“I’m the Only Person From Where I’m From to Go to College”: Understanding the Memorable Messages First-Generation College Students Receive From Parents

Abstract

The current study examined the memorable messages first-generation college students received from their parents about family. Accordingly, first-generation college students shared parental memorable messages during in-depth, semistructured, responsive interviews that encouraged participants to share their distinct set of experiences. Four hundred and sixty-seven pages of transcripts were analyzed for emergent themes. First-generation college students’ voices revealed five memorable messages themes including (a) remembering family, (b) focusing on family, (c) counting on family, (d) not worrying about family, and (e) setting a good example.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank Dawn O. Braithwaite, Bill Seiler, and Jenna Stephenson Abetz for their counsel on the study.