It takes more than generous financial aid packages to get first-generation students to and through college.
Make no mistake: Monetary support is crucial. But college counselors on both sides of the desk also need to understand the structural inequalities that define the lives of many low-income teens.
That was the message author and public school counselor Joshua Steckel shared with participants during Wednesday’s online #NACACreads chat. His book, Hold Fast to Dreams: A College Guidance Counselor, His Students, and the Vision of a Life Beyond Poverty, follows 10 young people from New York City as they apply to colleges and go on to pursue higher education.
#NACACreads author Joshua Steckel sought a job in New York City’s public school system nine years ago because he wanted to help low-income teens access higher education.
In Hold Fast to Dreams Steckel and co-author Beth Zasloff seek to further that work, this time by spotlighting the barriers first-generation and minority students face in the college admission process.
It takes more than generous financial aid packages to get first-generation students to and through college.