Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Voices Of First-Generation Students: An Examination Of First-Generation Stories On Collegiate Websites, Jillian Schemenauer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative research analyzed how four-year, public institutions represent first-generation students that attend their colleges, on their websites, and what those first-generation students share about their experiences. Twenty-nine institutions that were a part of a recognized list of colleges that have exemplary first-generation programs were utilized for this study. A critical analysis was performed to discuss and evaluate the themes that were discovered from fifty different first-generation student stories. Results indicated that first-generation students’ stories shared on collegiate websites shared similar experiences, with emerging themes being: Aspirations, family connections, engagement, and mindset. A summary of the themes, limitations, future research, …