~ The original story was posted on the Winthrop University website. 

The Center for First-generation Student Success, an initiative of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education – and The Suder Foundation, has designated Winthrop University as one of its 2021-22 First-gen Forward Institutions. 

The First-gen Forward designation recognizes institutions of higher education that have demonstrated a commitment to improving experiences and advancing outcomes of first-generation college students. Selected institutions receive professional development, community-building experiences and a first look at the center’s research and resources.

“As a first-generation college graduate, I am keenly aware of the challenges associated with navigating higher education: the use of unfamiliar terminology, the assumption that one knows how to ‘do’ college, or that one even knows what questions to ask,” said Shelia Burkhalter, Winthrop’s vice president for student affairs.

“Student Affairs is excited to work with TRiO Achievers Program, the McNair Scholars program and the rest of the Winthrop community to think more strategically about serving first-gen students at Winthrop,” she continued. “While we look forward to advancing the success of first-generation students, the student success literature confirms that efforts to advance first-generation students will ultimately benefit all students on campus.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 33 percent of higher education students today are the first in their family to attend college. Winthrop mirrors the national statistic, Burkhalter said, noting that approximately one-third of Winthrop students identify as first-generation, when defined as a student whose parent(s)/legal guardian(s) have not completed a bachelor’s degree.

That population includes Imani Belton, an integrated marketing communication major and chair of the Council of Student Leaders (CSL), Winthrop’s student government body.

“Throughout my time at Winthrop, I’ve been able to connect with first-generation faculty, staff and students, which has made my collegiate experience 10 times better because of bonds we’ve created,” she said. “Being a first-generation student is a point of pride for me and other Winthrop students who have benefitted from learning on a campus that provides outreach and services for students like us.”

Winthrop has already made significant strides in first-generation student support and outcomes:

*The TRiO Achievers Program has supported first-generation students for more than 15 years, providing students with a variety of services such as personalized academic counseling, tutoring, individualized needs assessment and more.

*Since 2009, the McNair Scholars program has prepared first-generation, low-income and underrepresented undergraduates to be successful in Ph.D. programs through research, extensive support, and transformational opportunities throughout the junior and senior years.

*Within the Division of Student Affairs, the Office of the Vice President as well as the Diversity and Student Engagement office facilitate events to celebrate first-generation students and graduates (for example, among the faculty and staff) and to raise awareness regarding issues impacting first-generation student success.

“Through the application process, it was evident that Winthrop University is not only taking steps to serve first-generation students but is prepared to make a long-term commitment and employ strategies for significant scaling and important advances in the future,” said Sarah E. Whitley, senior director of the Center for First-generation Student Success.

To learn more about first-generation efforts at Winthrop, contact Burkhalter at burkhalters@winthrop.edu or Kinyata Adams Brown at brownka@winthrop.edu.

About NASPA and the Center for First-gen Student Success

NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education—is the leading association for the advancement, health and sustainability of the student affairs profession. Its work provides high-quality professional development, advocacy and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries and eight U.S. territories. The Center for First-generation Student Success is the premier source of evidence-based practices, professional development and knowledge creation for the higher education community to advance the success of first-generation students. Visit www.naspa.org and www.firstgen.naspa.org for more information.

Three fellowships awarded in the same year to Winthrop students and alumni is an exceptional feat in what is a very competitive application process, said Karen Kedrowski, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. For 2017, the NSF received more than 13,000 applications for this prestigious program and made 2,000 award selections.

Jordan Lewis, a biology and environmental science major and Eagle STEM Scholar and Orangeburg Wilkinson High School graduate from Orangeburg, South Carolina, will receive a fellowship in the area of disease ecology. The May graduate plans to study at Emory University with the goal of working for a federal agency such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A member of Winthrop’s Honors Program, Lewis is a researcher through the McNair Scholars program, a peer mentor, a tutor in the Academic Success Center, a Winthrop Ambassador and member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. He conducted an award-winning study on the effects of coastal engineering projects on bacterial communities at Folly Beach, South Carolina, as a McNair Scholar.

It is especially challenging for an undergraduate to be selected for this prestigious fellowship, said Dwight Dimaculangan, chair of the Department of Biology. “This is quite an accomplishment,” he said.

Chemistry graduate Tyler Couch `13, a Fort Mill High School graduate who is now a graduate student at the University of Rochester, was selected for a biochemistry fellowship. He said he emphasized his research and leadership experiences while at Winthrop in his application statements. Reviewers told him this was a huge strength to his application.

Couch is a graduate of Winthrop’s American Chemical Society accredited degree program and only the third chemistry alum to be selected for a GRFP fellowship, according to Pat Owens, chair of Winthrop’s Department of Chemistry, Physics & Geology. Couch would like to continue to conduct basic science research in an academic setting once he completes his degree at the University of Rochester.

The third NSF recipient, Emili Moan `15, has a math degree from Winthrop and is earning a Ph.D. in statistics from N.C. State. “I hope to either teach or work in an industry setting after I get my degree,” she said, adding that there are lots of options for statistics graduates.

Moan, who graduated from Hartsville High School in Hartsville, South Carolina, credits her success to the research opportunities available at Winthrop and a great group of people in the math department and in the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards who encouraged her. “I’m the second math graduate from Winthrop to get the NSF fellowship in the past few years, and I think that that says a lot about what a great department we have,” Moan added.

For more information, contact Judy Longshaw, news and media services manager, at 803/323-2404 or longshawj@winthrop.edu.