SCC Observing First Generation College Celebration Monday

South Central College Faribault, North Mankato has announced its participation in National First-Generation College Day Monday, November 8, 2021.

Most of their News Release on the celebration is included below.

Monday, November 8 is the National First-Generation College Celebration and South Central College (SCC) is joining with other colleges across the country in observing the day by recognizing SCC’s many first-generation students and inviting them to share their stories.

SCC Students will stop by a special table in the atrium of the college’s Faribault Campus and near the bookstore on the North Mankato Campus on November 8 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.  There they will enjoy candy, games and prizes, as well as submit their stories and photos, which will be placed on a display board as inspiration to other current and future first-generation students.

According to SCC’s most recent student demographic data for the 2019-20 academic year, 55% of SCC’s students were classified as first-generation by the federal definition (parents never graduated from college) and 21% were classified as first-generation by the state definition (parents never attended college).  With roughly one in five students being the first generation in their family to attend college, SCC is committed to providing services that meet their specific needs. These services include personalized support when enrolling in the college and applying for financial aid and scholarships, advising and counseling, tutoring, and more.

“These services are helpful for all of our students, but particularly impactful for the first-generation students in our SCC community,” said Judy Endres, SCC associate vice president of student affairs.  “For first-generation students, college is unchartered territory and it’s our job to help them navigate this new world so that they can be successful.”

According to first-generation student Fatima Mohamed the support has made a significant impact. “Being at South Central helped me with overcoming obstacles. The instructors, advisors, everybody were just so helpful in navigating everything,” said Mohamed.

Student Mario Garcia spoke about the impact he hopes to make as a first-generation student, “Nelson Mandela said, ‘education is the most powerful which you can use to change the word’ and I resonate with these words so much,” said SCC student Mario Garcia. “I believe education can change the world, and I want to be able to change it for the better. I want to be the change that I want to see. I want to be the beacon of hope for others. Even though it can be hard with not having anyone’s footsteps to follow in, you can lead the way for future generations.”

SCC also has a special program funded by the U.S. Department of Education called TRIO, which provides specialized support services to approximately 140 underrepresented students annually, two-thirds of whom are first-generation.  “If it wasn’t for TRIO, I probably would not have done as good in school,” said Mohamed.

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