GCCC TRIO to Celebrate National First-Generation College Student Week
[Garden City, KS] October 27, 2023 -- The GCCC Student Support Services (SSS) TRIO program will celebrate National First-Generation College Student Week from November 6-10, 2023, with activities to commemorate National First-Generation College Student Day, November 8th. The City of Garden City will present a proclamation to GCCC President Ruda on Monday, November 6th at 10:00 AM inside the new GCCC STEM Success Center lobby.
"First-generation students are the first in their families to obtain a Bachelor’s degree," shared Dana Nanninga, GCCC Director of SSS. "We want to celebrate our first-gen students, employees, and community members for breaking barriers and continuing their journey toward academic success. We're very grateful to Mayor Oyler for proclaiming a National First-Generation Day in Garden City."
First-Generation College Celebration (FGCC) is an annual opportunity to raise awareness of the first-generation college student identity by advancing an asset-based, national narrative of these students’ experiences and outcomes. Since the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE) and the Center for First-Generation Student Success launched the inaugural celebration in 2017, hundreds of higher education institutions, corporations, non-profits, and K-12 schools have joined together in recognizing the achievements of the first-gen community on and around November 8.
The annual celebrations commemorate the signing of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson. This act created federal financial aid programs to fund students’ educations and made key investments in colleges and universities. Many of the HEA’s programs, particularly the Federal TRIO programs, promote postsecondary access, retention, and completion for today’s limited-income, first-generation college students.
For any questions, please contact Dana at dana.nanninga@gcccks.edu or 620-276-9660.
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Garden City Community College exists to produce positive contributors to the economic and social well-being of society.