Photo by Samantha Davis. Southwest Minnesota State University students Jennifer Aguilar (left) and Lay Shell (right) show the t-shirts they got to tie-dye at the First Generation event on Tuesday at SMSU.

MARSHALL — Southwest Minnesota State University recognized and honored first generation students on Tuesday for National First Gen Day, which several colleges across the country participate in by hosting events for students and faculty to come together and hear one another’s stories while partaking in activities.

“Our student body is 52% first generation,” SMSU senior Jailah Smith said. “Today, we are celebrating our first generation students.”

Being first generation is defined as someone who has or currently is pursuing a four-year undergraduate degree.

As SMSU staff and students gathered in the upper level of the student center Tuesday morning to begin tie-dying t-shirts that read “I’m First,” collecting buttons and enjoying refreshments, the room also had a handful of poster presentations displayed showing other first generation students and staff.

Smith is a first generation student herself, and also started the First Generation Club at SMSU this year.

“(The club) is a social support entrepreneurship club where it creates a space of community for students that identify as first generation,” Smith said. “Most of the time, they end up falling through the cracks because they don’t know who to go to and ask for help. Basically, we’re just all supporting one another while also setting each other up for future success.”

When Smith first came to Marshall to attend college, she took into an adventure that brought on hardships, but worked to create a sense of community which she wishes to continue spreading.

“My journey, it kind of started off rocky in the sense that I was shy and this was new for me. I didn’t really have my parents to help me navigate my first year, so it took a lot of trial and error,” Smith said. “I realized that I needed to actually use my voice to get the support that I needed, which I did, and I made a name for myself on campus.”

Among challenges that spanned over a common theme between the poster board presentations and with Smith, was the desire to be the first in the family to go college but there being fear of becoming distant or facing a lack of support.

“Being a first-generation college student feels both exciting and challenging,” Peda Zeba’s, a sophomore, board said. “It’s rewarding knowing that I can achieve something big for my family, but it can also be tough since I might not have as much guidance from them. Finding support on campus helped make the journey easier and more meaningful.”

Smith, who mentioned she likes to work and connect with first generation freshmen, said the biggest thing she shares with others is the emphasis of not silently struggling.

“I would say, one, do not be afraid to speak up and ask for help when you need it,” Smith said. “Closed mouths don’t get fed. You’re not alone, you may think that you are because you came here alone, but that doesn’t mean that you have to be.”

Jay Lee IV got a bachelor’s degree from SMSU in 1996 and a master’s in 2010, and currently works as the Dean of Students Sociology and Business Administration at the school. He also had a poster board presentation at the event.

“My advice to students who are first in their family to attend college? Understand your ‘why.’ Know why you’re here, know why you’re pursuing your higher-ed degree or your ‘why nots,'” Lee’s board said. “The biggest thing is believing in yourself, be humble enough to receive the help people give, and give back to others.”

The event was sponsored by a variety of campus offices like the Provost’s Office, Assistant Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Access Opportunity Success, TRiO/Upward Bound, Deeann Griebel Student Success Center, First Generation Student Club and the Office of Admission.

“I sit here and I look around the room and I see my support system,” Smith said. “It’s hard when you don’t have anywhere to go besides the classroom or dorm, but when you find that centralized space where there are others like you and there are people that support you, then you feel you get that confidence to succeed and excel.”

Smith will be graduating in the spring with a marketing degree. She, among a large portion of first generation students, comes from a family that had to make sacrifices in which she continues to honor and share with her fellow and upcoming peers.

“My sister, she had to drop out of high school to help take care of my older brothers and I. She never got her degree, she didn’t go to college and my brothers didn’t. I am the first of all my siblings,” Smith said. “My sense of pride will come from when I do walk that stage, and I do take that picture with my siblings, and I know that we all did it. It will be like, ‘I’ll wear the gown, you wear the cap, you wear the stole,’ … We all made it.”