First-Gen Graduates Celebration

Student speakers Malia Montalvo (COM’26) (left) and Cindy Menash (Sargent'26) address the crowd at the Newbury Center’s annual Pinning Ceremony, which honors Boston University’s graduating first-generation students, held May 15 at the Tsai Performance Center. Looking on are three Newbury Center leaders (from left): Maria Erb, executive director, Malachai “M.C.” Damm (STH’21), associate director, and Anthony Abraham Jack, the center’s inaugural faculty director and an associate professor of higher education leadership at BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Each attending student invited a guest—a family member or another supporter—who “pinned” the grad with a commemorative pin, signifying they are the first generation in their family to attend college. Photo by Cydney Scott