Join the First-Generation Harvard Alumni Mentorship Program 2016-2017
The First Generation Harvard Alumni (FGHA) is a group of Harvard alumni who are the first members of their families to attend college and who seek to support current first-generation students. As an officially recognized Shared Interest Group of the Harvard Alumni Association, its mission is to continue to help make Harvard a better place for current first-generation Harvard students. The FGHA achieves this through mentoring, advocacy, and well as by providing networking opportunities.
Since 2012, FGHA’s mentorship program has paired Harvard alumni who were first in their families to attend college with current Harvard undergraduates who have similar backgrounds. During the 2015-16 academic year, the FGHA’s mentorship program paired 115 alumni with over 130 Harvard incoming undergraduate students. This program gives current undergraduate students access to alumni who have already faced the experiences of transitioning to and navigating the Harvard environment. Alumni mentors are familiar with the economic, social, and other challenges of being the first person in one’s family to attend college.
Eligibility
You are eligible to be a mentor if:
· You graduated from Harvard College or any Harvard graduate school.
· You were a first-generation college student at your undergraduate institution.
· You can devote 2 hours a month to mentor a Harvard undergraduate, virtually or in person, during the 2016-17 school year. You can be a valuable resource for a current student even if you aren’t near Cambridge.
The FGHA encourages all who fit the above to apply. In particular, the FGHA is seeking more alumni who can mentor students in the following areas: medicine, the arts, and law, as well as students who self-identify as Latino/Hispanic, Women in Science, First-Generation Immigrant, and Women in Business. So if you can connect with students in these areas, we highly encourage you to apply to be a mentor!
Applying to be a mentor
Sign up through the FGHA’s online application, which should take no more than 30 minutes: http://www.bit.ly/fghamentor2016
Please note that the FGHA will be accepting new applications until June 24th! You can read more about the FGHA here.
If you have any questions, please email FGHA Mentorship Director Rafael Burgos-Mirabal at rafael@post.harvard.edu