For the three in five of The Chicago School’s students who identify as first-generation students (i.e., undergraduate students whose parents or legal guardians have not completed a bachelor’s degree in the United States, or graduate students whose parents or legal guardians have not completed a master’s or higher degree in the United States), the Student Success team’s new first-gen mentorship program has proven especially valuable.
“As our first-gen students blaze a new trail within their families and communities, it’s critical for us to celebrate and elevate the unique experiences of these students through specialized resources and programs,” says Jennifer Stripe Portillo, dean for Student Success and Title IX coordinator.
Through this mentorship program, which the Student Success team has grown out of the first-gen programming launched in 2021 with the support of internal university grant funding, The Chicago School’s Student Success team matches first-gen students with faculty, staff, student, and alumni mentors, most of whom also identify as first-gen.
Says Daniel Esquivel, senior director of Student Success and deputy Title IX coordinator, “With our large population of first-gen students and the fact that this population is only growing within higher education, we were confident in the importance of this program, but we still wanted to set careful expectations. When we launched this program, I expected we’d have maybe eight or 10 mentor-mentee pairs, but today, we have 40.”
Esquivel adds, “We’re seeing major benefits of this program, with 100% of our mentees and student mentors persisting between the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters.”
Stripe Portillo adds, “This personalized program is a way to celebrate your first-gen identity with others. Just a few decades ago, first-gen identity was something to hide, but we want to change the conversation and help honor this unique lived experience.”
Taking a step back, this program offers a pathway for furthering The Chicago School’s mission of educating the next generation of change-makers. Esquivel says, “Our over 3,500 first-gen students are inherently change-makers. Our mentorship program makes sure that they feel like they belong and helps support them on the way to serving as community role models for the celebration of traditionally marginalized identities.”