This year Elon welcomes its largest class ever of first generation students. The 125 first generation students arriving on campus later this week represent 9% of the incoming Class of 2016. While this is certainly cause to be celebrate, the focus must now turn to helping these students navigate the in’s and out’s of college life.
Here in the Student Professional Development Center (SPDC), we are partnering with other campus leaders and first generation advocates to ensure these students get off to a strong start. One of the ways in particular we are seeking to support our first generation students is to help them understand the importance of building a professional network as soon as possible. One way we will be doing this is to very intentionally market to them a successful student-to-student networking event called The Elon Network or TEN for short. TEN is now in its third year here and has proven to be one of the most popular events on campus each year. One of the primary objectives of TEN is support first-year and sophomores in developing effective professional networks that they can continue to build and expand on during the remainder of their college experience.
In addition to TEN, we also heavily promote the Elon Mentor Network. The Mentor Network consists of more than 800 active and engaged alumni and parent partners from a wide variety of background. This resource can provide concrete exposure to the working world through a mentorship that focuses on professional and career development. Sometimes all it takes is one connection to change the direction of a students life.
Stay tuned for more updates on the Class of 2016 and its first generation members as the school year moves along!
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