LA PLUME, Pa. — The National First-Generation College Celebration is a day to note the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and honor the accomplishments of first-time students in higher education.
Many students who walk the campus of Keystone College in La Plume are the first in their families to go to college.
For Connor Gartland of Roscoe, New York, college wasn't much of a thought growing up.
"It was never something that I planned on," Gartland said. "Then I saw the opportunity to play college football, and then I knew if I didn't take that chance, I'd regret it."
Gartland graduated with a bachelor's degree in social sciences. He is now a fifth-year graduate student pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice. Gartland overcame a lot in life to make it to Keystone.
"My parents split when I was young. I lived with my dad growing up, and it was my dad and grandpa. I graduated high school with 15 people, so no one goes to college where I am from. I'm the only guy in my class that graduated that actually went on to college."
Carlyle Hicks, the assistant vice president of student life at Keystone College, tells Newswatch 16 he teaches many first-year students the basics of campus life. He says for many students, the ability to afford college is just one of the challenges they face.
"For a lot of students, it's challenging for the fact that they don't have that support at home, and they don't have people at home who understand what the college lifestyle is," Hicks said.
Hicks is also a first-generation college graduate and says seeing students like Gartland walk across the stage at graduation is the best feeling in the world.
"Having gone through it myself, I'm just really proud of them to do it, and I am proud of them for being able to stick through it. It's challenging, and there is a temptation to give up, but the fact that they persevere and make it all the way, I'm always extremely ecstatic," Hicks said.
"It means I'm setting myself up to get my family to not struggle like I did when I was a kid," Gartland added. "And just continue to grow."