58 years since its inaugural summer, the Community Scholars Program (CSP) is still going strong. The program, managed by the Center for Multicultural Equity and Access (CMEA) connects first-generation students with resources to help them adjust to life on campus, starting with an intensive five-week summer program before starting their freshman year in the fall.
Upon receiving their acceptance to Georgetown, some first-generation students are offered the opportunity to participate in the CSP summer program. This summer, a record 93 CSP students came to the Hilltop, an increase from last year’s cohort of 82 students. The Voice spoke with CSP students and some of their Community Advisors (CAs), older students who serve as mentors for the incoming freshmen, for reflections on their experience.
Olga Garcia (CAS ’30) felt drawn to CSP for the possibility of forming bonds with individuals who might also be adjusting to Georgetown’s academic and social life. Coming from a small town in Texas close to the Mexican border, Garcia worried that she would not find many fellow students on campus who understood her background.
“Since Georgetown has the reputation of being a PWI [predominantly white institution], the prospect of having a community where there was other people of color or people who were first gen, low income, who had the same background as me was very enticing,” Garcia said.
According to Georgetown’s 2025–26 Common Data Set (CDS), 43.86% of the Class of 2029 identified as white, while 9.38% identified as Hispanic or Latino and 4.41% identified as Black or African American. The CDS did not include data on students eligible for federal Pell grants in the Class of 2029, though Pell-eligible students made up 15% of the Class of 2028. Meanwhile, legacy admits typically make up around 25% of all admitted students every year.
In addition to forming connections with people in a fast-paced university environment, Garcia said she also pursued CSP to get a head start on earning course credits before the academic year began.
Over the summer, CSP students take two classes: a writing course that extends into the fall semester and a three-credit elective course. Students often choose core-required classes, such as Comparative Political Systems, Marketing, and Introduction to Philosophy, for their elective. CSP students also receive priority registration for courses for the upcoming fall semester.
Garcia emphasized the value of having five weeks to adapt to campus life and absorb all the new information regarding resources and academics.
“We were able to familiarize ourselves with the campus, not just in a pre-orientation way where you’re here for like three or four days before, but an actual month before,” Garcia said.
Over the summer, representatives from organizations such as the Center for Student Engagement (CSE), the Academic Resource Center (ARC), and Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) lead workshops with CSP students to familiarize them with how to access their resources.
In addition, CAs live and work with cohorts of CSP students to help them build community inside and outside of their dorms. Many of the CAs are past CSP students themselves. This dual role allows them to connect with new students while drawing upon their past experiences with the program to create a positive environment.
For Joseph Celestino (CAS ’29), becoming a CA felt like a natural way to give back to the program that helped him ease into Georgetown’s academic environment last fall. As a past CSP participant, Celestino said he greatly appreciated learning about on-campus resources for students that often get overlooked.
A 2022 study found that 37% of surveyed students who identified as first generation and low income (FGLI) did not feel valued as an individual at their school, while 36% of respondents from the same demographic were assessed as having moderate to severe depression.
“A lot of times underserved students feel that they have to do it all on their own,” Celestino said. “You’re gonna need people to rely on, people you need for academic help, social health, mental health.”
Celestino noted that the connections that he built in CSP continued after the program ended in early August 2025, and that he wanted to encourage a similar community-focused mentality as a CA.
“All my friends are kids I did CSP with,” Celestino said. “In clubs you’ll see other CSP people and gravitate towards them.”
This summer, CAs led experiences for their cohorts in and around DC to help familiarize them with taking the Metro and spending time outside the Georgetown bubble. Keeping in line with the community building and team building aspects of CSP, Celestino took his cohort to an escape room, to further their communication and problem solving skills.
These experiences not only help CSP students become more comfortable navigating life in Georgetown, but also give CAs an opportunity to foster the same sense of belonging that initially drew them to the program.
Like Celestino, Lisa Ibarra (CAS ’29) became a CA hoping to promote the kind of community she found when she was a participant.
“When they say community they really mean it,” Ibarra said. “Everyone hangs out with everyone. When you start in the fall you see it even more, and I really wanted to emulate that experience for my CSP students.”
Ibarra and Celestino became friends during CSP before their first year at Georgetown, and as CAs, they planned joint events between their cohorts. While her cohort adjusted to college life and academics, Ibarra found herself adjusting to the unexpected challenges of serving as a mentor to the students.
“I was surprised by how quick students were to seek advice from me, because I only have one more year of experience in college than they do,” Ibarra said.
When responding to questions from CSP students, Ibarra used an approach she learned from her own CA.
“Instead of telling me [directly], she’d tell me where to look,” Ibarra said. “I think it was very sustainable for the school year.”
Much like the friendships that form over the summer, the peer advisor relationship between CSP students and their CAs continues into future semesters.
“I continued asking for advice during the school year, and [my CA] became someone to look up to so much as someone who was my peer and experienced so many of the things I had,” Ibarra said.
When the Voice asked Garcia for her favorite highlights from her experience this summer, she said that the friendships she made stood out to her the most.
“My most memorable experiences are all just the mundane things, like watching a movie with my roommates, or going out with my roommates,” Garcia said.
Overall, Garcia feels that participating in the CSP summer program has increased her optimism for the upcoming school year.
Garcia expressed that her initial concerns regarding her attendance at Georgetown stemmed from the possibility of feeling out of place, due to the university’s financially homogeneous student body.
“I thought the gap between me, who I am, where I’m from, was gonna be too large, between someone else,” Garcia said. “I was very anxious about that, or how I might be treated, or how I might be looked at.”
Despite these concerns, after interacting with a community that shared her experiences and understood her background, she developed a stronger connection to Georgetown.
“I’m not as nervous, because even if I do encounter situations like that in school, I know I still have a community that I made,” Garcia said.
