Merelyn Chavez never owned a computer before she enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023. She grew up in Greeley, the daughter of Mexican immigrants who worked labor-intensive jobs and did not have the opportunity to attain a higher education. Elementary school was a blur for Chavez, who didn’t understand English fluently until fifth grade. Despite the obstacles, she applied herself academically. Supportive teachers along her educational journey bolstered Chavez’s confidence, promising that college wasn’t a far-fetched pipe dream — it was her ticket to a life unlike one lived by anyone she knew. And she could see it was possible. “I wanted to pursue higher education to be the change in my community,” said Chavez, now 19. “I don’t want to just work bill by bill like everybody around me. I believed I could do something different.” In 2023, Chavez was accepted to CU Boulder with a full-ride scholarship. She was thrilled, but the culture shock of academia was daunting for the collegiate trailblazer. She’s now halfway through her sophomore year, and said she’s made it this far thanks to the support of CU programs dedicated to uplifting first-generation college students financially, academically and emotionally. The programs focus so intently on getting kids into the right postsecondary option that they even provide college-application guidance to students who don’t ultimately choose to attend CU. “We just want to do what’s best for the student,” said Chris Pacheco, recently retired assistant vice chancellor of CU’s Office of Precollege Outreach and Engagement. Scholarship money bought Chavez her first laptop, but figuring out how to use it was a different story. She didn’t know how to upload assignments with programs her peers had used for years. She struggled downloading materials from her professors’ websites. For first-generation college students like Chavez — a term used to signify someone is the first in their family to attend college — that overwhelming feeling snowballs as inconveniences stack atop major hurdles like financial setbacks or lack of family support. But the payoff is strong. “A first-generation student’s experience and completion in getting their college degree can shift the trajectory of their entire family,” said Barb Marshall, CU Boulder’s assistant vice chancellor of student financial services. An aspiring first-generation college student takes notes during a workshop at the University of Colorado on Dec. 7, 2024, in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Kevin Mohatt/Special to The Denver Post) In 2021, about 37% of students enrolled in Colorado’s public higher-education institutions were first-generation, according to the most recent data released from the Colorado Department of Higher Education. The state’s flagship institution, CU Boulder, enrolled 1,038 first-generation freshmen in 2024 — 14% of the first-year student population. That number fell slightly from 16% the year prior, which the university suspects is fallout from the chaos surrounding the bungled rollout of the updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid. At the end of 2024, CU Boulder was designated a First-Generation-Serving Institution by the state higher-education department, joining the ranks of schools like Metropolitan State University of Denver and Colorado Mesa University, which serve a majority of first-generation students. For example, 60% of MSU Denver students are the first in their family to pursue a college degree. CU’s first-generation numbers are not as robust as those other Colorado colleges — and tuition on the Boulder campus is pricier — but leaders say perhaps students and families don’t realize the support available. “Maybe we haven’t done a good job promoting the work that’s being done,” Pacheco said. “In some respects, it’s the best-kept secret the university has.” “The impact is huge” After 43 years at CU Boulder, Pacheco retired at the end of 2024. For decades, the onetime first-generation college student helped make college more accessible for those who came after him. Pacheco grew up in Eagle County’s Red Cliff, the son of a miner and hotel maid in a family of 10. He began his tenure at CU Boulder as an undergraduate student in 1981, first majoring in biology to pursue medical school. But his involvement in Upward Bound — a federally funded program that still supports college students from disadvantaged backgrounds — altered his career path. Pacheco loved tutoring and mentoring students throughout their higher-education journey. “One of the reasons I wanted to go to medical school is to help people,” Pacheco said. “I found that I was doing that here, just in a different way, so one year became 40 years.” Aspiring first-generation college students and their families attend a workshop intended to support their efforts to continue their education at the University of Colorado on Dec. 7, 2024, in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Kevin Mohatt/Special to The Denver Post) Pacheco touted CU Boulder’s history supporting first-generation students. The university’s Precollegiate Development Program, which started in 1983, works with first-generation students throughout Colorado, beginning in the seventh grade. The program provides academic support and counseling from middle school through high school, and brings students to CU’s campus for five weeks during the summer between their junior and senior years. Since its inception, the program has served more than 30,000 students. Seventh grade is the magic number because colleges start looking at transcripts in students’ freshmen year of high school, Pacheco said. To get into the courses that colleges want, students need to start taking certain classes in middle school — algebra, chemistry, biology — to set them up for success in high school. The program also works with students’ parents, educating them about why college is important, what different postsecondary options exist and how to get involved in their kids’ schooling now. It helps students with applications and financial aid questions, supporting them regardless of where they choose to go. The program has a 98% to 100% success rate in placing students at a higher-education institution, Pacheco said. “We have a waiting list for all of our programs,” he said. “The impact is huge, and there are way more students