July 8, 2020 ALL

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Today: Webinars for First-Generation and Low-Income Student

The Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion (CSDI) is excited to connect students with the national student-led national organization AL1GN. The Alliance for the Low-Income & First-Generation Narrative (AL1GN) is a student-led conference series and coalition dedicated to serving first-generation and low-income (FGLI) students through student empowerment, community building, and national conferences.

CSDI is excited to share with you AL1GN’s on-demand webinars, especially for students who self-identify as first-generation and low-income. All sessions are ready to view now. Check them out and let us know what you think by emailing us at csdi@jcu.edu.

AL1GN 101: Roadmapping for the Future
Session Video: https://youtu.be/7rjfGosHoP8
The Alliance for the Low-Income & First-Generation Narrative (AL1GN) is a conference series for and by first-generation and low-income students to build community and capacity for self-advocacy and institutional change. Here we do a proper introduction of AL1GN for people who haven’t attended one of our conferences and set the stage for our organization moving forward.

Job Searching in the Era of Coronavirus
Session Video: https://youtu.be/HldstDCtaik
This session discusses the state of the job market, and share ways to effectively network and find a job or internship in these trying times, especially as a first-generation and low-income student.

Pursuing a Career in Medicine
Session Video: https://youtu.be/59PIQ2PcBCo
This interactive webinar will offer guidance on applying to health profession graduate programs as a first-generation and low-income student. From finding shadowing opportunities, to financing application fees and interview travel, there are unique challenges posed to pre-health first-generation and/or low-income students.

Undocumented Limbo as an FGLI Student
Session Video: https://youtu.be/e8Y4hLtd3mo
In this session, Lesley Reyes, a sophomore at St. Joseph’s University, and Joseph Mendoza, a sophomore at Camden County College, present on the challenges of being undocumented and a first-generation and low-income student amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Stories- An Informal Discussion on Mental Health
Session Video: https://youtu.be/AKsHryYkAxs
Listen to stories from recent college students about their mental health journeys and engage in the broader discussion of how stigma, guilt, and other factors related to being first-generation and low-income, especially now, play into your own mental health. The Steve Fund is an organization dedicated to the support and advocacy of mental health in students of color (but also, in this case, first-generation and low-income students!).

Are you a first generation or low-income student?
You might be a first-generation (first-gen) student if neither of your parents received a bachelor’s (4-year) degree. CSDI encourages students to self-identify, meaning that you tell us whether you believe you’re a first-generation student based on your understanding of the first-gen identity and your family’s educational attainment.

You might be a low-income student if you qualify for the Pell Grant. The Pell Grant is a subsidy provided by the federal government to qualifying low-income students. Other indicators include food insecurity, eligibility for government assistance programs (Medicaid, TANF, SSI, etc), and the inability to afford other basic needs, such as housing or medication.

A special thank you to Jamellah Craven (previous CSDI Graduate Assistant focusing on the First@JCU program) for connecting CSDI to AL1GN and all of their wonderful peer-created resources. To learn more about AL1GN visit: https://al1gnconference.com

To join JCU’s own version of ALIGN email csdi@jcu.edu.