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 (December
11, 2007) – First-generation college graduates telling their own
inspiring stories earned a campus publication a gold medal in a
multi-state competition.
First Generation Stories, a publication conceived and produced by a
small volunteer group of Fresno State administrators who themselves are
first generation college graduates, was named the top award winner in
Special Print Material category by the Council for the Advancement and
Support of Education (CASE) District VII. Public and private
universities in California, Hawaii, Utah, Arizona, Guam and Nevada are
included in CASE District VII.
The publication, a unique collection of first-person stories, was
conceived to encourage other first-generation students at California
State University, Fresno who often face fear, uncertainty and anxiety
without a family background of college experience from which to draw
strength and inspiration.
Fresno State also won a bronze award in the Student Recruitment
Publications category for the Fresno State Viewbook, the annual
publication that is the centerpiece of campus outreach efforts.
Dr. Peter N. Smits, Fresno State’s vice president for University
Advancement, accepted the awards at the CASE regional convention. Smits,
who also is a first-generation college graduate, said the First
Generation Stories booklet and its accompanying Web site illustrate the
heart of Fresno State’s mission.
“We are a campus of opportunity, especially for first-generation
students,” said Smits. “The First Generation Stories project is a
perfect example of how Fresno State not only provides a top tier
education but how it also nurtures and fosters those to whom a college
education may at first glance seem out of reach. This publication shows
they are not alone and that a college degree is attainable by anyone
daring to dream it.”
To inspire today’s Fresno State students and youngsters still growing
up, the First Generation Project was born with the backing of the
president and provost. The organizers volunteered to write first-person
accounts of their journeys to college graduation. First-person stories
were solicited from others throughout the campus – from the president to
office staffers – and posted on a special First Generation Web site.
Earlier this year, the booklet won an Award of Merit from the Central
California chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.
Design and printing of the First Generation Stories and the Viewbook
were managed by University Communications.
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