{"id":68,"date":"2023-10-19T14:51:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T18:51:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/?page_id=68"},"modified":"2023-12-04T17:14:45","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T22:14:45","slug":"first-gen-power","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/first-gen-power\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Gen Power"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Dr.
Anthony Abraham Jack and Kat Quach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LEVELING (UP) THE PLAYING FIELD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most undergraduates haven\u2019t heard of the \u201chidden curriculum.\u201d But for first-generation college students, it can color everything.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201chidden curriculum\u201d is the system of unwritten rules and expectations you might hear about if your parents went to college\u2014taking advantage of office hours, pursuing internships, shadowing professionals in your desired field. In other words, inherited information to give you a leg up.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat makes certain students feel less-than and othered for not knowing,\u201d says ANTHONY ABRAHAM JACK<\/b><\/a>, an acclaimed higher-education researcher and author of The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students <\/i>(Harvard University Press, 2019).<\/span><\/p>\n

Jack was appointed in July 2023 as the inaugural faculty director<\/a> of Boston University\u2019s NEWBURY CENTER<\/b><\/a>, a resource for first-generation students, and as associate professor of higher education leadership at BU\u2019s Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. His arrival promises to help level the playing field for first-gen students and elevate it for all students.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI study education, but I\u2019m fundamentally interested in how inequality and poverty shape young people\u2019s life chances,\u201d Jack says. \u201cI study universities because I believe that they are, quite frankly, the greatest shot at creating mobility and a more equal society.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Jack envisions expanding the Newbury Center into a research hub on the experience of first-generation <\/span>students as well as on inequality in higher education. \u201cWhen you address the inequalities that disproportionately fall upon the shoulders of first-generation and low-income college students, you make the University better for all students.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Newbury Center, which opened in 2021, offers students who work there the opportunity to lead and be of service to the first-gen community and beyond. Take KATARINA \u201cKAT\u201d QUACH<\/b><\/a> (COM\u201924), an undergrad assistant who organizes workshops, manages the newsletter, and serves as coeditor in chief of the center\u2019s Elevate<\/i> magazine. Her commitment to public service has earned her one of the inaugural Obama Foundation\u2019s Voyager Scholarships<\/a>, which provide financial support and accommodations for summer travel.<\/p>\n

\"Allyson
First-generation college students who completed their degrees and programs take part in the Newbury Center\u2019s pinning ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAll of the staff at the Newbury Center are first-gen or were first-gen students,\u201d says Quach. \u201cIt allows us to create community amongst ourselves as a staff and, in doing so, to create an even more welcoming place for students.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a self-described “forever first-gen” student, Jack says, \u201cI lived the experiences that the people whom I learn from are going through. My life goal is not just to address problems in higher ed. I intend to use my research to provide a framework for universities to live up to the missions they love to put in Latin on their seals and diplomas.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LEVELING (UP) THE PLAYING FIELD Most undergraduates haven\u2019t heard of the \u201chidden curriculum.\u201d But for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12906,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"bu-landing","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/68"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12906"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/68\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":743,"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/68\/revisions\/743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ar.bu.edu\/2023\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}