Forty-six percent of Pace University’s incoming freshmen are first-generation college students and Niki Fjeldal and Heather Novak feel compelled to help them.

Fjeldal, Director of Student Development and Transitions, and Novak, Associate Director of Project Pericles, hosted their “Are You F1rst?” event this past Thursday to unite current Pace first-generation students and find solutions that will help both present and future first-generation college students.

The directors began the event with an icebreaker activity and a YouTube video, “Why First Generation Students Need Mentors Who Get Them,” to start the conversation about what changes need to be made to help first-generation students become comfortable at school.

“The reason we showed [the video] is because being first-generation students and actually willing to admit it and come here, we think, is amazing and we really appreciate it,” Fjeldal said. “But we want to create an environment on campus where there is a space for first-generation students to feel like they can ask questions that they don’t know the answer to.”

Although not a first-generation student, Fjeldal explained why this event was so important to her.

“I’m not a first-generation student,” Fjeldal said. “But my nieces and nephew are. It’s a really interesting paradox for me because my father went to college. My mother didn’t and the rest of my siblings didn’t [either]. For a while, I saw that my nieces and nephews didn’t know what to do [in college], so I was like, ‘We need to get this across the board.”

As a first-generation college student herself, Novak can empathize with other first-generation students because she has had a first hand experience with the difficulties that come with college transitions.

“A lot of the times it’s just a hard process,” Novak said. “[First-generation students] feel like they’re alone.”

Over the course of the event, multiple students spent time discussing the difficulties they faced in their first years at Pace and what more they would like to see to help other students ease into their college careers.

“I don’t want to repeat family history,” said Jeneé Santiago, a freshman and first-year generation student at Pace. “I want to move forward and be better than my mom. You just want to be better than your parents. College wasn’t a big deal [to my parents]. My mom doesn’t work right now and my dad’s currently not around. It was hard, though, because you have to figure everything out by yourself. It’s frustrating.”

After comparing the hardships between each student, everyone discussed ideas on how to make future Pace first-generation students feel more comfortable. Fjeldal and Novak took notes as students brainstormed.

“Since I run orientation in the Week of Welcome, I really like the idea of us trying to do a First-Generation University 101 [class],” Fjeldal said. “I think it’s almost like a support group. I [also] like this idea of doing a social program for current first-generation students [and] new first-generation students trying to meet each other and potentially find mentorship.”

Fjeldal and Novak plan to continue this event over the course of the semester and are pleased with the outcome of the event’s debut.

Additional meetings will be held on Oct. 27 and Dec. 1 at 3:25-4:15 PM at the Dean’s Lounge in Kessel.