Stanislaus State students come here with one goal and purpose in common: to obtain a degree. It is a place that is predominately full of students who commute or are first-generation college students. But, what is considered a first-generation college student?
Stan State hosts weekly Zoom sessions called “First-Gen Friday’s” to address this and many other issues a first-generation student might have. In a recent workshop they explained that first generation college students are all of those students whose parents have not obtained a college degree. A current misconception is the one of believing that if your sibling has obtained a college degree then you no longer qualify, which is not the case. 
Fatima Elias, an academic advisor from the Academic Success Center, recently hosted one of the workshops. A first-generation college student herself, she knows the struggle of not knowing what to do or who to talk to for resources on campus.
“The idea of creating this workshop was to help guide first-generation students on what to do in order to apply for graduation as well as helping them identify the difference between graduation and commencement,” Elias explained, “because it was a big issue that I saw repeat itself through the years as I worked in other departments at Stan State.”
Mireya Banda (junior, Psychology) attended the workshop held by Elias. 
“I am grateful for resources like these workshops for first generation students, before today didn’t know that there were so many steps to complete in order to apply for graduation,” she said, “these are things that I will definitely be sharing with my freshman friends.” 
First-Gen Friday’s are not just exclusive for those students who identify themselves as first-generation, however. These workshops can be accessed by anybody because they fulfill the purpose of helping the college community succeed. 
Bryanna Morales (alumnu, Sociology) was there to get information about grad school.
“I feel like we need more workshops like these at least two times a semester, one at the beginning and one at the end before graduation time,” Morales said. “This workshop really got me thinking about the time and effort that grad school may require now that I am looking into it.” 
First-Gen Friday’s workshops will be held through out the Fall 2022 semester, if you or anyone you know can benefit from these events check them out here under upcoming events. The next workshop focusing on interview strategies, will be held Friday Oct. 7 at 11 a.m and 1 p.m.