They are the first in their generation to go to college, and on Wednesday — “in the shadow of Tommy Trojan” — they celebrated.
The annual celebration for first generation college students included a performance from the marching band, free T-shirts with the slogan “First to Fight On” and free cookies. Members of the First Generation Student Assembly (FGSA) and staff from the First Generation Plus Success Center (FG+SC) ran the booth.
“I’m so happy every year that there are these signature programs that we have, and we look forward to it,” said Alejandra Delacruz Hong, director for Trojan Success Initiatives.
“We’ve been working on this for months. Having the band here is always so special. It’s my favorite USC tradition.”
Students and staff, first generation or not, could see — and hear — the celebration as they walked to their classes. Members of the band, some first generation themselves, put on an exciting performance, leaning into their instruments and high-fiving the crowd.
This celebration meant a lot to the first generation student population at USC, attendees said. Sophomore human biology major Melody Goodwin expressed her gratitude to the school for holding the event.
“I come here and I see all these people saying ‘you belong here’ and ‘you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be’ and it just makes me feel like I’m not alone, and there’s other people who are also going through the same thing and figuring things out,” Goodwin said.
Students like Goodwin were encouraged to place sticky notes on the side of the booth, highlighting what it means to them to be a first generation student or writing notes to their fellow first generation students.
The notes included messages like, “Find motivation in your hardships”, “You earned your spot here”, “Si se puede” and “You are not alone as a First Gen.”
“It’s really amazing that we have different centers and different organizations that are dedicated to first gen students and all of us coming together to show that first gen students have a voice and a space at USC,” said FGSA senior member Melissa Ayala.
Ayala, among other first generation students, recognized that there is still work to be done to accommodate first generation students.
“There are definitely certain barriers that first gen students face on campus at USC that aren’t really talked about,” Ayala said. “So there is definitely work to be done. But that’s part of the reason why FGSA exists, because we’re really trying to advocate for first gen students and making sure that things are equitable on campus for us.”
Hong and Rick Trevino, the Director of the Norman Topping Student Aid Fund, talked about their love for their work in giving back to first generation students.
“It’s exactly why I come to work every day and what makes me so happy about being here,” Hong said.
After the event, President Carol Folt tweeted, “Happy First-Generation Student Day! Did you know that 25% of USC undergrad and grad students are first-gen? The first to Fight On!”
Matthew Han, a business administration major, first generation and transfer student, offered advice to other undergraduates who are first in their families to attend college.
“It’s going to be hard at first, but it’s doable,” Han said. “You just have to push through it. It’s gonna be a scary journey in the beginning, but everything turns out really well. You just gotta keep pushing through it.”