When I was in the middle of applying to colleges, I sought to find schools that would have support systems for students like myself. I realized that being away from home on a new campus in a new place would mean that I would be away from the support systems I was familiar with. However, after enrolling at Harvard, I learned about the different support systems available for first-generation college students, and I started to feel more at home. Below I will talk about some of my favorite communities, offices, and events for the first gen community at Harvard! 

Harvard PRIMUS: 

PRIMUS, formerly known as the Harvard First Gen Student Union, is the student organization for first-generation students at Harvard. PRIMUS holds social events, open mic events, and town halls, and generally serves as a body through which students can advocate for their needs. They also partner with other organizations to welcome first-year students to our campus. One of the programs I participated in during my first year was the Mentor-Mentee Pairing Program. It was incredibly helpful to have a familiar face on campus that could talk to me about their transition to Harvard as a first-gen student. Furthermore, it was very empowering to have someone that celebrated their first-gen identity with me. I initially thought that Harvard would be unwelcoming towards students like myself, but having other students to celebrate with made my transition so much better.  

FLI Harvard*

The First-Generation Low-Income group at Harvard is in its inaugural year, but its student leaders have collaborated with other members of the Harvard community to start the first annual First-Gen Student Welcome. They also advocate for student needs and are overall creating and ideating many of the new first-gen support programs at Harvard.

While they are a relatively new group, they are a testament to the fact that first-gen representation has a place at Harvard, and that it's never too late to start new traditions. 

The Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations: 

The Harvard Foundation is one of the offices on campus that supports students of specific identities! The Harvard Foundation is unique because it is one of the offices on campus that most frequently engages students directly in their work. Students and staff collaborate to create programming for the wider student body, and these can include diversity dialogues, mixers, and even funding for student organizations that promote their cultural roots. Additionally, the Foundation also supports first-generation students, undocumented students, and students of color as they navigate Harvard. This year, students collaborated with the Harvard Foundation to hold the first-ever First-Generation Visibility Week. This week features workshops, socials, open mics, giveaways, and much more! It is an opportunity for first-generation students to feel seen and validated and to celebrate their identities.  

Harvard FYRE: 

FYRE is a pre-orientation program for incoming first-year students that introduces students to the various resources at Harvard. It is one of the flagship programs of the Harvard Foundation (mentioned above) and is truly a collaboration between student leaders and Harvard students. When I participated in FYRE during my first year, I was very grateful to be introduced to campus resources because it was the first time I had been exposed to this number of academic and professional resources. In high school, I often felt that I was expected to take on school on my own because my school didn’t have the resources for me to rely on.

I was ready to take on Harvard with nothing but my own grit, but FYRE taught me that I didn’t have to take on the challenges that would come by myself.  

My favorite part of FYRE, however, is definitely the community. FYRE introduces incoming first-year students to FYRE Families. These families are groups of 8-9 first-year students and 2 upperclassmen Team Leaders who are there to facilitate a safe space to reflect on students' concerns before starting at Harvard. Having this small community is a huge benefit to incoming students, but the broader FYRE community is also one of support, positivity, and warmth. You can read more about FYRE in this blog I wrote!  

*As of the 2023-24 academic year, the FLI program has been discontinued.