Part 1- First Generation College Student: Isaiah Carr
- Nigel Palmer
- Feb 6, 2017
- 3 min read
Below is the first article of my First Generation College Student series, enjoy!
Distance from home. Financial aid. Academic excellence and reputation. There are many factors that play a huge role in where high school students will further their education, even family. But how does family influence a student that will be the first to attend college in their family?
A first-generation college student is defined as someone whose parent/legal guardian have not completed a bachelor’s degree. These students can come from low, middle, or higher income families. First generation students are disproportionately over represented among most disadvantaged groups. Since 2011, minorities lead the United States in first-generation status. The national average of first generation college students is 34 percent. African-Americans represent 41 percent of that total. These students tend to apply to and attend less selective colleges that are closer to home and are less likely to receive help from their high schools in applying to college. While this may hold true in other places, a local school dedicates a class period just for students to apply for colleges, scholarships, and building resumes.
KIPP Renaissance High School, located in the Lower 9th Ward, has a Senior College Scholar course which enables students to apply for colleges, scholarships, and build resumes. The course instructor and college counselors teach financial literacy in the class, which covers grants, loans, refund checks, and work study opportunities. KIPP schools have many admirers because they ensure that a high percentage of their graduating seniors go on to college- usually being the first in their family to do so.
One student that is ready to graduate high school and attend college is Isaiah Carr, a senior at KIPP Renaissance High School. "He's a very inquisitive student," said Joseph Jones, the Dean for the Seniors at KIPP Renaissance. "He works hard, he pushes the envelope on students' thinking. He knows how to think and not what to think. He continues to challenge the status quo,". Carr has been actively involved extracurricular activities while maintaining a solid GPA. He attends a dual-enrollment program with Bard Early College to earn college credit while in high school. He is the first of his immediate family to have the opportunity to attend a four-year university free of cost. Carr is a recipient of the Posse Scholarship. The POSSE organization chooses ten students from the New Orleans public schools.The recipients earn a four-year, full tuition leadership scholarship from Posse partner colleges and universities. Posse is one of the most comprehensive and renowned college access and youth leadership development programs in the United States, according to many experts in higher education.
Upon graduation, KIPP will continue to follow Carr to ensure that he is focused in college, and never falls off the path of graduation via their KIPP Through College program (KTC). KTC has college counselors twho will periodically check-in with Carr to keep him motivated and make the college transition smoother. "Getting feedback gives us information from a student's perspective, so we can better plan programs and services for our students," said Paige Jackson, KTC counselor. But that isn't the only thing that keeps a student focused.
“Being the first in my family gives me a stronger desire to succeed,” Carr said. “I’m aware of the stigma surrounding first generation college students, and I want to make sure that I help change it.”
But on the other side, there are current first-generation college students that are thriving in college, taking the path that Carr wishes to follow.
Part 2 will be about a first generation college student that is on his path to graduation
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