Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Feature by: Dr. John Johnson, Vice President for Inclusive Excellence, and Tebraie Banda-Johns, Director of the Intercultural Center

As of this fall, roughly 20% of Whitman students are first-generation students, meaning they will be the first person in their immediate family to attend and graduate from a four-year college or university. Being first-gen can be difficult. So many aspects of higher education culture are hidden or unofficial. So many subtle messages that you don’t belong. So many pressures and presumptions. Being first-gen can also feel isolating. First-gen folks often carry the burden and responsibility of forging new pathways for those who will follow. But first-gen students are among the scores of talented people changing the face of higher education with their presence and brilliance. The contributions of first-gen students are important and their identities are rich, multilayered and diverse. In addition to being first-gen, they are leaders, they are scholars, and they are not alone. One in five Whitman students are first-gen and many faculty and staff at the college are First Gen Too!

In the days ahead, the Division of Inclusive Excellence will be launching a campaign dedicated to fostering a community where every first-gen member of our campus feels recognized, valued, and empowered. The "First Gen Too!" campaign is designed to celebrate, uplift and support our first-generation students, staff and faculty. 

What’s Happening:

First Gen Too! Launch Event (students) - Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 4 p.m. 
Join us at the Glover Alston Intercultural Center to celebrate the first-gen community. We will be distributing a special “First Gen Too!” t-shirt to the first 100 first-gen students in attendance.

First Gen Too! Poster Campaign (staff and faculty)
We invite first-gen staff and faculty to sign up to be added to a first-gen email list and receive a First Gen Too! poster. The poster can be displayed on your office door or near your workstation to proclaim your first-gen identity and signal your support for students in the first-gen community.

First Gen Too! Mentorship Program (coming soon)
Later this semester, the Intercultural Center will launch a first-gen student mentorship program designed to connect first-gen students with other first-gen folks who can provide guidance, support and a sense of belonging. Whether you're interested in being a mentor or a mentee, you can sign up now to receive updates and information about this upcoming program. 

Whitman College maintains several official unmoderated Google Groups (listservs) that serve specific functions.

Manage your group subscriptions and settings at groups.google.com. Irrelevant posts to these groups may result in warnings or loss of access privileges.

The Career and Community Engagement Center (CCEC) is hosting a volunteer recruitment event on Tuesday, Sept. 10 from 7:30–9 p.m. in Olin Auditorium. Attendees will learn about ways to volunteer alongside community organizations in Walla Walla through a variety of student-run programs. (Flyer attached.)

The Religion Department and the Indigeneity, Race & Ethnicity Program will host a discussion and presentation, titled “To Exist As a Problem: Race, Religion, and the Settler Colony” on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. in Olin Auditorium. The event will include presentations by Zahi Zalloua, the Cushing Eells Professor of Philosophy and Literature, and Adam Stern, Assistant Professor of German and Jewish Studies at UW Madison. Two students will also lead a Q&A session with the presenters. (Flyer attached.)

While it was closed longer than originally expected due to unforeseen conditions that the City of Walla Walla needed time to repair, Boyer Avenue reopens today for vehicle traffic. Please continue to use the north sidewalk for pedestrian travel, due to the active construction site on the south side of the street.

8 a.m.

Presentation by Art & Science

Maxey Auditorium

Noon–12:50 p.m.

Movement That Matters: MELT

Sherwood Athletic Center

4 p.m.

Irish Dance Club

Sherwood Athletic Center, Room 106

7 p.m.

Contra Dance

Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom

7 p.m.

First Meeting: Society of Physics Students

Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom

7:30 p.m.

Information Session: Walla Walla 101

Olin Auditorium

Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.

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