What is GEN1?

written by GEN1 [Aerin Malana & Maggie Lai]

3 min readSep 8, 2020

GEN1 is a student organization that aims to celebrate and support the Allen School’s vibrant and diverse first-generation community by providing resources and a community to ensure academic, professional, and personal success! Started by first-gen students for first-gen students.

Events

Quarterly Community Socials

Looking for a way to build community, meet new faces, and celebrate and learn about the first-gen community at the Allen School? Come through to GEN1’s Quarterly Community Socials! At the start of every new quarter, join GEN1 officers, members, and prospective members in a community social with games, ice-breaker activities, and information on GEN1 and our efforts to celebrate and support our first-gen community.

Get to know other first-gen community-members and allies and join us at the beginning of every quarter :)

Educational Events

Your experience in higher education is not only an academic experience — as first generation college students, we know that there are barriers and expectations that are unique to the first-gen experience.

To equip all our members for success, we plan to hold many types of educational events! Topics include financial aid, financial literacy, expectation management. Be part of our events to learn more!

National First-Generation Day

To celebrate our first-gen community, GEN1 takes part in a nationwide celebration as hosted by the Council for Opportunity in Education and the Center for First-Generation Student Success.

“Join us in advancing an asset-based national narrative on first-generation student experiences and outcomes. Use November 8 to encourage campus communities to better understand the systemic barriers plaguing higher education and the support necessary for this important and resilient population to continue thriving.” — Center for First-Generation Student Success

Social Media Initiatives

Humans of GEN1

There are so many wonderful Allen School students and faculty that identify as first-gen, but we don’t often know who they are. The “Humans of GEN1” interview series highlights awesome first-gen individuals in our community and their story.

Know a faculty member or student that’s first-gen? Nominate them to be on “Humans of GEN1” through this form!

Resource Spotlights

GEN1’s “Resource Spotlights” social media series aims to highlight and share information that’s relevant to GEN1 members, first-generation students, and our broader Allen School community.

Know of a great resource that we should share? Let us know about it here!

How Do I Join?

Interested in becoming a GEN1 member? Fill out our Membership Application Form (log-in with your CSE NetID), follow us on social media, and come through to all of our amazing events!

GEN1 Membership Form: tinyurl.com/GEN1Membership