By Cadence Russell, Editor-in-Chief
As of October 23, 2024, the Lambda Pi chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha Honors Society was established at Daemen University, an honors society recognizing first-generation college students.
“I consider it a privilege to be part of the first class of Tri-Alpha,” Kiana Webber, senior animation major and inductee said. “It is amazing to be recognized for doing something that not many people can do. I am honored to go to college despite neither of my parents going to college, and I am also lucky to have such amazing parents.”
Alpha Alpha Alpha, or Tri-Alpha was founded in 2018 at Moravian University in Pennsylvania. There are now chapters nationwide in 41 states. A small ceremony was held in the Alumni Lounge where inductees were recognized and given a certificate of membership.
“The students were spoken to by Tiffany Hamilton and Dean Heather Maloney who are our advisors in this group,” senior Alyssa Smith, a psychology major and inductee said. “They spoke on what Tri-Alpha is and how this group will help navigate us throughout our time at Daemen. President Olson spoke to us as well, expressing his gratitude towards our achievements and willingness to succeed as first-generation college students.”
There were 21 inductees in the inaugural class, with over 100 eligible students at Daemen. To be eligible for membership, students must complete 30 credit hours with an overall GPA of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
“It’s a nice recognition because there’s quite a lot of hurdles that you have to overcome when you’re first gen, especially for me, who’s not only a first-generation college student, but a first-generation American,” Nico Buksic, senior biochemistry (pre-med) said.
At the heart of Tri-Alpha is recognizing not just the unique challenges that come with being first-generation, but also celebrating students’ accomplishments and success, an integral part of the initiative behind founding Tri-Alpha in the first place.
“I’m just glad that my parents finally got to come to my university and share something with me. I think that was kind of like the biggest thing, and the thing I was most excited for,” Buksic said.
A first-generation college student is someone whose parents did not complete a college degree. Navigating the complexities of college without insight from parents or guardians makes obtaining a degree significantly harder. For adults aged 22-59 with at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree, 70% went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree themselves. In that same age range, only 26% of first-generation individuals obtained a bachelor’s degree.
“Overall, the unsureness of what college can be was a scary road to navigate for me,” Smith said. “Not always knowing who to go and who to seek help from in times of need felt frustrating. Additionally just communicating with my parents on the struggles of college got stressful at times, them not always understanding the amount of stress certain deadlines can bring and or how time-consuming college itself can be.”
Beyond Tri-Alpha, Daemen also has the First-Generation Mentorship Program which connects first-generation students with faculty, staff, and alumni who themselves were first-generation college students.
“One of the unique things I’ve had to navigate is not having any connections and being far from home. Because I am from Connecticut, it is a long trip to Buffalo and in the beginning, I often felt isolated and alone,” Webber said. “I would hear some of my friends talk about how parents or relatives went here and they know the campus, and it made me feel sometimes as if I was a sore thumb sticking out. But as time passed, I realized that that wasn’t something that made me weak but it made me strong because despite not having anyone, I still persevered and made it to where I am today.”
Upon induction, students will be members for life and will have cords and a pin for graduation that signifies their accomplishments as first-generation students. After graduation, Buksic is planning to attend medical school and become a doctor. Webber is looking to land an internship or job in 2D animation to build their experience in the field. Smith wants to become a clinical psychologist and eventually open her own private practice.
“Tri-Alpha means to me that I am capable of achieving my goals in life despite not having background information on what college is and what it can bring,” Smith said. “It showed me that I was able to overcome the obstacles that college brings as well. Knowing you’re not alone in this, you have support and others who get you.”