Living Learning Center provides guidance, resources for first-generation students
Editor's Note: This story is published in collaboration with the Moody Writing Support Program.
With bags packed and boxes filled, Michelle Lopez, a then-anxiety-ridden business freshman, arrived at college move-in day in Austin. She rode the elevator of her on-campus dorm in Jester West to the First-Generation Living Learning Community, where she'd be living for the year, on the 14th floor. Lopez is the first in her family to enroll in college.
"I was very scared and nervous," Lopez said. "I felt really out of place because it's a huge environment. I didn't know exactly what to do and none of my family could tell me exactly what to do. So I had to figure it out."
Lopez is among the 23.4% of first-generation undergraduate students who are the first in their family to attend college. UT enrolled 9,385 first-year first-gen students for the 2023 fall semester, a rise from the 2022 fall enrollment of just over 9,109 students, according to UT News
"My parents didn't go to college so I'm that representation for them," Lopez said. "It means a lot to me. They are (experiencing) college through me. I'm getting to be an example for future first-gen students. My little sister, I know she's going to want to follow (in my) footsteps and continue on that higher education pathway."
The Living Learning Community is an on-campus housing option for first-generation students. This program creates a community through faculty support and peer mentorships. The community also offers campus guides, mental health help and scholarship resources.
"(College) was a huge change in my life but the (community) guided me to discover myself and discover other people (and) make those connections," Lopez said.
Kayleigh Damphousse, the associate director for New Student Services, joined UT staff in January 2019 and quickly became a leader in creating the community. The community started through collaborations with University Housing and Dining and first-generation groups on campus including the first-generation commitment work group. Twenty students participated in the first year of the community in 2019. Now, the community houses 75 to 90 students every year, Damphousse said.
"'First-gen student' is an invisible identity," Damphousse said. "You don't realize how many first-gen college students are on campus because it's not something you can wear on your sleeve. (We wanted to show some) peers are in a similar boat that you can connect with easily. To have a place on campus where they live where they can feel celebrated in all these accomplishments is the goal."
The community has monthly floor meetings. Last week they played Jeopardy! at a game night. The community also tends to host small group events with one another, including activities such as bowling, Uno tournaments and movie nights.
"It's a nice little fishbowl where you can dip your feet in (and) feel supported," Damphousse said. "The people are like your tool kit, you have people whenever you run into obstacles for some guidance."
At UT, the four-year undergraduate graduation rate for first-gen students grew from 39.7% in 2013 to 66.1% in 2023, according to UT News . This is in part due to things like the community, Damphousse said.
Lopez is now a sophomore and participates as a peer leader of small groups for this year's community members.
"My mentors would tell us about their experiences and they gave me someone's footsteps to follow in," Lopez said. "They had gone through it so I knew I could. It's rewarding to help impact someone's life."
Freshman Ivonne Urquiza lives at the center this year and is in Lopez's small group. Urquiza said she decided to live at the center to be with students from similar backgrounds. She said the community helped her ease into college because of community-building efforts during the year.
The first group of students from the community graduated in 2023. Now, Damphousse said she looks forward to the graduation ceremonies every year and seeing how far the community has come.
"Hopefully the coaching and finding the simplicity of feeling you belong on campus can propel your confidence on campus and make you want to be more involved," Damphousse said. "I think there is low visibility. To create a place that you feel comfortable in and have visibility to have conversations about being first-gen is so important."
