The First Generation Nebraska Advisory Board is hosting a professional development opportunity for faculty and staff. The topic of the conversation is “Crossing Borderlands” because first generation students are constantly crossing academic and personal borderlands: from high school to college; from the hallway to the classroom; from being a student to graduate/professional, etc.

Despite approximately 1 in 3 University of Nebraska-Lincoln scholars identifying as first in their families to attend a four year college or university, many faculty and staff are still not versed in the relevant experiences of first generation students, especially if they were themselves were not first generation. For those faculty and staff who identify as first generation, they may not see their experiences as anything other than normal. This contributes to missed opportunities to create meaningful connections in the classroom and beyond.

In addition to discussion, a student panel will discuss their experiences in order to provide insight to how faculty and staff can better understand support first generation students at UNL.