.
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Our website style was designed to be memorable. We wanted to stand out from the rest and create a virtual space that radiates a fresh, new design that students would want to keep coming back to.
Remember us, the colorful touch.
Guthrie, K. L., & Jenkins, D. M. (2018). The Role of Leadership Educators : Transforming Learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.