First generation college students inspire and teach us
November 8 is First Generation College Student Day, a day to celebrate the accomplishments of students who were first in their family to attend college. In our work with students, families, and partners, we know how hard these students work to navigate the unknown and how much they have to teach us all. Here are some stories from first-gen students, including a few who are very familiar to us!
‘I just started teaching myself how to learn’
Tory Rudolph’s teaching career started very early, with one highly motivated student: herself.
Going through struggles at home, she had started falling behind her peers in elementary school.
“I didn’t pick things up as quickly as everyone else, but I wanted to do better. I just wanted to be smart,” said Tory, who remembers asking for math workbooks for Christmas when she was in third or fourth grade. “I just started teaching myself how to learn.”
Tory’s hard work served her well as a first-generation student at Plymouth State University. “I definitely think having to teach myself all of those things, it honestly helped me,” said Tory, a 2024 Granite Edvance Scholarship recipient. “It taught me independence at a young age.”
‘Now I can pay it forward’
As Chair of the Granite Edvance Board of Trustees, Paul Provost can relate to the students who come to Granite Edvance for support. “I still remember the first time I opened the FAFSA,” he said.
Figuring out financial aid was just one of the challenges Provost faced as a first-generation college student. “My parents were that generation that just knew in their hearts that education was the key,” said Provost, who grew up in Vermont. What they didn’t know was how to help him reach his education goals. For that, he relied on resources and support from the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, an organization similar to Granite Edvance.
“If it wasn’t for VSAC, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” he said.
Since then, Provost has had a long and successful career and helped support his own children through their college journeys. “I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in life,” he said. “Now I can pay it forward.”
‘College was an opportunity to explore my own interests’
Granite Edvance President and CEO Christiana Thornton also understands firsthand the challenges some students face as they plan for life after high school. The first in her family to attend college, she credits her high school counselor with helping her identify her path and complete the college application process.
“To me, college was an opportunity to explore my own interests and start to understand myself better and become independent and create my own identity,” said Thornton, who saw her own son, Owen, off to college for the first time this fall. “I’m excited for him to have those opportunities.”
‘It was a lightbulb turning on’
In a recent issue of UNH Magazine, UNH President Elizabeth Chilton shared her own experiences as a first-generation college student. She recalled that she had never heard the term “first-gen” until long after her own college career was over and she was serving as a professor and department chair. When she realized there was a name for the role in which she’d found herself years before — trying to figure out office hours and syllabuses and financial aid — “It was like a lightbulb turning on,” she said.
Taking over as President of UNH last year, Chilton wants to ensure first-generation students feel heard and supported. “It’s been especially meaningful to me to help first-gen and all students find the sense of belonging I ultimately found,” she said.
Caption information: Granite Edvance President and CEO Christiana Thornton, a first-generation college student, with her son, Owen, in 2024.