When psychologist Neesha Patel, PhD, first joined the staff of UCSF Student Health Services in August 2008, she began exploring the types of support services available to students.
“I’m particularly interested in finding ways to meet the needs of diverse students, and I was looking for services for first-generation graduate and professional school students, says Patel. “I went to the UCSF website and typed in ‘first generation and college,’ and I didn’t really find anything.”
Seeing a need that could be met, Patel decided to organize a discussion and support group for students who are the first generation in their family to attend graduate or professional school.
One key idea behind the group is to provide a safe space for participants to discuss the unique challenges faced by first-generation college students. The informal structure of the group offers a place where students can make connections with others, feel less isolated, and learn about better ways to navigate through graduate and professional school.
Socioeconomic Stressors
While many first-generation college students come from underrepresented ethnic groups, the issue of class is also salient since some first-generation graduate or professional students are white.
“Class plays a significant role in the experiences of these students,” says Patel. “When you are the first in your family to go to graduate or professional school, it is likely that you are shifting from one class level to another, since education and income level are correlated.”
According to Patel, first-generation college students are faced with stressors that can include figuring out the unspoken cultural norms of academia, knowing the appropriate amount of time to linger after finishing a rotation and figuring out what “professional networking” means.
The extent to which students’ families and home communities can relate to their experience can also be a form of stress. Families may be proud of the students for going to graduate or professional school, but may not understand all of the demands and pressures the students face while there. This is often due to the lack of exposure by family members to graduate school and academic culture.
“In many ways, first-generation graduate and professional students are faced with new challenges compared to the undergrad years because there is more professional and academic socialization that takes place at this level,” says Patel.
Experts looking at academic retention rates say that students thrive if they are supported and feel as if they matter. In fact, dropout rates are higher among students who are the first in their families to go to college.
Support from Peers
According to sociologists, networks of relationships can aid students in managing an otherwise unfamiliar environment by providing them with valuable information, guidance and emotional support. Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu refers to this as “cultural capital” and sociologist Ricardo Stanton-Salazar describes it as “social capital.” These networks allow students access to resources in the system, which in turn lead to a better chance at success in graduate or professional school.
“I grew up in Detroit in the late 1960s at a time when you didn’t see many women going to graduate school,” says Diana Farmer, MD, surgeon in chief of UCSF Children’s Hospital. “My mom was a flight attendant and she often couldn’t relate to the academic journey I was on. Peers were integral to my support network.”
The discussion group at UCSF Student Health Services hopes to provide a space to reflect on issues that often can’t be discussed openly in classroom situations or with families. This may include feeling like an outsider at UCSF or trying to find ways for students to better explain the graduate school culture to their families. The discussion group offers a place for peers to share stories and lend support.
Plans for future group discussions include inviting UCSF faculty, postdocs and residents who are the first in their families to go to graduate or professional school to share their stories and strategies for navigating the graduate and professional school system.
The UCSF discussion group is one of the services offered by Student Health Services, which is housed in the office of Student Academic Affairs.
“As the first in my family and one of the few from my hometown to attend a university, I know how challenging it can be to successfully make such a transition,” says Joseph Castro, PhD, associate vice chancellor, Student Academic Affairs. “Dr. Patel’s discussion group is an exciting new initiative that provides valuable support for first-generation college students at UCSF and is consistent with the strategic plan’s priorities to nurture diversity as we prepare the future leaders of the health professions.”
The group, which started meeting earlier this year, holds regular meetings on campus. Dates for fall quarter meetings include Thursday, Oct. 30, and Thursday, Nov. 20, from 5 to 6 p.m. on the Parnassus campus in the library’s first-floor conference room. Students are asked to RSVP to
[email protected] to help plan for the dinner that is provided.
