In 2004, the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) was founded to provide wraparound support for first-generation college students and students from low-income backgrounds. Twenty years later, GSP has served over 2,600 students and prepared Hoyas to succeed at Georgetown and beyond.
GSP provides students with advising, mentorship, professional development, community building, specialized programming and microgrants to help Georgetown students thrive before and after graduation. After two decades, the program boasts a 94% graduation rate for first-generation students — the graduation rate for first-generation college students in the U.S. is 26%.
“GSP’s success is as a community-driven effort that positions students to show up as their full selves in the classroom, in their dorms and in their internships,” said Missy Foy, executive director of GSP. “Graduates are now working in the White House, in the foreign service, at NBC and Netflix, in nonprofits, getting their PhDs, and running for office and winning elections. The world is better when our students are able to bring their lived experiences to these leadership positions.”
Navigating College
GSP currently serves over 650 undergraduate students in its mission to make Georgetown more inclusive for first-generation and low-income students. The program seeks to create a more equitable educational environment in the Jesuit tradition of cura personalis, or care for the whole person, to ensure a quality Georgetown education is accessible to all its students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds.
Through GSP, students participate in programs and events that build community. GSP also connects students to Georgetown alumni and mentors, including professors who are first-generation college graduates themselves, who can help support students throughout their four years at Georgetown.
In addition to community building, GSP provides resources to help ease the transition to college, which can be challenging to navigate as first-generation students. Mastering the Hidden Curriculum is one of the ways GSP helps students to navigate that transition. Taught by first-generation college professors, the 12-week, two-credit class helps demystify the unspoken expectations of higher education and empowers students to confidently adjust to the college environment, refine their academic and career goals and deepen their understanding of their own identities.
Sofia Chen Ma (B’23), a first-generation college graduate who served as president of GSP, said the course helped open her eyes to fellow students who were experiencing the same things she was.
“It was an environment where we would just go in and talk about the things we experienced day-to-day,” Chen Ma said. “For me, being able to vocalize what I was experiencing and listening to other people vocalize a lot of my issues was eye-opening. For the first time in the classroom, I felt seen.”
Helping Students When They Need It Most
GSP also provides modest grants to students encountering unexpected, out-of-pocket expenses throughout their four years at Georgetown. The program’s Necessity Fund distributes several thousand microgrants annually for needs such as medical co-pays, tutoring fees, grocery costs during breaks when the dining hall is closed, mental health services and travel home for first-year students. The fund also helps offset costs related to commencement, such as regalia, family travel to celebrate graduation and events such as the Senior Ball.
“The support GSP provided me, and many others, is unparalleled,” said Adrian Abrams (C’18), a Baker Scholar and GSP alumnus. “It gave me the freedom to truly enjoy my undergraduate years and the confidence and resources necessary to start my career in digital marketing immediately after graduation. Just five years later, I was able to buy my mother a house on the 10-year anniversary of us facing homelessness. It was a very sentimental, full circle moment that would not have been possible without GSP.”
For Sabrina Perez (C’24), who served as the president of the GSP Student Board last year, GSP was there for her when she needed help.
“GSP has funded the glasses I am wearing today and my wisdom tooth removal,” Pérez said. “They have acted as my work-study [employer], connected me to alumni, and even allowed me to uncover what I want to do post-grad.”
