Talking Stick - March/April 2015 - 66

 57  CONTINUeD

FIRST-GENERATION

had decorated her room and settled in
by herself. Baffled, she peppered Ribeiro
with personal questions. "She asked me
if I was a transfer student, and I didn't
know what that was. See, I didn't grow
up with a parent who went to college,
so I didn't know what she was talking
about," Ribeiro says.
The transition to college life is an
ongoing process that requires support
in several different forms. Because
Ribeiro, for example, could not use her
parent as a resource in transitioning
from high school to college, she
eventually found an informal network
of other first-generation students
who helped her navigate the campus,
showed her where to buy textbooks,
and gave her tips about applying for
financial aid.
As another example, although
Kehaulani Vaughn experienced culture
shock during move-in, over time
she did adjust to life at Occidental
during her freshman year. She and her
roommate bonded over their majors
and other similarities. She also credits
two resident assistants for aiding in
her transition. When they observed
Vaughn's unease in the residence
hall, they asked what would make
her feel more comfortable, and they

encouraged her to develop educational
programs about Hawaii. Empowered
by the opportunity to share more
about her home culture, Vaughn ran for
and was elected residence hall senator.
"Towards the end [of my first year], I felt
as if we had more resources to make
me feel less uncomfortable and also
[to] educate others," she says.
It is important for campus housing
departments to recognize the role
student staff can play in easing firstgeneration student transitions and, in
turn, to do what they can to empower
the residential staff to become
institutional agents. Resident directors
and resident assistants are on the front
line in campus residences and can
help ease the transition process for
first-generation students by offering
targeted and intentional programming
in their halls. Quite often, many
first-generation college students
also establish affirming relationships
with custodial or dining services staff,
and these employees should also
be considered valuable resources.
They could, for example, be invited
to participate in mentoring programs
where students can dialogue with
someone whose background may align
with theirs. All of these relationships

can help these students feel at home
on campus.
First-generation student success
- from orientation to retention
to completion - requires skillful
collaboration among numerous
departments, not just housing or
residential life services. There certainly
will be hurdles along the way, but
when students reach that finish line
it can be all the more rewarding.
Consider the story of Kehaulani
Vaughn. Today, several years removed
from that first six-hour drive with a car
full of her native garb, she is a Ph.D.
candidate in ethnic studies with an
emphasis on Hawaiian sovereignty. 

La'Tonya Rease Miles is the director of the
academic resource center at Loyola Marymount
University in Los Angeles, California.
 latonya.reasemiles@lmu.edu
Jessica Lopez is a graduating senior majoring
in business administration from Loyola
Marymount.
 jlopez58@lion.lmu.edu

 28  CONTINUeD

BUSINESS OPERATIONS

represent a power-based environment
but instead gives a little bit of the power
back to the candidate and keeps everyone
conscious of who is going to sit around
the table to provide input for hiring.
At NYU, Temple, and DePaul,
providing a designated on-campus
host is a well-received practice that
promotes a welcoming environment to
help candidates navigate the day, ease
their nerves, and receive answers to
questions relating to the host's personal
experiences in the position. The host
provides support for candidates so that
small details are not forgotten such
as offering water, providing restroom
66

TALkIng STICk

breaks, or any other necessities that
arise throughout the day. At NYU, they
conduct focus groups every year with
recently hired staff, and they consistently
hear that having a host differentiated
NYU's on-campus interview experience
and helped to make candidates feel
welcome. Candidates also said it was
an influential recruitment strategy that
contributed to their decision to accept
the position when offered.
By incorporating these steps outlined
above, you will be better prepared
for those times of high turnover in
residential life staff. Conducting a
thoughtful search process is no easy

task, but with careful planning and a
welcoming approach, finding the right
fit for your open position is possible. 

Yetty Marquez is the residence hall director
for Palladium Hall at New York University in
New York City.
 marquezy@nyu.edu
Chris Stipeck is the assistant director for
residential life at New York University.
 chris.stipeck@nyu.edu
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