Entering college as a first-generation student can be intimidating—to say the least. I’m often surrounded by people who are knowledgeable about everything college-related, whereas I know very little. As a first-generation student at Georgetown, I constantly feel like I need to catch up.
While being a part of other first-generation programs at Georgetown made my college experience easier, it wasn’t until I joined the First Fellows program that my overall experience improved.
The First Fellows program, which launched in fall 2024, is designed for first-generation college students in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), aiming to connect students with each other and resources on campus. First-generation students apply in the spring semester of their freshman year and, if selected, they begin the program in their sophomore year. In First Fellows, students receive academic guidance and are given financial support for summer internships and other academic opportunities.
First Fellows was born in 2024 out of a desire to bridge gaps in resources for first-generation students at Georgetown.
“The First Fellows program came about when our previous dean asked a whole bunch of us in the Dean’s office to think about what kinds of support, academic support, or academic needs first-gen students had that we weren’t meeting yet,” Javier Jiménez Westerman, an associate dean in the CAS, said. “Through that and asking students, and doing some research, we came up with the First Fellows program.”
The program had its first ‘signing day’—where students accepted to the program sign their contracts—on May 1, 2024. The program’s first cohort in Fall 2024 had 54 students in total. One year later, on the signing day for the second cohort of students, the cohort size increased to 62 freshmen.
Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes Two students sign at First Fellows’ signing day.Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes
As a first-gen student, sophomore year was a time where I saw all the support I had my freshman year gone, as other programs typically focus on those who are first years or graduating. However, through the encouraging nature of the First Fellows program, I became more confident in both myself and the decisions I have made.
“Oftentimes the sophomore year can also be a sense of struggle for students,” Nikki Harris, assistant director of first-generation initiatives within the CAS, said. “So [we’re] really trying to focus that sophomore year on building support as students navigate their academics as well as navigating different situations that they might not have faced their first year here at Georgetown.”
The program is funded by donations and receives support from campus partners.
“It’s also a program that’s funded philanthropically, so we collaborate with a lot of different campus partners to learn about the history of first-gen support at Georgetown. And I think that our campus partners really provide us with a lot of support and guidance as to how we can build first fellows for the students in the college,” Harris said.
Several students in the program reflected on their experience as first-generation students at Georgetown, with some of them pointing out that they didn’t have support prior to the First Fellows program.
“I think a lot of the stuff that I blame myself for was because I was a first-gen student. A lot of the problems, or the stress that I had academically, was because I just didn’t know how to navigate it, because I didn’t have anyone to give me tips,” Juliana Melara-Recinos (CAS ’27) said.
Other students, like Shania Martin (CAS ’27), mentioned how they had found support prior to First Fellows. Martin said she already found community through other programs like Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), a program serving first-generation low-income students, and the Community Scholars Program (CSP), a five-week pre-college program for first-generation students. However, community was something she couldn’t find in the classroom.
“I feel like I’ve had community, but outside. In classes, it’s hard to find community in those settings, because sometimes they’re in big auditorium settings, and you don’t really connect with people,” Martin said.
For students not given the opportunity to be part of other programs on campus, the First Fellows program gave them the community they never were able to find.
“Once I joined First Fellows, and kind of had a community that had similar experiences to me, I realized that my struggles were not unique to myself, and that a lot of us face the same struggles, especially when it comes to professional things like networking and job opportunities,” Alyvia Bailey (CAS ’26) said.
Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes Students gather and chat at First Fellows’ signing day.Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes
One of the program’s goals includes giving first-generation students the resources they need to pursue any career pathway they desire.
“This program is about teaching students how to be a scholar or how to be an artist, or how to really face the job market and how to make some critical academic decisions that we don’t have a solid one space where they can do that,” Westerman said. “We wanted to make sure that as many as possible first-gen students had that opportunity to do that.”
The most unique part of the program is the weekly one credit seminar course taught by Harris that first fellows take each semester. The classroom creates a space where students in the program can see each other on a regular basis and be in community with each other, something that many of us can’t do often.
“The biggest thing about being in the class is, one, being able to see these people. I have friends in this class who I don’t see regularly,” Emmanuel Assefa (CAS ’27) said. “Being able to have that set time to meet up with these people, even if it is for an educational conversation, is huge.”
