{"id":58652,"date":"2019-04-24T15:29:22","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T19:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/?p=58652"},"modified":"2021-08-03T12:43:14","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T16:43:14","slug":"first-generation-law-students-bond-through-shared-backgrounds","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/law\/record\/articles\/2019\/first-generation-law-students-bond-through-shared-backgrounds\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Generation LAW Students Bond through Shared Backgrounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Group offers support and guidance on mentoring, etiquette, networking, more.<\/h2>\n

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\nThey packed the class until it was standing-room only, law students\u2014many of them the first in their families to go to college and then law school\u2014who came for a crash course on business etiquette.<\/p>\n

Manners expert Mandie LeBeau fired off questions and answers. <\/span>Where does your name tag go?<\/em> <\/span>(The right lapel) <\/span>What color suit is acceptable?<\/em> <\/span>(Dark) <\/span>Should you place your used dinner napkin back on the table if you excuse yourself?<\/em> <\/span>(No)<\/p>\n

The event was sponsored by <\/span>First Generation Professionals<\/a>, a group founded by School of Law students in late 2017 offering mentoring, support, and the occasional class on the profession\u2019s sometimes arcane rules of decorum.<\/p>\n

Students like second-year law student Cameron Chan soaked up the advice. The Vancouver native says his parents didn\u2019t finish high school, never mind college or law school, so he took careful notes on what to wear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is exactly the kind of event that I joined the group for,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are times when you don\u2019t know how to associate with the people you\u2019re associating with in the legal profession, and it can feel like a glass ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n

First Generation Professionals (FGP) is about more than helping students learn which fork to use. First-gens are often at a professional disadvantage, not able to rely on family members for advice, benefit from personal connections, or simply afford the bespoke suits or pristine textbooks their peers can. It can lead to creeping self-doubt about their abilities or to feeling socially isolated, which can affect not only their ability to concentrate, but to graduate.<\/p>\n

FGP offers programming like the etiquette workshop, as well as support and mentorship from other first-gens navigating the law school scene. It\u2019s one part of a broader University effort to create a welcoming college environment for students of racially and economically diverse backgrounds. Last year, BU joined the <\/span>American Talent Initiative<\/a> (ATI), an alliance of colleges and universities with a shared commitment to improve opportunities for students from low- and moderate-income households. ATI research shows that each year more than 50,000 community college students do not transfer to four-year schools even though their grades suggest that they would thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Read<\/a><\/p>\n

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