‘First Generation’ Documentary Screening, Panel for High School Students Slated for Thursday

Duquesne will host nearly 300 area high school students for a screening of First Generation, a documentary following the journeys of four high school seniors to higher education. A panel discussion about navigating the path to higher education and breaking the cycle of poverty will follow the film screening on Thursday, Dec. 18, starting at 10 a.m. in the Power Center Ballroom.

“We were founded on serving first-generation students,” said Debbie Zugates, director of undergraduate admission. “Many of our current students are first generation, and it’s wonderful to give prospective first-generation students access and inspiration through the film and panel.”

Students from Pittsburgh Public Schools, charter schools and surrounding districts have been invited to participate in the event, which is sponsored by the University and other members of the Western Pennsylvania College Success Roundtable.

The inspirational, 90-minute film, supported by Wells Fargo, promotes college readiness, access and success by chronicling the lives of four students from their junior years of high school, as they handle personal struggles and consider college. The panel discussion after the film will feature current Duquesne students and students from other local institutions.

The event was developed to ease the path of other first-generation students and to help them enter college. More than one-third of the 5- to 17-year-olds in the United States will be the first in their immediate families to attend college, with the highest rates for first-generation possibilities among Hispanics and other minorities, according to the College Board. First-generation students are “disproportionately over-represented among the most disadvantaged groups,” according to the College Board.

These students may not have access to or awareness of key information that can assist them in their educational aspirations, said Zugates, a first-generation student herself. “They need to know about potential barriers and how to overcome them as well as how to finance their education,” she said. “One of the best suggestions is to find a peer-mentor, someone who has forged the path and can show you the way.”

For more information about attending, contact Kim McCurdy at kmccurdy@pheaa.org.