Other than connecting with old friends, the program has also allowed me to connect with new people. I have been able to meet people who have had different life experiences from me, and hearing their stories has been a wonderful experience. I’ve also been able to meet more people within my majors, and connect by discussing our interests and what we want to do in the future.
In the seminar, we’ve also heard from guest speakers who spoke to us about how to get involved in research and introduced us to different resources on campus.
“Just being able to have a point of contact to discover the resources that exist around Georgetown is really helpful. Because prior to First Fellows, I honestly didn’t know about almost any of the resources that we had on campus. So I think First Fellows has been really helpful in that, in making those things more known to me, and through that, making Georgetown more accessible,” Bailey said.
However, the classroom isn’t just a space for academics. We do activities and take lessons focused on our values, mental health, and future careers. For example, one of the activities included mapping out our social networks, so that we could identify where we go for emotional support and take a close look at each of those relationships.
“I really enjoy the First Fellows class because I like that during the actual class periods, we get to just talk about things that aren’t super academically rigorous or anything like that,” Bailey said. “It honestly helps my mental health a lot. I feel like there’s a lot of things that we talk about in class that just aren’t things I ever slow down to think about, especially our support networks.”
I have found value in our conversations in the classroom, and believe that those discussions are important to have. Our classroom is where we can talk about things that may be hard to discuss with other people that can’t understand the challenges of being a first-generation student.
“Part of the course is just being in community with first-generation students every week. We get to have fun. We get to talk about the challenges that we face and the issues that we’re going through, and some of the hard choices that we’re making as first-gen students, as we’re navigating our majors and internships and all that stuff that can be hard to talk about with your fellow peers,” Harris said.
The classroom setting also allows students to slow down and tune into conversations they don’t usually have amidst the hustle and bustle of Georgetown life.
“I feel like we have very beneficial conversations in these classes that there aren’t spaces for elsewhere, and not even because people don’t identify them. They’re just not conversations we have regularly. It’s not something that people slow down and ask their friends. It’s not something that just comes up in conversation, and it can be awkward and weird sometimes, but it is conversations that are just so good to have,” Assefa said.
Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes Students laugh and catch up at signing day.Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes
The first-generation community in First Fellows doesn’t just include students—it applies to many of the staff involved too. Harris brings her own experiences into the classroom to support and guide students.
“I’m also a first-generation student from southwest Virginia, and so being a first-generation professor, I’ve seen it really as an opportunity to give back to other first-generation students. A lot of the issues that my students face are issues that I went through as an undergrad and graduate student,” Harris said.
Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes Harris talks to students at First Fellows signing day.Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes
Harris hopes to inspire students to be proud of their first-gen identity.
“In my role, I really try to bring my identity as a first-gen into the classroom so that my students can see that it’s okay to kind of be loud and proud about being first-gen in academia,” Harris said.
Westerman is also a first-generation college graduate, and his identity is what influenced him to be part of the First Fellows program.
“I’m a first-generation college graduate. I’m a first-generation PhD. I was brought up with the idea of paying it forward,” Westerman said.
Having first-generation mentors in the program has created an environment where I am more comfortable talking about the challenges I face. Though their specific experiences may have been different, they are better able to understand and help me through those challenges than professors or mentors without that background.
Because the program is funded by donations, its future remains uncertain. However, Westerman hopes that providing the best resources, listening to first fellows, and tweaking the program around what works (and what doesn’t) will allow First Fellows to expand to include more first-generation students in the future.
“The gift that was given to fund this program is specific and limited. So it’s not the kind of financial support that can guarantee the continued presence of the program in the College of Arts and Sciences. My hope is that it can grow to the point where every College of Arts and Science first-gen student can participate from now until forever,” Westerman said.
First Fellows is more than just a program—it’s a community where we can come together to connect with each other and to learn. But still, it’s been even more than that to me because with every lesson, every activity, and every guest speaker, this university gets just a little easier to navigate, despite my background.
