Best of CASE District I Award
 

Institution: Boston University

Title of entry: First in their Family

About this entry: In 2021, Boston University opened up The Newbury Center with the goal of fostering the success of first-generation students. First-generation students are often at a disadvantage either academically, socially, monetarily, or some combination of the three, when compared with students whose parents graduated from an American university. Sharing their stories and raising awareness was strategically important to the university, so we produced a heartfelt video profile on three prominent first-generation students as they prepared to graduate.

A student-led group on campus, FLIP at BU, has been working since early 2020 as a resource for fellow first-generation students. We followed one of the group’s co-founders and two e-board members through group meetings, Zoom calls with their parents, and their graduation ceremonies. In one of our favorite scenes, we get an inside look at an honest and emotional group meeting where members discuss the specific challenges of being a first-generation student. Later, we see the Newbury Center announce FLIP at BU as the official student organization of the center, recognizing the hard work of our three main characters at their annual awards ceremony. To end the story, we see each student walk across the graduation stage and their families’ reactions as they become the first in their families to graduate.