#FIRSTGENDOCS
In June of 2017, Drs. Lamesha C. Brown, Raven K. Cokley, and I created #FirstGenDocs - a virtual platform with a mission to affirm the experiences, amplify the voices, and celebrate the brilliance of first-generation doctoral students. At its inception, the founders were doctoral students at the University of Georgia seeking to build a community for students who were the first in their family to pursue a doctorate. What began as a simple Twitter chat evolved into a grassroots movement of over 12,000 users on X, with additional engagement through conferences and professional organizations. It is our goal to continue to produce scholarship on the experiences of first-generation doctoral students while convening and supporting this community of trailblazers. "We may be the first, but we won't be the last!"
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Join the movement.
Read, share, and cite our work!
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Brown, L. C., Wallace, J. K., & Cokley, R. K. (2021). A labor of love: The makings of @FirstGenDocs. Journal of First-Generation Student Success, 1(1), 49-56.
Wallace, J. K., Cokley, R. K., & Brown, L. C. (2020). This is soul work: A portrait of three Black first-gen docs. In J. Sablan & J. Van Galen (Eds.), Amplified voices, intersecting identities: First-generation PhDs navigating institutional power anthology (pp. 119–125). Brill Sense Publishing.