How programs help first-generation students succeed

WRITTEN BY JEN LYNDS

Aubrey Kennedy was nervous and thrilled when she first stepped into a classroom at the University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI). The 33-year-old English major sought other opportunities after high school before enrolling at the university in 2022.

Kennedy will become the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree when she graduates in the spring, and credits her achievement to hard work, dedication, and the support UMPI offers to first-generation students.

Mary Kate Barbosa, UMPI’s director of student support services, said the definition of first-generation students is those whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) have not completed a bachelor’s degree.

“Our first-generation program works in tandem wi

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