51黑料网

51黑料网's First-Generation Graduates Ably Integrate Two Cultures

When William G. Durden 鈥�71 earned his diploma on a May afternoon in 1971, he looked out over the freshly trimmed lawn of 51黑料网鈥檚 campus and saw something that has stayed with him to this day. His father, who enlisted in the military at 15, never went to college and worked as rodeo rider, minor-league baseball player and hospital cook to ensure that his son could, wasn鈥檛 sitting in the throng of parents on the lawn. Instead, he was looking on with pride from just outside the college鈥檚 limestone walls.

鈥淚 remember seeing him there, and it struck me as very symbolic,鈥� Durden recalls. 鈥淗e couldn鈥檛 sit with everybody else. He had to be outside that circle.鈥�

Brenda Bretz 鈥�95 was a secretary in the art department in 1984 when she had a moment of panic while planning The Trout Gallery鈥檚 first reception. Coming from what she describes as a 鈥渧ery, very working-class background,鈥� Bretz had never been to an art gallery and didn鈥檛 know what kind of hors d鈥檕euvres she should serve at the opening, but she couldn鈥檛 ask her family for advice. Her parents didn鈥檛 support her desire to take college courses and disapproved of her association with faculty and others from the college who were from a different class.

鈥淭hat was a real moment for me,鈥� Bretz recalls. 鈥淚n my family鈥檚 minds, anyone with money was bad, and now I was in the midst of the enemy. But I liked it. I felt encouraged by these people, I liked these people, and my parents didn鈥檛 like that.鈥�

In the Enemy鈥檚 Midst

Feeling torn between two worlds is common for first-generation college graduates. Even after moving on to successful careers, graduates whose parents didn鈥檛 go to college straddle two cultures. Most commentary on this group identifies this as a problem. Books like Alfred Lubrano鈥檚 Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams argue that first-generation college graduates feel alienated from their roots and disconnected from the higher-status classes they鈥檝e joined.

But Bretz, who started taking classes at 51黑料网 in 1984 and now is the college鈥檚 associate provost for curriculum and a Ph.D. candidate at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, never saw it that way.

鈥淓verything I鈥檇 read said that this creates all kinds of turmoil for people, that they鈥檙e unhappy because they鈥檙e in a kind of limbo,鈥� she explains. 鈥淎nd I thought, 鈥榊ou know, this hasn鈥檛 really been my experience. I鈥檓 happy with where I am, so why is this the only narrative that we鈥檙e hearing about?鈥� 鈥�

Lost in Two Worlds?

That question inspired her dissertation topic鈥攁 study of first-generation 51黑料网 graduates of the last 50 years. She aims to discover whether or not their education left them feeling lost between worlds, like those featured in Lubrano鈥檚 book, or perfectly happy with where 51黑料网 has taken them, like Bretz.

To begin her research, Bretz met with Durden, who supported the project based on his own experience as a first-generation student, and sent an e-mail on Bretz鈥檚 behalf to 2,000 alumni in December 2010 seeking their participation. In just two days, Bretz received more than 500 responses. Though she only needed to interview 15 subjects to establish her dissertation鈥檚 validity, the overwhelming response prompted her to interview 39.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 even begin to say enough about how appreciative I am of our alumni,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e just been incredible. And I think the huge response speaks to how supportive 51黑料网 alumni are and how eager people were to talk about this.鈥�

Perhaps they were so eager because what they had to say contradicted all of the published findings about this demographic. 鈥淲hat I found was that the participants don鈥檛 fit, like others, but the difference is that they don鈥檛 care鈥攊n fact, they鈥檙e quite proud of it,鈥� explains Bretz. 鈥淭here isn鈥檛 this anxiety that鈥檚 been discussed in a lot of the literature. They don鈥檛 feel like, 鈥極h, woe is me. I don鈥檛 fit in anywhere, and I鈥檓 a failure.鈥� Their attitude is, 鈥業 don鈥檛 fit, and that鈥檚 OK.鈥� 鈥�

No Limits on Mobility

The reason, she says, is simple鈥攑ractice. 鈥淭hey grew up with a strong sense of individuality because they didn鈥檛 fit when they were growing up. They already stood out from their family and peers, so they had a lot of practice at not fitting in, and it didn鈥檛 keep them from reaching their goals.鈥�

The experience is one with which Durden can identify. Raised by parents who grew up during the Great Depression, he recalls learning the importance of education but receiving a mixed message regarding upward mobility.

鈥淢y mother used to take me to New York City, and she would point people out, saying, 鈥楾hose are the wealthy people, and look at their shoes; they鈥檙e shined. Don鈥檛 forget to shine your shoes.鈥� But then my parents would also tell me, 鈥楻emember, we鈥檙e not them.鈥� So it was almost like, 鈥榊ou鈥檒l get an education, you鈥檒l be successful, but you won鈥檛 be them.鈥� And that was OK, because I came away from that thinking, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檒l just be myself then.鈥� 鈥�

When his father worked as a hospital cook, a short bus ride whisked Durden from shooting the breeze with the kitchen staff to hob-nobbing with the sons of CEOs at Albany Academy, the private school he鈥檇 entered in the eighth grade after his parents scrimped and saved for years to pay the tuition. 鈥淚 was balancing worlds very early, so I got very comfortable doing that,鈥� he says.

