Project Mission Statement: NFGCSLB exists to empower low-income and first-generation youth to achieve social and economic success by providing advice, encouragement, and support to obtain a college degree.

What is the purpose of this program?

The purpose of this program is to ensure the academic and social needs of first-generation students are met, and to ensure successful completion from college.

Program Goals

• Create a bond amongst students in the program, so that a support system is created as relationships are being developed.

• Increase student cultural awareness through community service

• Provide workshops which help students build the necessary skills to prepare for professional objectives

• Connect student with faculty and staff, peers, and members of the community, in order to enhance their college experience

• Help students smoothly transition into, and become acclimated to the atmosphere, and culture college

College can be scary for first-generation students. They are treading waters that neither their parents nor loved ones have ever navigated before. Statistics show that 89% of low-income first-generation college students leave college within six years without earning a degree. More than one-quarter of these students leave after their first year.

They are driven out of school by a host of factors – from unmet financial needs, to limited understanding of what to expect of college. Many first-generation college students struggle with the feeling that they do not belong on campus.

Services Offered

Peer Mentor Program: Mentoring is a one-on-one relationship between a second-year student (mentor) and a first-year student (mentee). Being a mentor offers a fantastic opportunity to develop leadership and communication skills.
Scholarships for First-Generation undergraduate College Students: FBHC provides scholarship opportunities available for High School seniors who will be first-generation students and First-Generation undergraduates with a 2.5 GPA (or greater).