On Being the First
First-generation Stories From Across the Decades

(Illustration: Matthew Hancock)
By Kenna Caprio and Rebecca Maxon
What’s it like to be the first person in your family to graduate from college?
Hard. Scary. Exciting. Gratifying. Life-changing.
Nine alumni and one current student — a group representing eight decades of higher education, individuals who attended FDU starting in the 1960s and running up through 2022 — open up about the pressures, the opportunities and the beauty of being first.