Earlier this week, the Center for Student Development & Campus Activities (SDCA), in collaboration with The Center for Community Action and Research (CCAR), hosted their second annual “First Generation Social” in the Kessel Multipurpose Room.

There was an estimated forty students and fifteen faculty members in attendance. During this event, each student and professor chose one of four colored name tags, and then mingled with a person or group of people with the same color.

However,  by the end, everyone was so comfortable with each other, that the name tags didn’t really matter.

“This is an event where Pace undergrads, Pace faculty, and Pace alumni who are  the first in their family to go to college come and gather for social connections,” said  Heather Novak, from CCAR.

“The fact that staff members took the initiative to create this type of event shows how much dedication they have to connect a variety of students; from different demographics, but in different instances. In this specific instance, it’s first-generation students,” said Zikomo Barr, the new Coordinator for Leadership Initiatives in SDCA. “This event has not only given first-generation students a chance to come and identify with other students and faculty on campus, but also to help them realize that they’re not the only ones in the struggle, and they can get inspired to finish their degree.”