68°F
News Commentary
One year in, the First Fellows program continues to give first-generation students community
By Imani Liburd
April 22, 2025
Entering college as a first-generation student can be intimidating—to say the least. I’m often surrounded by people who are knowledgeable about everything college-related, whereas I know very little. As a first-generation student at Georgetown, I constantly feel like I need to catch up.
While being a part of other first-generation programs at Georgetown made my college experience easier, it wasn’t until I joined the First Fellows program that my overall experience improved.
The First Fellows program, which launched in fall 2024, is designed for first-generation college students in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), aiming to connect students with each other and resources on campus. First-generation students apply in the spring semester of their freshman year and, if selected, they begin the program in their sophomore year. In First Fellows, students receive academic guidance and are given financial support for summer internships and other academic opportunities.
First Fellows was born in 2024 out of a desire to bridge gaps in resources for first-generation students at Georgetown.
“The First Fellows program came about when our previous dean asked a whole bunch of us in the Dean’s office to think about what kinds of support, academic support, or academic needs first-gen students had that we weren’t meeting yet,” Javier Jiménez Westerman, an associate dean in the CAS, said. “Through that and asking students, and doing some research, we came up with the First Fellows program.”
The program had its first ‘signing day’—where students accepted to the program sign their contracts—on May 1, 2024. The program’s first cohort in Fall 2024 had 54 students in total. One year later, on the signing day for the second cohort of students, the cohort size increased to 62 freshmen.
Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes Two students sign at First Fellows’ signing day.Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes
As a first-gen student, sophomore year was a time where I saw all the support I had my freshman year gone, as other programs typically focus on those who are first years or graduating. However, through the encouraging nature of the First Fellows program, I became more confident in both myself and the decisions I have made.
“Oftentimes the sophomore year can also be a sense of struggle for students,” Nikki Harris, assistant director of first-generation initiatives within the CAS, said. “So [we’re] really trying to focus that sophomore year on building support as students navigate their academics as well as navigating different situations that they might not have faced their first year here at Georgetown.”
The program is funded by donations and receives support from campus partners.
“It’s also a program that’s funded philanthropically, so we collaborate with a lot of different campus partners to learn about the history of first-gen support at Georgetown. And I think that our campus partners really provide us with a lot of support and guidance as to how we can build first fellows for the students in the college,” Harris said.
Several students in the program reflected on their experience as first-generation students at Georgetown, with some of them pointing out that they didn’t have support prior to the First Fellows program.
“I think a lot of the stuff that I blame myself for was because I was a first-gen student. A lot of the problems, or the stress that I had academically, was because I just didn’t know how to navigate it, because I didn’t have anyone to give me tips,” Juliana Melara-Recinos (CAS ’27) said.
Other students, like Shania Martin (CAS ’27), mentioned how they had found support prior to First Fellows. Martin said she already found community through other programs like Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), a program serving first-generation low-income students, and the Community Scholars Program (CSP), a five-week pre-college program for first-generation students. However, community was something she couldn’t find in the classroom.
“I feel like I’ve had community, but outside. In classes, it’s hard to find community in those settings, because sometimes they’re in big auditorium settings, and you don’t really connect with people,” Martin said.
For students not given the opportunity to be part of other programs on campus, the First Fellows program gave them the community they never were able to find.
“Once I joined First Fellows, and kind of had a community that had similar experiences to me, I realized that my struggles were not unique to myself, and that a lot of us face the same struggles, especially when it comes to professional things like networking and job opportunities,” Alyvia Bailey (CAS ’26) said.
Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes Students gather and chat at First Fellows’ signing day.Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes
One of the program’s goals includes giving first-generation students the resources they need to pursue any career pathway they desire.
“This program is about teaching students how to be a scholar or how to be an artist, or how to really face the job market and how to make some critical academic decisions that we don’t have a solid one space where they can do that,” Westerman said. “We wanted to make sure that as many as possible first-gen students had that opportunity to do that.”
The most unique part of the program is the weekly one credit seminar course taught by Harris that first fellows take each semester. The classroom creates a space where students in the program can see each other on a regular basis and be in community with each other, something that many of us can’t do often.
