Congratulatory words could be heard coming from the third floor of Cole Library on April 30 for the first-generation graduation celebration as students picked up purple and white cords to wear for Commencement.
This was the second year that Writing Program Director Jennifer Ferrell has organized the event, which included cake, special cords, and kind words. This year, she ordered 56 cords for the first-generation graduates in the Class of 2025. About 27% of Cornell’s student body are first-generation students.
“Being the first person in your family to graduate from college is a significant achievement,” Ferrell said. “I really hope that they feel proud of themselves.”
Savannah Sheffler is among those first-generation college students who will sport the purple and white cords on May 11. It’ll be hard to miss her because she’ll take the stage as the student Commencement speaker for her class.
“I am proud to say that a first-generation student is the Commencement speaker,” Sheffler said. “It shows that if you put your mind to something, you can do it, regardless of the unknowns that awaited me as I came to campus my first year.”
Sheffler will be pursuing her master’s degree in public policy at American University in Washington, D.C., next fall.
Ferrell takes it upon herself to organize this graduation event and track down all the first-gen graduates on campus. For her, it’s personal. She was the first in her family to graduate from college and remembers the challenges.
“Coming to college, there was a lot of information that I just didn’t know and that I didn't really have the resources to talk to people about and to find out,” Ferrell said. “And the things that my peers all seem to just kind of have a handle on were things that I was just not familiar with—like filling out the FAFSA and navigating needed documentation.”
Ferrell, who did her dissertation on writing studio work with first-gen students, says first-generation college students are less likely to graduate than their peers with parents who attended college. She also says they’re more likely to work multiple jobs and take care of older or younger family members.
“Graduating as a first-gen student takes a tremendous amount of willpower, motivation, and dedication,” Ferrell said. “Because of the significant challenges, it is difficult to be a student and to be an athlete, to work jobs, and to do all of the other things that our students do. So, to graduate and manage the other challenges and obligations that many first-gen students have in their lives means that they have achieved a very high level of achievement, and I think it’s important to acknowledge and recognize that.”
And the smiles on the faces of the Cornellians as they picked up their special cords and shared a piece of a cake with the word “Congratulations,” showed that they’re feeling the love.
“Graduating as a first-generation and wearing the cord brings me unfathomable joy,” Sheffler said. “I recognize I was not the ‘ideal’ college candidate, but Cornell took a chance on me, and for that I am grateful. Navigating the concept of college was hard, but since I was a young girl, I always wanted to pursue higher education, and I am proud Cornell was a part of that journey.”