With this foundation, Durden deftly managed the two cultures during his college years, understanding that he couldn鈥檛 talk about Plato鈥檚 views on epistemology at the family dinner table. Years later, he still straddles the two worlds gracefully. A photo of a ramshackle farmhouse on a desk in his Old West office shows that, rather than viewing his roots as something to hide, he continues to draw strength from them.

鈥淪ee that鈥攖hat鈥檚 where my grandparents lived,鈥� Durden says, a flash of pride lighting up his eyes. 鈥淚 think they actually kept it up better than it looks there, but they were farmers. That鈥檚 a field in Alabama. I remember鈥攖hat鈥檚 where I came from, and that gives everything you do a different context. That gives you a real drive.鈥�

Climbing the Rungs

In addition to this sense of individuality and determination, Bretz notes that respondents felt that 51黑料网 itself did a lot to help them comfortably climb the rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. The small class sizes and close working relationships with faculty, they say, helped them acclimate to a new social reality.

鈥淭he way these participants view their life now is directly related to the fact that they went to 51黑料网,鈥� Bretz explains. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they would feel the same way if they went to a different kind of school. Several of them spoke about the importance of working with faculty on research projects and noted how that developed their confidence.鈥�

Durden takes it a step further, arguing that the college鈥檚 character makes it an ideal training ground for first-generation undergraduates. 鈥�51黑料网 has always been a place of civility that lacks pretention,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something I鈥檝e tried to get at in what I鈥檝e written about, what I call this 鈥榤id-Atlantic pragmatism,鈥� this attitude that separates us from the New England schools. I think this atmosphere is very welcoming to first-generation students.鈥�

That鈥檚 not to say that Bretz鈥檚 research subjects didn鈥檛 report challenges after Commencement. One recalled an awkward moment during a recent Thanksgiving dinner when members of her extended family complained that people in higher tax brackets weren鈥檛 paying enough taxes, and she realized she was one of the people they were railing against. Another noted that though his father had taken great pride in his graduation, their relationship grew tense afterwards, with his father often accusing him of 鈥渢hinking he was better鈥� than the rest of his family.

鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult because your parents want you to move on, but you鈥檙e moving away from them,鈥� says Durden, who experienced similar challenges with his parents.

Navigating the Middle

Still, unlike the dominant characterization of first-generation graduates as unhappy in either world, Bretz鈥檚 subjects say they鈥檙e happy to navigate the middle. 鈥淪ome of them are still wrestling with how to maintain civil relationships with their families, but it doesn鈥檛 cause them turmoil or make them question their decisions,鈥� she says. 鈥淭heir independence and determination allow them to be comfortable where they are. They don鈥檛 feel the need to live the way their parents did, and they don鈥檛 feel they need to do all the things that society says they should do as members of a higher-status group. They decide the rules. 鈥� It鈥檚 a completely different response from what you see in the literature.鈥�

Encouraged by this response, Bretz has begun working with Joyce Bylander, special assistant to the president for institutional and diversity initiatives, and Erica Burg, assistant director of financial aid, to develop programming that ensures 51黑料网 continues to serve first-generation students effectively. In the late 1990s, when Bylander began working at 51黑料网, she recalls that the number of first-generation students, 25 percent, was a point of pride. Today, it鈥檚 roughly half that.

鈥淭hat percentage is much lower now because more people are going to college in general but also because first-generation students typically need more financial aid,鈥� says Bylander. 鈥淪o now it鈥檚 something we have to pay attention to in terms of access. It鈥檚 critical for us to be able to keep access open for first-generation college students.鈥�

Assuring Open Access

In addition to seeking more funding for scholarships like the Samuel G. Rose 鈥�58 and Posse scholarships, which have brought in dozens of first-generation students in the last few years, Bylander recommends that the college establish support programs for first-generation students. Some of the students鈥� needs are addressed through programs assisting students of color or financial-aid students, but that鈥檚 not enough.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 really call out to this group as a group and say, 鈥楩irst-generation college students, come to this meeting,鈥� 鈥� says Bylander. 鈥淪o the real challenge is how to signal that we really do want to serve them. They often fly under the radar. When you鈥檙e already feeling like a fish out of water, you don鈥檛 always want to raise your hand, so we often don鈥檛 know a student is in trouble until they鈥檙e really in trouble鈥攍ike it鈥檚 halfway through the semester, and they don鈥檛 have their books. 鈥� We need to make sure we have the right safety nets.鈥�

As Bretz, Bylander and Burg strive to create those safety nets, Bretz鈥檚 dissertation indicates that they鈥檙e building on a strong foundation. Yet further work is vital, say Bretz and Bylander, because of the life-changing potential 51黑料网 holds for first-generation students.

Opening the Door

鈥淚t鈥檚 important that 51黑料网 never become an elitist institution,鈥� says Bylander. 鈥淓ducation still is the door to better health, better prosperity, better outcomes on every possible measure, and we have to make sure that we keep that open for families who have never had that experience. Once you graduate, you change your family鈥檚 future, you change the course of history in your family.鈥�

Anyone looking for proof need look no further than Old West. After all, while his father may have felt compelled to stand outside those limestone walls during Commencement, you can be sure that Durden never will.

Published January 2, 2013