INDIANAPOLIS — Navigating the college landscape can be difficult for any college freshman. But for students whose parents didn’t go to college, that navigation can be even more difficult.
That's why Indiana University has a program to help them out.
"It was difficult because I hadn't seen that journey start or be completed for anybody,” Faith Smith, a recent graduated of Indiana University Northwest, said. “So, at first I kind of doubted myself a little bit. "
Smith is the first person in her family to graduate from college. Although her mother didn’t go to college she says it was instilled in her at a young age how important education was.
Her mother would sit her down at the kitchen table to make sure she was doing her homework, she would pick up her report card and make sure she was implementing what she learned in everyday life. She knew what she wanted but didn't have the tools to know she could be successful.
"Some people in my family started but they didn't finish,” Smith said. “They didn't get the degree."
Now, Smith has her college degree. She graduated from IU Northwest this past spring and is a teacher. She credits her success to the Groups Scholars Program.
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"I knew this was the program that was going to help me get the degree that I wanted and give me the tools I needed to be successful," Smith said.
The Groups Scholars Program also helps students from lower income backgrounds.
"It makes it feel like we belong at the college,” Xondrais Marie Glenn, a current Groups Scholars Program Participant, said.
The program was started in 1968 by a group of faculty, staff and graduate students who came together after the assassination of Dr. martin Luther King to make IU more diverse and to support students in Indiana.
According to IU, the faculty went to a part of the state known as "The Region," the Gary and Hammond area just outside of Chicago.
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About 50 students were part of the original program and it has been taking place ever since. Now, the initiative exists at all IU campus locations, including Indianapolis.
It provides mentorship, study tables and financial support.
"Our institution and campus brings in more percentage wise of Indiana residents than any other campus,” Eric Williams, the Senior Executive Director of Educational Equity Programs at IU Indianapolis, said. “We also know that our graduates tend to stay in Indiana so this is an investment, not only into the institution but in our region and state.”
The Group Scholars Program will start at IU Indy during the 2025 school year. First generation college students and students from a lower income background qualify.
For more information on the IU Indianapolis program and eligibility requirements, email groupsin@iu.edu.
