On Nov. 6, Campus Inclusion, RISE (Resilience, Integrity, Scholarship, and Excellence), and First Generation Forward (Gen 1) held an event in the University Center’s inclusion room to connect with first-generation students at Seton Hall, allowing them the chance to talk about their experiences as college students and understand how they feel.
Dylan Jarkas, a first-year undecided major, said he enjoyed the event and felt that it helped him understand that he is not the only one as people have similar struggles. He said the event showed him how much support and guidance he has available at Seton Hall.
He also said he wants to leave Seton Hall with “no regrets,” take advantage of everything he has available to him, such as joining more events and making new friends, and push himself to be better.
Zarya Hameem, a first-year business major, said she liked to hear about other people’s experiences.
“The perspectives other people brought [to] the table was new for me,” Hameem said. “It was nice to hear the student's perspective.”
Hameem also said she thinks events like these are great for first-generation students especially “if you are starting out in university, live out-of-state, different backgrounds may not fit in immediately.” She added it gives them a chance to make friends and enjoy their college experience more.
Isadora Cesar, a junior biology major, said she enjoyed the event and related to the students and faculty based on their background and past experiences growing up. Cesar said she feels “a lot of pressure that [she] has to do well in life, succeed, and make a lot of money in order to try to give her mom the life she tried to give [her].”
Ghana Hylton, the director of Campus Inclusion, said she worked with Nicole LaCapria, the assistant director of Assessment and Special Projects, to organize this event and other events for students “who might be underserved or that we need to have a conversation with.”
Hylton said she thought the event was successful because students were open and talked about the issues first-generation college students feel and what Seton Hall is trying to resolve.
She said she was happy to hear how engaged the students were by asking great questions, giving valuable feedback, and contributing well to the conversation. She also said she related to what the students said, which was eye-opening for her regarding their experiences and backgrounds.
“As my role in Campus Inclusion, I am in a unique position to help fill in the gaps and make suggestions to Seton Hall of those gaps,” Hylton said.
Hylton said she plans to do another event for non-traditional students who are trying to get their degree but were unable to do it earlier in their lives.
Thomas Canela is a writer for The Setonian’s Campus Life section. He can be reached at thomas.canela@student.shu.edu.