who need services than we can serve.” Life-changing support Chavez’s family’s budget wouldn’t have allowed her to attend college without significant financial help. When she learned she had earned a full ride to CU Boulder, Chavez burst into tears. “I knew I could do it, but it was hard,” she said. Still, the logistics of figuring out her tuition billing proved tricky. Conversations with the financial aid department grew increasingly confusing. Luckily, Chavez wasn’t alone. The teen is part of CU’s First-Generation Scholars Program, which offers financial literacy education, career readiness training, mentoring services, grants and scholarships, and opportunities to meet other first-generation students and socialize. Aspiring first-generation college students and their families go on a tour of the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, on Dec. 7, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Mohatt/Special to The Denver Post) Jerry Nguyen, program manager in the First-Generation Programs and Enrichment Office, was discussed with reverence by CU’s first-generation students. Nguyen accompanied Chavez to her financial aid appointment, brokering understanding between the student and employee. She showed Chavez how to use her new laptop. She walked Chavez to her classes when the student found herself perpetually lost. “A lot of it is me understanding a lot of my students come from very different experiences, and I can’t assume they know everything, like how to use a computer,” Nguyen said. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without being able to go to college and have a good experience, so I believe everybody deserves the same amount of access. It could change the entire trajectory of not just themselves but their whole family. That’s a huge responsibility to bear, and they bear it so well.” Helen Nguyen, a CU Boulder sophomore, referred to herself as Jerry Nguyen’s No. 1 fan. “I would go to the moon and back for her,” Helen Nguyen said. Helen Nguyen is also part of the program, which is housed in the Center for Inclusion and Social Change. The sophomore met with Jerry Nguyen so often that she offered Helen Nguyen a job in the office. “Now I’m graced with her presence every day,” Helen Nguyen said. Helen Nguyen hopes her college journey inspires her younger siblings to pursue degrees, too. For Helen Nguyen, family is the motivating factor that keeps her pushing through hard times. During the last round of finals, she called her dad from the library, exhausted from an all-night cram session. Her dad drove all the way from Castle Rock to bring her food to keep her brain fueled. Support — whether from family, friends or staff and faculty — can make all the difference as to whether a student sticks it out. “As a first-gen student, one of the first impulses is to leave when something goes wrong,” Pacheco said. “It can confirm this incorrect idea that this place isn’t for you. Having someone here who can say, ‘Well, wait a minute. You don’t have to leave. This is not insurmountable. We’ll get this taken care of’ is key.” In 2022, the retention and graduation rates for first-generation college students in the United States were generally lower compared to their peers, according to the most recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The retention rate for first-generation students — meaning the rate of students who returned to the same institution for their second year — was about 68.2% nationally. In comparison, CU Boulder’s first-gen retention rate in 2022 was 84%, compared to the non-first-gen retention rate of 90%. Nationally, the six-year graduation rate for first-generation students was around 50%, meaning about half of first-generation students who started their bachelor’s degree in 2016 completed it by 2022, according to the most recent data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. In comparison, CU Boulder’s first-gen graduation rate for the same period was 65%, with a non-first-gen graduation rate of 77%. “Over the past four years since the pandemic, we were seeing some nice increases in first-generation population that dropped a little bit last year, and we think it was just because it was so challenging to get through FAFSA last year, so we’re really focused on getting those numbers up again,” said Marshall, CU’s assistant vice chancellor of student financial services. A GPS to a better life Maria Genao-Homs is the inaugural director of CU’s Center for Inclusion and Social Change. The term “first-generation college student” emerged in higher-education vocabulary around 2000, she said, when more people started talking about creating pathways for members of non-wealthy, lower-class families to get degrees. The median income of first-generation students’ parents was $41,000 in both 2016 and 2020, according to data from national organization FirstGen Forward. Conversely, the median income of non-first-gen students’ parents increased from $90,000 in 2016 to $103,000 in 2020. The cost to attend CU Boulder for an in-state undergraduate is about $35,000 a year — including tuition, room and board, and books — before any scholarships or financial aid are applied. “These students are entering a pretty significant time in their life without a roadmap,” Genao-Homes said. “The emergence of offices like ours are there to set the students up and serve as a GPS because the home or family doesn’t always have the capability to guide them.” Aspiring first-generation college students and their families go on a tour of the University of Colorado on Dec. 7, 2024, in Boulder, Colorado. (Photo by Kevin Mohatt/Special to The Denver Post) Related Articles Education | First person in your family to go to college? 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Her mom is counting on her. “She asks me if I want to work like a dog like she does,” she said. Chavez has her sights set on a health profession like forensic toxicology. With the help of CU resources, she earned all A’s last semester. “Some people give up so fast, but not me,” Chavez said. “It’s like a rollercoaster where there are ups and downs that happen, but I am riding it out because I am going to buy a house for me and my family someday. We’ve never lived in a house, and I’m going to change that.” Get more Colorado news by signing up for our Mile High Roundup email newsletter.