About a quarter of all Allen School students are first-generation or first-gen, meaning that they are one of the first in their family to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in the U.S., according to Allen School demographics data.
In 2020, a group of first-gen Allen School students including Aerin Malana (B.S. ‘22) approached Chloe Dolese Mandeville, the Allen School’s Assistant Director for Diversity & Access, and Leslie Ikeda, who manages the Allen School Scholars Program, wanting to build a club to help support and recognize their fellow first-gen students. Today, the club called GEN1 has helped first-gen students find community, connect with resources at the Allen School and University of Washington and more — all with the goal of highlighting the first-gen experience.
“A really important goal of GEN1 was to celebrate that being a trailblazer and coming into this space has a lot of weight, and also there’s a lot of joy and things to celebrate in that journey,” said former GEN1 adviser Ikeda.
Fostering community
For Ikeda, who was also a first-gen student, the experience can feel like an “invisible identity” that comes with unique challenges.
“The first-generation experience can feel very isolating, especially coming into a larger institution and a competitive program such as the Allen School,” Ikeda said. “If you don’t have the social capital or the networks, you can feel really lost.”
GEN1’s goal is to make the first-gen community more visible and provide members with a space to share their stories with other first-gen students. Many students come to the club looking for others who understand their experience.
“I joined GEN1 because I was looking for a computer science and engineering community who have similar backgrounds as me,” said Christy Nguyen, Allen School undergraduate student and GEN1 vice chair. “I felt really behind compared to my peers when starting my computer science journey because I couldn’t ask my parents about coding-related difficulties. I’m really happy that I’m in GEN1 because we share these experiences and help each other in times when our parents can’t.”
Over the years, the club has led multiple initiatives and programs to help students thrive in their academics, future careers and their overall wellbeing. These include bi-weekly study sessions, an alumni mentorship program, an internship program to onboard new club officers and self-care packages during midterms and finals. GEN1 also hosts social events such as pumpkin painting to help students destress and unwind. At the same time, GEN1 also collaborates with other groups at the Allen School such as Women in Computing, recognizing how “intersectional” the first-gen identity can be, Ikeda said.
Czarina Dela Cruz, Allen School undergraduate student and GEN1 chair, has been involved with GEN1 since her freshman year and ran for the position to provide other students with the same sense of community that welcomed her in.
“As someone who came into the Allen School without a strong technical background, joining GEN1 has helped me find a community who I can rely on for advice, laughs and connections,” Dela Cruz said.
Dela Cruz said her goal for this year as the GEN1 chair is to “increase GEN1’s engagement and reach all first-gen students in the Allen School, to encourage and support as they go along their journey in computing and beyond.” For example, to celebrate National First-Generation Day on Nov. 8, GEN1 hosted a career night featuring companies such as Google and Microsoft along with technical interview workshops. The holiday commemorates the signing of the Higher Education Act, ushering in programming to support first-gen college students.
But National First-Generation Day is not the only time during the year when the Allen School highlights first-gen students. Shortly after the club started, GEN1 began hosting a first-generation Allen School graduation ceremony. The event has grown beyond just a celebration for the graduates, but a chance for the Allen School community to come together and show their support.
“This celebration aspect of GEN1 has been really impactful,” Dolese Mandeville said. “Being here at the Allen School is a huge accomplishment, but it’s also important to highlight everything they do beyond. Having GEN1 as a space for first-gen students is amazing, but I hope they know that everyone else is also rooting for them to succeed.”
For more information about GEN1, visit the club’s website.