Look! Headed up Drury Lane! It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s Drury University’s newest to-be students!

Drury organizations will come together to host the Imagine Conference for First-Generation Students on March 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The conference hopes to give incoming first-generation college students access to important information.

What should first-generations expect?

The event will give students the chance to explore opportunities and envision their futures. At the Imagine Conference, students can attend presentations about filing for the FAFSA, exploring majors and careers, time management, applying for scholarships and more.

Dr. Elizabeth Nichols, the event’s contact, explained that one of the sponsoring organizations, Drury Somos CAMP Program, is a program funded through the U.S. Department of Education. CAMP stands for College Assistance Migrant Program.

“[The program] is designed to provide support, training, mentoring, and academic counseling to the family members of migrant or seasonal agricultural workers,” said Nichols.  

Imagine Conference logo. Graphic via Nichols.

While Somos is sponsoring this event, students do not have to be a part of the program to participate. In fact, interested individuals do not have to attend or plan to attend Drury. The conference is free for all first-generation college students, as well as, any high school juniors and seniors in the community who will be the first in their families to attend college.

“There are lots of conferences about first generation students, but we could not find one that was for first generation students. We wanted our Somos students to attend such a conference and, since it didn’t seem to exist, we invented one,” said Nichols.

For many first generation students, going to college can be difficult for a variety of reasons. One reason may be that their families have different expectations for them.

“They are often under significant pressure to work full-time immediately after high school to support family,” said Nichols.

The pressure often leads to other issues such as resentment and feelings of loss.

“Families often worry that they will lose the student,” said Nichols.

Because of these reasons, first generation students may not know what to expect from college. If students do not have family members they can ask for information, they may feel left in the dark.

“The entire system is intimidating, scary and can seem impossible to figure out,” said Nichols.

From registering for classes to applying for loans, college can be overwhelming. The Imagine Conference hopes to equip first generation students in the Springfield community with the knowledge and resources they need to thrive in college.

Students can register for the conference by submitting a registration form on Drury’s website, located at http://bit.ly/2HVgqF9. 

For questions, contact Elizabeth Nichols at enichols@drury.edu or (417) 873-6925.

Current students tell their stories

There is not a “typical” college experience, but being a first-generation college student may mean using a different approach at applying for college. 

For sophomore arts administration major Megan Merseal, she said not having a family legacy at a university made her experience a bit different. She said a lot of her friends started looking at the schools that their parents attended, but that was not the case for her.

Merseal, left, on Freshman First Day in 2016. Photo provided by Perkins.

“I did not have an alma mater to look into, but my parents were pretty [supportive] with where I was going to go, as long as I was happy,” said Merseal.

Going on campus tours, she said, was interesting because neither her or her parents knew what to expect. For the first few tours, her family just went with the flow and got a feel for Merseal’s prospective universities.

Clayton Baumgarth, senior Multimedia Production and Journalism student, said he did not know where to start either.

“I really didn’t know what I wanted or needed,” said Baumgarth. “I treated all universities the same. Knowing what I know now, that probably shouldn’t have been the case.”

He said he spent a lot of time reading brochures and reviewing schools. Merseal found that reaching out to school teachers provided helpful information.

Baumgarth said that once he was further along in his college search he felt more secure. He described Drury as being supportive throughout the entire enrollment process.

“I felt pretty comfortable once I got into a school and knew where I was going. That support was there for sure,” Baumgarth said.

Merseal believes that Drury treated her like any other incoming college student. A few factors helped make her decision to enroll. 

“At the time, Drury fit my intended Theatre major the best. [Drury] was where I knew the most people and felt the most comfortable,” said Merseal.

Although she decided to change majors, that comfort created a community in which she wanted to remain a part of.

“I stayed because Drury still had the career options I wanted for the future,” said Merseal. “I was able to get the help I needed to stay and my personal plan still fit into Drury’s academics,” said Merseal.

Baumgarth chose Drury because of his experiences during an overnight visit. He said that the opportunity to spend time with other potential Drury students and talk with current students confirmed his decision.

How to connect with students like you 

First generation freshman can connect with upperclassmen through a mentoring program called Peer2Peer. Drury’s Office of Community Outreach and Leadership Development sponsors Peer2Peer, which launched last fall with 18 mentors.

Alexis Shuler is a Peer2Peer mentor and a first-generation student.

“I joined the program because I felt very alone my first year of college,” said Shuler. “I wanted to help people who are first generations feel more at home at Drury.”

Shuler explained that the mentoring program connects students with people who have already experienced their first year of college.

She said, “First generations have the problem of no one understanding the stress of figuring everything out. Your parents can’t really help you because they don’t understand what you’re talking about.”  

That’s where the Peer2Peer program comes in. Mentees can ask their mentors questions about college, classes, the campus and more. While mentors may not have all the answers, they can guide their mentees to those who do.

The program helps students feel like they are not alone.

According to Shuler, she and the other mentors are there for basically anything that a mentee wants to do to help them de-stress or feel at home.”

Lauren Pyle is also Peer2Peer mentor. Unlike Shuler, Pyle is not a first-generation student. However, she enjoys helping incoming students transition to college.

She describes the organization as a “resource” for first-generation freshman.

“We’re there to help them get adjusted, help them get involved on campus, go out to eat with them and just be a familiar face that they can get to know,” said Pyle.

Pyle currently has two mentees whom she meets with once every one to two weeks. Sometimes Pyle and her mentees catch up over meals at the CX, and sometimes they explore Springfield, going to coffee shops or the ice skating rink.

“Going to college for anyone is definitely a transition,” said Pyle. “But if you are a first-generation student, you often don’t know what to expect.”

Peer2Peer matches mentors and mentees according to personality profiles. Mentors fill out profiles that include their pictures and information. According to Pyle, the profile asked mentors to define their sense of humor and list their favorite TV shows among other questions.

The mentees rank the available mentors in order of whom they would like most as a mentor. “Everyone was assigned one of their top three people,” said Pyle of last year’s process.

Upperclassmen can apply to be mentors for the 2018-19 school year online at http://www.drury.edu/volunteer/peer2peer. The application window will not open until later this semester, but students can start filling out the application now.

Prospective Drury students can contact the Office of Community Outreach and Leadership Development at leadership@drury.edu for questions about the program.

Article by Taylor Stanton and Taylor Perkins