On Feb. 14 a new club was chartered at Rowan University called First-gen Rowan Students, or F1RST. F1RST was founded by mental health clinician, Andrea Leach with the help of 10 students who are now the members of the e-board.

In the fall of 2023, Andrea Leach started a group called We Are The First. It was a group where all first-generation students could come and get support and talk about their experiences.

“Every time we would meet, we would always say we need a club. And what We Are The First did was give resources. That’s how the group first started, it was just first-gen students coming together and I gave them space and some snacks with resources and they would all share,” said Leach.

The club allows first-gen students to learn about different events and resources that are in the university. Talking with other students lets the students gain information about scholarships and important events that they may have not known about before. The club started with nothing, and soon students Tahla Henkel, Ashly Lopez, Olivia Santini, Michelle Bautista, Ezekiel Abrams, Zayra Yzarel, and Mikhai Johnson, with the help of counselor Leach, created something that sparks history and benefits students at Rowan.

“This club is very special to me. I am the daughter of immigrants who did not make it past middle school back in their homeland. Meaning I struggled with navigating higher education. Being a part of this club makes me feel proud because I know that I am helping create a safe space for students who are powering through despite their first-gen challenges,” said the secretary of F1RST, Michelle Bautista.

Once the club created the name and design of the logo they began the SGA process of creating the club.

“Then we were able to start the SGA process and so they put together their presentation and they went to the original meeting. Then we were accepted as participating status and as of the 14th we found out that it’s chartered,” said Leach. “Charter means there is funding that comes with this and that was always my goal for them.”

The club consists of networking and collaborating with other clubs to help first gens become familiar with the university. The club presented in a two day conference at the Rowan First Generation Symposium to talk to other first generation students. Schools from all over the country were using F1RST information on how to start their own club.

“On Proflink we have about 100 students that signed up…to be a part of F1RST. We have a GroupMe that’s labeled as Flying First but it is really F1RST with 165 students. The GroupMe is amazing because those 10 students on the e-board are constantly putting…resources, events, stuff to get first gens to come out and get involved,” said Leach.

One of the events that F1RST held on March 2 was collaborating with Flying First and other first generation organizations to help students file for FASFA. This allowed the students to get resources they did not know about without the help of the faculty and other students.

The club is to help students who feel disconnected and alone. It allows the students to get the help they need and build connections with other students who are feeling the same.

“As a first-generation student, I have often struggled with feelings of doubt and insecurity. However, throughout my years here, I have learned the importance of creating a support system. Surrounding yourself with people who are committed to helping you out and cheering you on is key,” said Bautista.

The F1RST club is a way for students to build these relationships with not only the students but with others in the university.

“Being a first-generation student and being able to come up with a club and execute it. If first-generation students can do it, I think anyone can do it. It just needs the right people and the motivation to keep going and actually put in the effort,” said event coordinator Zayra Yzarel.

According to Flying First, 27% of Rowan undergrad students are first-generation. There are about 4,000 students overall at Rowan who are first-generation students, and the club can help create a community for them on campus.

“This club means a lot to me as a first-generation college student who didn’t have it my first three years on campus. I was completely lost my first year because I had no help from my parents, and I didn’t even know how to register for my classes. Luckily, I had a lot of support from staff and students, but the need for this club is there. It means a lot to help give back to my own community because it was something that would have helped me so much,” said fundraising chair Tahla Henkel.

F1RST is where students can understand their identity as first-gen and not wait until graduation to find out that their peers are also first-generation students. It is to show that they are not alone.

“The University may have many clubs for different reasons but they didn’t have F1RST gen. What we are doing marks history and for the years that go by they will say those were the people who made this for first-generation students. We are leaving a mark,” said Yzarel.

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