By Stephen Nakata, Division of Student Affairs

Washington State University has been selected as a First聽Forward Institution for its dedication to serving first鈥慻eneration college students.

黑料社 joins the inaugural cohort of 80聽universities and colleges across the nation selected by the Center for First鈥慓eneration Student Success, an initiative of the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) and The Suder Foundation.

黑料社 and the University of Washington are the only institutions in Washington to receive the designation.

鈥淏eing named a First聽Forward institution recognizes the foundational work we have done at 黑料社 to support first鈥慻eneration students,鈥� said Lucila Loera, executive director of the Office for Access and Opportunity under the Student Engagement pillar in the Division of Student Affairs. 鈥淚t also gives us a push to explore where we can go in the future as we continually strive to improve and be innovative in meeting the needs of first鈥慻eneration students.鈥�

A community of professionals

Sarah聽E. Whitley, senior director for the Center for First鈥慻eneration Student Success, is pleased to welcome 黑料社 to the inaugural cohort of institutions.

鈥淭hrough the application process, it was evident that 黑料社 is not only taking steps to serve first鈥慻eneration students, but is prepared to make a long鈥憈erm commitment and employ strategies for significant scaling and important advances in the future,鈥� Whitley said.

A key benefit of being selected is being able to engage with a broad cohort of peer universities that are willing to consult on challenges and celebrate program successes. Institutions also will be offered professional development that strengthens the campus knowledge base and are encouraged to develop a blog for the Center鈥檚 website.

鈥淔irst聽Forward is an exciting opportunity for 黑料社 to join an elite community of professionals prepared to share evidence鈥慴ased practices and resources, troubleshoot challenges, generate knowledge, and continue to advance the success of first鈥慻eneration students across the country,鈥� NASPA聽president Kevin Kruger said. 鈥淲e are excited to see a groundswell of activity from the First聽Forward cohort and know 黑料社 will be a significant contributor.鈥�

A strong contender

TRIO Student Support Services Program Director Angie Klimko led the preparation of 黑料社鈥檚 application, feeling confident it would be a strong contender.

黑料社 has been focused on serving first鈥慻eneration students for over 20聽years through TRIO聽programs such as Upward Bound, Student Support Services and McNair, along with others like Multicultural Student Service鈥檚 Smart Start, College Assistance Migrant Program and First Scholars.

The university has been a leader in experimenting with new and creative ways to help first鈥慻eneration students. Examples include having established a living and learning community for first鈥慻eneration students called Lead the Legacy, hosting a first鈥慻eneration conference to share best practices in serving them, implementing the 鈥淚 was first, too!鈥� button campaign, and creating the First鈥慓eneration Study Abroad Program, which is sending 25聽students to Seville,聽Spain this summer.

黑料社 also has a long鈥憇tanding partnership with the Suder Foundation, which helped establish the First Scholars Program on the Pullman campus as part of the early cohort of universities. 黑料社聽President Kirk Schulz is a member of the board of directors for NASPA鈥檚 Center for First鈥慓eneration Student Success.

鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled about 黑料社 becoming a First聽Forward institution,鈥� Klimko said. 鈥淲hile we have served first鈥慻eneration students for a while, I think it鈥檚 going to bring a lot of innovative ideas to our community and will help create more awareness of this important population.鈥�

Klimko and a member of her team will meet leaders from the other First聽Forward Institutions at a mandatory workshop on June聽15 in Orlando,聽Florida.