“The biggest thing about being in the class is, one, being able to see these people. I have friends in this class who I don’t see regularly,” Emmanuel Assefa (CAS ’27) said. “Being able to have that set time to meet up with these people, even if it is for an educational conversation, is huge.”
Other than connecting with old friends, the program has also allowed me to connect with new people. I have been able to meet people who have had different life experiences from me, and hearing their stories has been a wonderful experience. I’ve also been able to meet more people within my majors, and connect by discussing our interests and what we want to do in the future.
In the seminar, we’ve also heard from guest speakers who spoke to us about how to get involved in research and introduced us to different resources on campus.
“Just being able to have a point of contact to discover the resources that exist around Georgetown is really helpful. Because prior to First Fellows, I honestly didn’t know about almost any of the resources that we had on campus. So I think First Fellows has been really helpful in that, in making those things more known to me, and through that, making Georgetown more accessible,” Bailey said.
However, the classroom isn’t just a space for academics. We do activities and take lessons focused on our values, mental health, and future careers. For example, one of the activities included mapping out our social networks, so that we could identify where we go for emotional support and take a close look at each of those relationships.
“I really enjoy the First Fellows class because I like that during the actual class periods, we get to just talk about things that aren’t super academically rigorous or anything like that,” Bailey said. “It honestly helps my mental health a lot. I feel like there’s a lot of things that we talk about in class that just aren’t things I ever slow down to think about, especially our support networks.”
I have found value in our conversations in the classroom, and believe that those discussions are important to have. Our classroom is where we can talk about things that may be hard to discuss with other people that can’t understand the challenges of being a first-generation student.
“Part of the course is just being in community with first-generation students every week. We get to have fun. We get to talk about the challenges that we face and the issues that we’re going through, and some of the hard choices that we’re making as first-gen students, as we’re navigating our majors and internships and all that stuff that can be hard to talk about with your fellow peers,” Harris said.
The classroom setting also allows students to slow down and tune into conversations they don’t usually have amidst the hustle and bustle of Georgetown life.
“I feel like we have very beneficial conversations in these classes that there aren’t spaces for elsewhere, and not even because people don’t identify them. They’re just not conversations we have regularly. It’s not something that people slow down and ask their friends. It’s not something that just comes up in conversation, and it can be awkward and weird sometimes, but it is conversations that are just so good to have,” Assefa said.
Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes Students laugh and catch up at signing day.Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes
The first-generation community in First Fellows doesn’t just include students—it applies to many of the staff involved too. Harris brings her own experiences into the classroom to support and guide students.
“I’m also a first-generation student from southwest Virginia, and so being a first-generation professor, I’ve seen it really as an opportunity to give back to other first-generation students. A lot of the issues that my students face are issues that I went through as an undergrad and graduate student,” Harris said.
Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes Harris talks to students at First Fellows signing day.Photo courtesy Rafael Suanes
Harris hopes to inspire students to be proud of their first-gen identity.
“In my role, I really try to bring my identity as a first-gen into the classroom so that my students can see that it’s okay to kind of be loud and proud about being first-gen in academia,” Harris said.
Westerman is also a first-generation college graduate, and his identity is what influenced him to be part of the First Fellows program.
“I’m a first-generation college graduate. I’m a first-generation PhD. I was brought up with the idea of paying it forward,” Westerman said.
Having first-generation mentors in the program has created an environment where I am more comfortable talking about the challenges I face. Though their specific experiences may have been different, they are better able to understand and help me through those challenges than professors or mentors without that background.
Because the program is funded by donations, its future remains uncertain. However, Westerman hopes that providing the best resources, listening to first fellows, and tweaking the program around what works (and what doesn’t) will allow First Fellows to expand to include more first-generation students in the future.
“The gift that was given to fund this program is specific and limited. So it’s not the kind of financial support that can guarantee the continued presence of the program in the College of Arts and Sciences. My hope is that it can grow to the point where every College of Arts and Science first-gen student can participate from now until forever,” Westerman said.
First Fellows is more than just a program—it’s a community where we can come together to connect with each other and to learn. But still, it’s been even more than that to me because with every lesson, every activity, and every guest speaker, this university gets just a little easier to navigate, despite my background.
Imani Liburd
More: First Fellows, first generation students, first-gen
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