The work we do through FirstGen Ahead is needed more than ever. A newly released report from the Boston Foundation estimates a 60% gap between the current capacity to offer career development services to low-income college students and the projected need. Although this report focuses solely on Boston Public School graduates who are attending a handful of public universities in the state, it’s not a stretch to extrapolate these findings to other cities in Massachusetts and across the United States. Furthermore, these findings are relevant to first-gen students who typically come from low-income families.

We are mid-way through the second year of piloting our FirstGen Ahead model in partnership with The Steppingstone Foundation. What have we learned through our one-on-one coaching and project-based, peer support model in preparing first-gen students for transitioning from college to career? We are looking at student participation, their perceived preparedness for a career, and access to opportunities. Although we have documented improvements in all of these areas, it’s too early to know if all students from the first cohort will attain good first positions following college graduation. (i.e., a first position that requires a college degree).

What is clear from our experience and research is that career development services for first-generation college students cannot be automated. First-gen students are not likely to clarify and take steps toward solidifying their career trajectories if they are one out of a caseload of 1,889 students per college career advisor, which is the current average ratio. First-gen students benefit from engaging in trusting relationships with mentors and coaches, from skill-building opportunities, and from access and exposure to people in careers they are considering pursuing.

This is the work we have been doing for almost two years in the pilot phase at FirstGen Ahead and it is needed more than ever. We are in the early stages of building capacity, the details of which will be reported in future FirstGen Ahead newsletters.

Susan Gershenfeld, PhD