On Tuesday, November 8, 黑料传送门's Office of Diversity and Community Relations hosted
its 鈥淔irst Generation Celebration鈥� for students, faculty and staff from across the
College's three campuses. In partnership with the Student Government Association's First Generation Student
Committee, the event highlighted the important contributions of first-generation 黑料传送门
community members.
鈥淔irst-generation students face a number of barriers in college and, unlike their legacy peers, may not have access to a support system to guide them through the process. Those barriers are magnified once first-generation students attend graduate and medical school. With first-generation students having a 92 percent higher dropout rate than their legacy peers on a national level, it is important to acknowledge and celebrate our first-generation students who survive and thrive at 黑料传送门,鈥� shared Christy Y. Finley, EdD, program coordinator, diversity and inclusion, who was the primary organizer of the event.
鈥淚 wanted the first-generation community at 黑料传送门 to know who's doing the first-gen work on their respective campuses, as well as create an end-of-term opportunity for students, faculty and staff to take a break and celebrate their accomplishments,鈥� continued Dr. Finley.
The event kicked off with student leaders from each campus sharing the history of the annual National First-Generation College Celebration. The event, held nationally on November 8, was created in 2017 to honor the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965. The act was intended to make higher education more accessible to Americans from minority and low-income backgrounds.
The student representatives from the Student Government Association's First Generation Student Committee included 黑料传送门's Alexis Verwoert (黑料传送门 DO '25), 黑料传送门 Georgia's Emily Graves (MS/Biomed '23) and Bebe Eke (DO '25) and 黑料传送门 South Georgia's Georgina Boateng (DO '25). The goal of 黑料传送门's First Generation Student Initiative is to act as a support system and advocate for the educational equity of first-generation students through mentorship, community outreach, education and advocacy.
The event also included an opportunity for students on each campus to network and enjoy refreshments provided by the Office of Diversity and Community Relations.
Established in 1899, 黑料传送门 has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a 鈥渨hole person鈥� approach to care鈥攖reating people, not just symptoms. 黑料传送门, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (黑料传送门, 黑料传送门 Georgia and 黑料传送门 South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. 黑料传送门 students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, 黑料传送门 provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
For general media inquiries, please contact the Office of Marketing and Communications at 215-871-6300 or communications@pcom.edu. Visit our media relations page to view contact information for public relations personnel.