Kelly Ritter, far left, talks with students at the First-Generation Faculty Committee dinner in November. The dinner was the first formal activity for the new group, which hopes to provide even better support for first-gen students at Georgia Tech.
It’s hard being a first-gen student. Just ask Jinxia Loo, a fourth-year student in the School of History and Sociology.
“During your first year at Georgia Tech, it can be really hard for anyone to adjust, but it’s especially hard for first-generation students,” she said. “You’re just thrown into things with no one to easily reference to ask for help.”
A new faculty committee made up of first-gen college graduates from across campus is hoping to help change that by supplementing existing initiatives to support such students at Georgia Tech.
The new First-Generation Faculty Advisory Board hopes to foster even better support for first-generation Georgia Tech students, in the classroom and beyond, by bridging the gap between academic expectations and students’ lived experiences.
“The goal is to work with those assets rather than framing the students’ experience through a deficit mindset. Faculty need to recognize and build upon the strengths these students bring,” said board founder Kelly Ritter, herself a first-generation college graduate as well as the chair of the School of LMC.
Ritter and her colleagues on the board want to amplify the voices and needs of first-generation students while leveraging faculty expertise to foster a more inclusive academic environment.
“A lot of these students don’t have mentors,” said Charmaine Troy, a member of the committee and associate director of First-Generation Student Initiatives in the Office of Undergraduate Education. “They don’t have family members who have gone to college that can help them transition to college or tell them to get involved in certain things.”
A Faculty-Led Initiative
Ritter describes the board as a means of amplifying Troy’s work while creating new opportunities for faculty to engage with and mentor first-generation students outside the classroom.
Faculty members from many of Georgia Tech’s colleges serve on the committee, an intentional choice designed to ensure a diverse network of faculty who share the collective experience of being first-generation students. This diversity, Ritter says, helps “ensure that the work reflects the broad, intersectional identities of first-generation students.”
The committee is also poised to help educate faculty about the diverse needs of first-generation students, who come from a variety of backgrounds and educational circumstances, Ritter said.
“It’s not just students of color. It’s not just students from rural areas. First-gen students come in with an astonishing array of backgrounds, capabilities, and interests,” she said. “Faculty need to recognize and work with the cultural capital that first-gen students bring, rather than assuming they lack what students who have at least one parent who has earned a college degree possess.”
Ritter said it’s important for faculty to first recognize the intellectual and cultural wealth such students bring to campus, then think about the kinds of support systems such students need to thrive.
The board’s inaugural year is functioning as a pilot, exploring initiatives like faculty-student mentoring programs and workshops aimed at addressing classroom challenges unique to first-generation students.
Its first signature event, a mentoring dinner held during the First-Generation Celebration Week in November, went well, Troy said.
“The conversations were robust,” Troy said. “Students were excited to connect with faculty in an informal setting, asking questions about navigating Georgia Tech, pursuing research opportunities, and even how to succeed in their classes.”
Building a Culture of Support
Troy launched Georgia Tech’s first formal initiatives for first-generation students on her arrival here in 2021. They included a peer mentoring program, a shadowing initiative, and the annual First-Generation Celebration Week.
The First-Generation Faculty Advisory Board is the next logical step, she said.
“Faculty play a key role in creating environments where first-generation students feel seen and supported,” Troy said.
Loo said she hopes the committee can spread awareness of the needs of students like her.
“The hard part is just how to bridge the gap between students and professors and making it easier and more approachable for students to engage with adults,” she said. “The committee will definitely help with spreading awareness and just letting students know that some of their professors have gone through similar experiences.”
For Ritter, this mission resonates, personally and professionally.
“First-generation students bring a different kind of cultural capital to the classroom,” she said. “The goal is to work with those assets rather than framing their experience through a deficit mindset. Faculty need to recognize and build upon the strengths these students bring, and also understand their unique needs, especially at a high-pressure, competitive place like Georgia Tech.”
Ritter has written about the complexities of serving first-generation students in her award-winning edited book, Beyond Fitting In: Rethinking First-Generation Writing and Literacy Education (see sidebar). The book offers practical strategies for teaching and mentoring first-generation students, based on empirical research.
“It emphasizes moving beyond individual anecdotes to action plans for the field of Writing Studies,” Ritter said. “It’s about understanding the diverse needs of first-generation students and providing replicable frameworks and strategies that other educators can adopt inside and outside writing-based classrooms.”
Looking Ahead
As Georgia Tech’s first-generation student population continues to grow —over 1,500 students identified as first-generation this year alone —Troy and Ritter are committed to expanding the advisory board’s impact. Long-term goals include increasing faculty participation and establishing a signature program that strengthens connections between first-generation students and faculty.
Metrics will play a key role in assessing how these efforts complement the work of Troy’s office, which has already helped increase first-gen retention rates.
“We’re also seeing more first-generation students engaging in experiential learning opportunities like study abroad and research,” Troy said.
Both Ritter and Troy see this work as essential not only to supporting first-generation students but also enriching the broader Georgia Tech community.
“First-generation students bring unique perspectives and resilience to our campus,” Ritter said. “By supporting them, we’re also creating a more dynamic and inclusive learning environment for everyone.”
About 'Beyond Fitting In'
Ritter’s book, Beyond Fitting In: Rethinking First-Generation Writing and Literacy Education, is the first to focus solely on first-generation literacy and writing from “a pragmatic, research-based perspective.”
The volume, which was published in 2023 and recently short-listed for the South Atlantic Modern Language Association Award for Best Edited Collection, highlights the importance of shifting away from the “deficit mindset” that often frames first-generation students as lacking essential skills or preparation.
Divided into three sections, the collection explores definitions of first-generation students, their experiences in writing courses across the curriculum, and the broader contexts in which they engage with literacy in professional settings, including graduate school. It offers strategies to better support first-generation students in writing-focused classrooms and beyond.
“This book showcases multiple methods and strategies for teaching writing and other literacy-based courses to first-gen students,” Ritter said. It also examines ways to “capitalize on the strengths of first-generation students in co-curricular work and other writing occasions.”
The chapters include diverse perspectives and data-driven approaches, drawing from contributors at research universities, regional universities, HBCUs, and community colleges. Ritter’s introduction to the book, “On the Precipice,” connects her own journey as a first-generation student with the broader social and economic dynamics that shape first-generation experiences in higher education.
“The title comes from the notion of the fear of falling from one social class to another, in American economic terms,” she said. This fear, she noted, often drives first-generation students both personally and professionally.
Ritter’s book is a call to action for educators, encouraging them to rethink how they approach teaching and mentorship of first-generation students.
“Because literacy is often seen as a kind of social certification in the United States, it’s important to understand what challenges and what assets first-generation students bring to college-level writing situations, and how social class is a critical element of many students’ experiences in higher education overall,” said Ritter. “By doing so, institutions can better support these students in realizing their potential while enriching our academic community as a whole.”
First-Generation & Limited Income Student Initiatives
As part of the Office of Undergraduate Education’s Academic Success and Advising unit, First-Generation & Limited Income Student Initiatives collaborates with diverse campus and community partners to provide support through co-curricular programming for first-generation students.
For more information, head to the Initiative's website.
Communication Center
The Communication Center supports writers and communicators from across the Georgia Tech community with communication skills and projects related to their academic work, careers, and civic and community lives. As an inclusive resource, the center welcomes those of all identities, languages, and ability levels.
For more details, visit the Communication Center website.