First-gen celebration aims to enhance journeys

First-Generation College Celebration Week at Penn College featured an array of exploration and information, highlighted by Lasada “LP” Pippen, a former computer engineer turned motivational speaker. In two speaking engagements – a morning session focused on students and an evening colloquium open to the public, the first-generation college graduate shared his inspiring message about turning obstacles into opportunities and seeing challenges as chances.

About 60 students, as well as numerous faculty and staff, attended Pippen’s first talk, held in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium. He shared his experience of failing out of college his first year and why he chose to fight for his dream to achieve something different. For first-generation college students, there is no blueprint, he noted, and seeing themselves represented and feeling themselves supported are keys.

“If Lasada's message reached just one student, it was worth the time and planning that went into bringing him to campus over the last few months. He connected with our students, both first-generation and not, in ways that were meaningful and encouraged students to overcome their challenges and light a fire in their hearts – to chase after their goals and not let anything stop them,” shared Kaysey L. Beury, coordinator of student success solutions and a champion of first-generation college students.

The evening presentation, part of Penn College’s Technology & Society Colloquia Series, was titled “Bridging the Digital Divide: Unlocking Access and Opportunity in Education.”

The discussion focused on the obstacles and opportunities posed by digital access and artificial intelligence. The topic was particularly relevant for residents of rural geographic locations, and the conversation also considered how to close the technology gaps for first-generation and historically marginalized students.

Beury noted that several members of the community joined the colloquia discussion, including Lycoming County United Way President Ron Frick and Community Impact Director Amber Newell; state Rep. Jamie Flick; and South Williamsport Area School District Superintendent Eric Briggs and school board member, Summer L. Bukeavich, who is also an associate professor of business administration/management and marketing at Penn College.

Leading the conversation with Pippen was Daniel J. Clasby, assistant dean of academic operations at Penn College.

"Dan posed some really great discussion questions that prompted the audience to think about the challenges and current supports for digital access and literacy in our local community, and Lasada gave great perspective of a black student entering a STEM field with little representation," Beury shared. "One of the things he brought up was that there weren't a lot of folks who looked like him, and representation matters for first-generation students who are trying to forge a new path with few mentors available to guide them."

Also shared during the evening were local efforts to bridge the digital divide. South Williamsport Area High School seniors have created a program to teach cell phone basics to senior citizens in the community. United Way representatives noted they are working on a grant to broaden digital literacy and access in Lycoming, Sullivan and Tioga counties.

Also engaged in the conversation was community member Jennifer Miller, a Lycoming Engines employee, member of Leadership Lycoming's Class of 2025 and a first-generation college student, who thanked Pippen for the opportunity to hear his perspectives and noted that "several of your comments resonated with me."

Miller added, "I also found your comments about stamina for the demands of a STEM degree and how AI (artificial intelligence) might impede development of that stamina to be insightful. AI could certainly be a double-edged sword."

Beury said she and other staff at the Hudock Center for Academic Excellence work regularly with Penn College students on "building the stamina and routines necessary to be a successful student."

Coordinated by the Hudock Center, the First-Generation Student Celebration spanned Nov. 4-8 and also offered financial literacy sessions, an exploration in the Dr. Welch Workshop: A Makerspace at Penn College, and a bingo night co-hosted with the Veteran Student Organization. (The first-gen week coincides with Veterans Week.)

National First-Generation College Celebration Day is a call to celebrate students, faculty and staff who are the first in their family to pursue a four-year undergraduate degree in the U.S. The date of Nov. 8 was identified for the celebration, honoring the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965.