First Generation
172,719
Published 2015-09-09
Watch the 1-hour version here: • First Generation - 1 Hour Version
For more information please visit www.firstgenerationfilm.com/
Shot over the course of three years and featuring some of our nation’s top educational experts (Richard Kahlenberg, The Century Foundation; J.B. Schramm, College Summit; Dr. Bill Tierney, University of Southern California), the film explores the problem of college access faced by first generation and low-income students and how their success has major implications for the future of our nation.
First Generation was directed and produced by Adam and Jaye Fenderson and made possible in part by Lumina Foundation for Education and GOAL 2025 whose mission is to increase the percentage of Americans with high quality degrees and credentials to 60% by 2025. The film was an official selection at film festivals across North America and had its world premiere at the Heartland Film Festival where it was nominated for a Crystal Heart Award.
It won “Best Documentary” and “Best Soundtrack” at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, and a “Special Jury Award for Social Impact” at the Napa Valley Film Festival. First Generation has been embraced far and wide as a tool to spark the conversation about what it takes to increase the college-going and success rate for low-income and first generation students.
All Comments (21)
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Dante is amazing. He is working so hard to turn his life around. Such a role model for his peers.
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Watching this I start remembering how little my own parents knew about college, applications, scholarships and waivers etc. It was a mentally of "I send you to school to learn" and that was it. It was like the school was suppose to teach me how. On the other hand the school tried to emphasize how important help from your family would be. There was never a balance or real understanding how difficult it was for the student to be in the middle trying to piece together good advice and steps to follow. Tough, these kids are trying their best, I really hope they all find their way.
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I'm Watching for an Assignment. I'm pulling an all nighter on this. I have 2 more years left. Pain.
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Being first generation and low income,I had very little knowledge about universities in highschool. I am grateful that I got the opportunity to go from CCC to UC Davis.
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Anyone else interested in seeing how these guys are doing today 10+ years after they graduates HS? I hope things turned out well for everybody.
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I watched this in school
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Earned 3 Associate degrees at my community college, and first in my family. This video reminds me of the beginning of my journey 💖 Update: I earned two bachelor degrees in Criminal Justice and Psychology from two different Universities. I'm working on my masters in Psychology now. Anything is possible. Update: I have my master's degree in Psychology and am working on a 2nd master's in Criminal Justice now, and got accepted to two Ph.D programs. Never stop.
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I came from a low income family (first to go to college). My journey --->Community Col. -----> BSci @SJSU ------MBA@Saint Mary's College of California. Community Colleges are a treasure and should be funded and respected more.
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This so amazing! I, myself is struggling with my senior year (senioritis) 😭😭but I know I can't give up I'm hoping I can make it 😢❤❤ these students are by far talented and warmhearted. FYI> I cried through the documentary haha
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This is a testament to how crucial cc are to low income families. Instead of shitting on them school counselors should encourage their students to go the community college way and apply to states schools which tremendously more affordable than top tier universities
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I'm very surprised at how this young man wasn't initially aware of Harvard's competition. I guess it's because I was exposed to an academic setting growing up, so I didn't know there was any ignorance surround colleges. Still, this was an insightful documentary
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Enlightening. Could be many of our stories; this is something all educators need to watch.
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Cecilia is 🔥
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Excellent film/documentary!
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where are they now?
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Wow wonderful documentary. I am very happy to see these students get the representation they largely never receive.
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Love this documentary. It's definitely inspiring.
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I’m watching it right now
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The US really needs to find a way to make higher education free. It's not impossible, other countries manage to provide it, so the US should finally figure it out. I'm from South Africa and I was lucky to be able to move to Germany and attend a great university there. I payed about 300€ per semester and half of that was for a 6-month public transportation ticket. Since universities in Germany usually don't offer campus housing, you have to find a flat and pay rent. With support from my parents and a small weekend job it worked out well for me. If the parents of a student can't pay for that, they can also apply for a student loan that is provided by the government (and you only have to pay back half of the amount you got after graduation!). They look at the parents' finances and if they see that they can't provide enough money for the child to attend university and have their own place (if it's neccessary because they can't live with their parents), food and all that stuff, the department that deals with those student loans (search for 'BAföG' if you're interested in how that system works) will pay. They're not allowed to pick and choose people. If you meet the requirements (parents can't pay is the biggest one), you'll get the support. Full support for a student would be around 600-700€ per month. I think that is pretty awesome because it makes the playing field a lot more even. Sure, the richer kids won't have to apply for and later pay back the student loan while the poorer kids will have to, but at least everyone has the opportunity to attend university (and have enough money to pay for rent and food during those years).
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We watching this right now in class🥺🥺🥺🥺🥰🥰🥰
