First-generation faculty and staff are collaborating with FirstGen Initiatives, housed within REACH Student Success, to expand resources and mentorship for first-generation students through a $22,500 grant received from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.
The First-Generation Student Success Grant has expanded upon the efforts of the First2 Network program — an initiative providing support to rural, first-generation and low-income STEM students at WVU since 2018 — by introducing FirstGen Student Ambassadors and Faculty Champions.
The new initiative launched in Fall 2025 and provides mentoring for up to 40 first-generation students in a variety of majors per semester.
“The First2 Network program has shown us the transformative power of structured mentorship, cross-institutional learning and evidence-based practice,” Michelle Paden, coordinator of First-Generation Initiatives, said. “Now, we can expand upon proven strategies beyond STEM and intentionally serve all first-generation students with a mentor program designed specifically for them.”
Both the Student Ambassadors and Faculty Champions are/were first-generation students, giving them special insight and perspectives to share with their mentees. They create an encouraging, open environment where students feel comfortable seeking support for topics both inside and outside of the classroom via in-person meetings, group lunches and regular email communication.
In Fall 2025, approximately 23% of undergraduate students were first-generation, marking a need for expanded resources to serve students on a broader level.
“This program is so important, and the work we get to do is incredibly valuable,” said Regan Cassady, advertising and public relations major and first-gen student ambassador. “We were in their shoes only a few short years ago, and this program gives us the ability to be a guiding light for first-generation students at WVU.”
Michelle Roley-Roberts, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Faculty Champion, said the program has given her a space to support students who share questions and insecurities similar to what she had as a first-generation student.
“Having a space to talk about those commonalities helps validate students’ experiences. As a faculty member, I can show them that success is not impossible. My hope is that these students, many of whom have overcome so many odds to get here, earn their degrees and go on to change the world.”
For Cassady, Roley-Roberts and the other student ambassadors and faculty champions, the program goes beyond just providing resources for first-generation students — it is about making them feel welcomed, accepted and amplifying their stories.
“We are helping first-generation students see that they are not alone here at WVU,” Roley-Roberts said.
The efforts of the First2 Network program and new initiatives funded by the First-Generation Student Success Grant are spearheaded by Paden, Michelle Richards-Babb, associate chair of undergraduate studies in the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry, Cinthia Pacheco, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and Marjorie Darrah, professor in the School of Mathematical and Data Sciences.
“Working in these two initiatives has given me the privilege of witnessing firsthand how small but intentional forms of support can help first-generation students truly thrive,” Pacheco said.
In addition to mentoring for students, the grant will bring first-generation resources and programming to high school teachers and school counselors across the state through FirstGen Drive-in workshops facilitated by Paden, Pacheco and Richards-Babb, with assistance from student ambassadors and other campus partners.
These new programs join a number of ongoing efforts led by WVU FirstGen Initiatives to support students, such as first-generation events and celebrations and all the support services available within the REACH Student Success Center.