Nov. 8 is National First-Generation College Celebration Day and this is the time to celebrate students, staff, and faculty who are the first in their family to pursue an undergraduate college degree.  

Otterbein’s Office of Social Justice and Activism partnered with the Counseling Center in hosting the University’s very own First-Generation College Celebration earlier today. At the event, Wendy Sherman Heckler, Otterbein’s provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs, shared her story of becoming a first-generation student herself.  

The Celebration included music, food, and amazing conversation from OSJA Director Selethia Brown and Chief Diversity Officer Frank Dobson, a first-generation graduate himself, as well as from current first-generation students who talked about their experiences being the first in their families and what it means to them to be a first-generation student, the importance of providing support to those students. Counselors Denise Harrison and Sarah Perry, also first-generation graduates, were on hand to share their stories and lend support to the first-generation students.  

Learn more about the Office of Social Justic and Activism, the Counseling Center, and Student Success and Career Services — all of which are great resources for Otterbein’s first-generation students as they pave the way for generations to come!