National First-Gen Day Celebration Set for Today

Nov. 07, 2024

Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – National First-Gen Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the strengths of first-generation college students, faculty, and staff as well as a way to support, elevate, and create the visibility of being first-generation on campus. The University of North Alabama will celebrate its first-generation community on Nov. 7 from 2-4 p.m. at Collier Library.

“National First-Gen Day is a day to celebrate the remarkable achievements and resilience of first-generation college students across the nation,” said Autumn Terry, director of the TRIO Student Support Services program and an event organizer. “As a first-generation alumni, I understand the unique challenges we face being the first in the family to navigate the uncharted waters of higher education. I hope that all first-generation students feel a sense of pride and honor today, understanding the depth of their impact and the legacy they have started.”

National First-Generation College Celebration is celebration on Nov. 8 to honor the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965 that helped millions of first-generation students graduate by leveling the playing field for Americans from minority and low-income backgrounds, creating federal grants and loan programs to help students finance their educations, and making key investments in institutions of higher education.

At UNA, the event is coordinated by the federally funded TRIO program, the Mitchell-West Center for Social Inclusion, and the First-Year Experience program.

“As director of the UNA TRIO Student Support Services program, I see first-hand the unique perspectives and determination of our first-generation students instill in our campus’s culture,” said Terry. “The diversity, lived experience, and innovation these students bring to higher education is invaluable.”

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.