Communication Currents

Today, 30 percent of entering freshmen will be the first in their family to complete college. While college can be challenging for first-generation college (FGC) students, students who are pioneering a tradition of college completion for family and friends back home, strong and supportive communication from college mentors can help FGC students overcome obstacles to college success.

Balancing personal and family goals as well as home and college life can take a toll on FGC students’ educational success. Today, FGC students enroll in fewer credit hours per semester, declare a major later in college, and graduate at lower rates than students who come from families where one or both of their parents completed college. While these trends can be discouraging, college mentors can help FGC students complete college and earn a bachelor’s degree. These college mentors are important because they can communicate important messages that FGC students have not received from their parents. To further explore the types of college and family messages FGC students need and want to hear from their college mentors, I focused on memorable messages, messages that are legitimate, personal, remembered, and internalized by FGC students.

To learn more about these messages, I interviewed 30 FGC students and asked them about the memorable messages they had received from college mentors about the role a college education should play in their lives and the role family should play in their lives. Talking to FGC students helped me understand what these memorable messages meant to FGC students from their perspective. Five college and three family memorable message themes emerged from these interviews.

College themes included memorable messages about (a) pursuing academic success, (b) valuing school, (c) increasing future potential, (d) making decisions, and (e) support and encouragement. The first theme, pursuing academic success (e.g., stay involved and always know what’s offered on campus, don’t skip class because you will get behind), included memorable messages about finding appropriate resources, finding a balance between educational and social activities, and making intelligent decisions. The second theme, valuing school (e.g., college is a time for fun but it’s also a bridge to your future, this is one of the top schools in the nation and having that on your degree is a really big deal), included memorable messages about valuing the degree and valuing the college experience. The third theme, increasing future potential (e.g., you have to study to build your future and help yourself, if you get a good education you’ll get more money), included memorable messages about greater financial stability and greater career options. The fourth theme, making decisions (e.g., before you make a schedule sit down and think about what you can take that would be a good thing for you), included memorable messages about course selection and major and/or minor selection. The fifth and final theme, support and encouragement (e.g., you have every right to try just like anyone else, no matter what your personal things are you should try), included memorable messages about motivation and solidarity.

Family themes included memorable messages about (a) comparing and contrasting, (b) counting on family, and (c) recognizing the importance of family. The first theme, comparing and contrasting (e.g., it’s so weird that you talk to your mom like she’s your sister, when I can’t even talk to my sister like she’s my sister), included memorable messages about wanting a better family relationship than their mentor’s family relationship, wanting a family relationship like their mentor’s family relationship, and viewing a mentor as a supplement to a family relationship. The second theme, counting on family (e.g., your family’s a big support to your education, your parents offer you another insight to college that you might not think about being a freshman in college), included memorable messages about parental advice and parental support. The third and final theme, recognizing the importance of family (e.g., you gotta be somebody we’re proud of so you can be somebody we look up to, look out for the best for your mom), included memorable messages about remembering your roots, appreciating and respecting your family, and being a role model.

Although FGC students found many of their college mentors’ memorable messages to be helpful, they also experienced some challenges in seeking out college mentors and interpreting memorable messages. First, FGC students had to decide whether to rely on themselves or seek help. Some FGC students chose to prove others wrong and succeed on their own. Others restricted communication with their college mentors to academic subjects. Several expressed a desire to find college mentors who could talk to them about outside the classroom subjects like jobs or family. Second, FGC students had to decide how to merge home and college as well as their past, present, and future. Some FGC students merged their past with their present and future by incorporating their family into their new life. Others consistently chose to prioritize one life over the other. Although seeking out mentors and interpreting memorable messages proved to be challenging, most FGC students indicated that they would not change the memorable messages they received.

As colleges work to mentor FGC students throughout their college experience, this study can help college faculty, staff, and administrators in three ways. First, knowing what memorable messages students are receiving and need to be receiving can help faculty understand how they can better teach and advise FGC students. Second, knowing why FGC students struggle to find mentors can help faculty reach out to FGC students in supportive ways that allow FGC students to seek help without giving up independence. Third, departments can encourage successful FGC majors to mentor and pass on memorable messages to future FGC majors.

The findings of this study suggest that strong mentoring relationships can help reduce the gap between FGC students and students who come from families with a tradition of college completion. A better understanding of mentors’ college and family messages equips college faculty, staff, and administrators to communicate in ways that help FGC students succeed and ultimately graduate from college.