Bettencourt, GeniaMansour, Koboul E.Hedayet, MujtabaFeraud-King, Patricia TitaStephens, Kat J.Tejada, Miguel M.Kimball, Ezekiel2024-04-262020-03-292020-01-01https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025120913302https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/5490Institutions increasingly use first-generation categorizations to provide support to students. In this study, we sought to understand how students make meaning of their first-generation status by conducting a series of focus groups with 54 participants. Our findings reveal that students saw first-generation status as an organizational and familial identity rather than a social identities. This status was connected to alterity and social distance that was most salient in comparison to continuing-generation peers. Our recommendations include re-examining the role of first- generation specific programming on campus, creating opportunities for meaning-making, supporting students within changing family dynamics, and exploring the interaction between first-generation status and other marginalized identities.UMass Amherst Open Access Policyhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Higher Educationarticle