UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Kelly Swigert, the director of FIRST@Smeal began speaking with first-generation students in the Penn State Smeal College of Business, she said she heard many of the same concerns.

Students described balancing jobs alongside demanding coursework, navigating college without family members who had attended before them and, perhaps most importantly, feeling like they did not belong, Swigart said.

“I knew it had nothing to do with first-generation students being less capable or less intelligent,” she said. “They all passed the same incredibly high bar to get admitted to Smeal in the first place.”

Those conversations became the foundation for FIRST@Smeal, a program established in 2023 to support first-generation students –– those whose parents or guardians did not earn a four-year college degree ––through academic advising, professional development, leadership opportunities, networking and mentorship while fostering a sense of belonging within the college. The program aims to help participants build confidence and prepare for academic and professional success.

FIRST@Smeal was created after data showed first-generation students were facing unique challenges during their transition to college, including lower first-year grade-point averages and first-year completion rates than their peers, Swigert said.

As Swigert continued speaking with students, two themes consistently emerged. Many first-generation students balanced demanding work schedules alongside their coursework, she explained, while others shared that they simply did not feel like they belonged within Smeal.

“At University Park, about one in four students is first-generation, but in Smeal it's only about one in 10,” Swigert said. “They felt like they were so different from everybody.”

Those conversations shaped what FIRST@Smeal would become, she said.

Since launching in 2023, the program has grown from an incoming class of approximately 100 students to nearly 200 first-generation students expected to join this fall. Along with academic support, FIRST@Smeal now offers networking opportunities, company visits, professional development workshops, alumni connections and leadership experiences designed specifically for first-generation business students.

Unlike many student support initiatives, Swigert said, FIRST@Smeal has evolved into a program driven largely by its students.

Through the program’s Leadership Council, students help plan events, mentor younger classmates, develop new initiatives and identify resources they believe will best support future cohorts.

“There’s actually a lot of research on the efficacy of programs that are student-led,” Swigert said, “The students really get to take ownership of it and build the program itself to be what they want and need it to be.”

The student-led approach quickly became evident through Samantha McArthur and Rita Ni. Although they joined the program after its initial launch, both immediately stepped into leadership roles. During one of the Leadership Council’s first meetings, Swigert said she recalled younger students naturally turning to the pair for advice about navigating Smeal coursework, entering their majors and adjusting to college life.

“It was so valuable coming from them as students who had just done it themselves,” Swigert said. “Even if they said the exact same things I was saying, it was so valuable coming from them."

This spring, McArthur and Ni became the program’s first graduates.

McArthur, who graduated with dual degrees in accounting and business analytics and information systems, said finding FIRST@Smeal changed the trajectory of her Penn State experience.

Originally from Queens, New York, McArthur described her transition to University Park as "a culture shock." During her first semester, she said she struggled to adjust to the size of campus and questioned whether Penn State was the right fit.

“I was looking at different schools,” McArthur said, adding that she was looking into transferring.

Her academic adviser, Lisa Edwards, introduced her to FIRST@Smeal. McArthur said she attended one of the program’s game nights and found something she had been missing — a community of students who understood her experience.

“They really helped shape my experience from feeling lonely and small to being like, ‘This is a community that I can grow in,’” she said.

As her confidence grew, McArthur became secretary of the Leadership Council executive board, helping organize meetings, mentor younger students and encourage other first-generation students to become involved.

Professionally, FIRST@Smeal also helped prepare her for life after graduation. She said she developed the skills and confidence she needed during her job search. Through résumé workshops, networking opportunities and connections with recruiters, McArthur said she was able to build relationships with recruiters in a more personal setting than traditional career fairs.

Before that, she said, “I had been applying and applying and applying. I was feeling kind of hopeless.”

She said the program exposed her to employers and professional connections she may not have otherwise encountered as she prepared to begin her career with IBM in New York City.

Ni’s experience followed a different path but led to the same sense of belonging. A 2+2 student who transferred from Penn State York, Ni initially kept to herself after arriving at University Park and was hesitant to join campus organizations. Everything changed, she said, after a friend invited her to a FIRST@Smeal meeting.

Ni joined the Leadership Council’s Events Team, where she helped organize social and professional development events, including cookie decorating, movie nights, ice cream socials, career workshops and networking opportunities designed to help students connect with one another.

Through FIRST@Smeal, she also participated in company visits with organizations including BNY, AXA XL and Clark Associates. She also learned about Tri-Alpha, the national honor society for first-generation college students, and was later inducted into the organization in recognition of her academic achievement and leadership.

She said the program’s encouragement and support also influenced her decisions to continue her education by pursuing a master’s degree in supply chain management at Penn State this fall.

For both graduates, mentoring younger students became one of the most meaningful aspects of their experience.

“I wanted to be there for someone in the way that I wish someone had been there for me,” McArthur said.

Ni shared a similar motivation.

“I wanted to make a change,” she said. “I knew how it felt as a first-gen. It’s important to help make life easier.”

For Swigert, the impact of McArthur and Ni extends far beyond their individual accomplishments.

“They are our first students that have graduated as FIRST@Smeal students,” she said. “These two students are a part of why FIRST@Smeal exists the way it does.”

As FIRST@Smeal prepares to welcome its largest incoming class year, Swigert said she hopes future students continue building the supportive community that McArthur, Ni and other student leaders helped create.

McArthur said she credits the program by changing the course of her college experience.

“Because of FIRST@Smeal,” she said, “I made it through and was able to graduate college.”

Ni hopes further students recognize the same opportunity.

“I really enjoyed helping create opportunities for students to connect with one another while also supporting their personal and professional growth. I became someone that other people can look up to,” she said.