Northwest Missouri State University will host a campus-wide celebration of first-generation students on Thursday, Nov. 7.

The come-and-go event is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the J.W. Jones Student Union Living Room and will feature testimonials by current Northwest students and alumni who identify as first-generation students. Attendees will have access to first-generation resources and may participate in a variety of activities, including a raffle and photo booth. Attendees also may write letters of gratitude to first-generation supporters.

“We are excited to celebrate our first-generation students this week as part of the national first-generation college celebration,” Allison Hoffmann, Northwest’s director of academic success and retention, said. “Our enrollment indicates a higher percentage of first-generation students attending Northwest – something we are very excited about. We are committed to ensuring first-generation students have the necessary resources and support to ensure they succeed, persist and graduate at the same rate as students that do not report as first-generation.”

At Northwest, more than 35 percent of undergraduates are first-generation students, and 46 percent of the University’s freshmen this fall identify as first-generation college students.

In addition to Thursday’s event, students, faculty and staff may visit an information booth in the Student Union between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Wednesday to learn more about first-generation students and resources at Northwest.

Northwest’s Academic Success and Retention unit organized and hosts this week’s event, in collaboration with Student Senate, TRIO Student Support Services and the B.D. Owens Library.

Northwest’s celebration coincides with a nationwide initiative sponsored by the Council for Opportunity for Education and the Center for First-generation Student Success to recognize first-generation students. Their third annual First-Generation College Celebration marks the 53rd anniversary of the signing of the 1965 Higher Education Act, which has helped millions of people become the first members of their families to earn college degrees. To learn more, visit https://firstgen.naspa.org/.