Recommended Titles: First Generation College Students

Updated October 25, 2023
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Reimagining the Higher Education Student
Brooks, Rachel
Paper Book
Drawing on the perspectives of scholars and researchers from around the world, this book challenges dominant constructions of higher education students. Given the increasing number and diversity of such students, the book offers a timely discussion of the implicit and sometimes subtle ways that...
The light we carry : overcoming in uncertain times
Obama, Michelle
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER * In an inspiring follow-up to her acclaimed memoir Becoming, former First Lady Michelle Obama shares practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in today's highly uncertain world.<...
Decoding College: Stories, Strategies, and Struggles of First-Generation College Students
Clark, Kallie
Paper Book
Decoding College is a slice-of-life, college exposure guide aimed at first-generation college students and their families. Decoding College provides a comprehensive guide to the basics of the college admissions, selection and enrollment processes while specifically focusing on issues unique to...
Make your home among strangers
Crucet, Jennine Capó.
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, winner of the International Latino Book Award for Best Latino-themed Fiction 2016, Longlisted for the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Named a best book of the season by Cosmopolitan, Vanity...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg : a life
De Hart, Jane Sherron
Paper Book
The first full life--private, public, legal, philosophical--of the 107th Supreme Court Justice, one of the most profound and profoundly transformative legal minds of our time; a book fifteen years in work, written with the cooperation of Ruth Bader Ginsburg herself and based on many interviews...
March. Book three
Lewis, John
Paper Book
Welcome to the stunning conclusion of the award-winning and best-selling MARCH trilogy. Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, joins co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell to bring the lessons of history to vivid life for a new...
The Latino generation : voices of the new America
García, Mario T.
Paper Book
Latinos are already the largest minority group in the United States, and experts estimate that by 2050, one out of three Americans will identify as Latino. Though their population and influence are steadily rising, stereotypes and misconceptions about Latinos remain, from the assumption that they...
Thirteen ways of looking at a Black man
Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.
Paper Book
"This is a book of stories," writes Henry Louis Gates, "and all might be described as 'narratives of ascent.'" As some remarkable men talk about their lives, many perspectives on race and gender emerge. For the notion of the unitary black man, Gates argues, is as imaginary as the creature that the...
March. Book one
Lewis, John
Paper Book
#1New York TimesBestseller Congressman John Lewis (GA-5) is an American icon and key figure of the civil rights movement. His commitment to justice and nonviolence has taken him from an Alabama sharecropper's farm to the halls of Congress, from a segregated schoolroom to...
March. Book two
Lewis, John
Paper Book
Congressman John Lewis, an American icon and one of the key figures of the civil rights movement, continues his award-winning graphic novel trilogy with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, inspired by a 1950s comic book that helped prepare his own generation to join the struggle. Now,...
Einstein : a biography
Neffe, Jürgen
Paper Book
Albert Einstein is an icon of the twentieth century. Born in Ulm, Germany, in 1879, he is most famous for his theory of relativity. He also made enormous contributions to quantum mechanics and cosmology, and for his work he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921. A self-pronounced pacifist,...
33 Simple Strategies for Faculty: A Week-By-Week Resource for Teaching First-Year and First-Generation Students
Nunn, Lisa M.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2020 Scholarly Contributions to Teaching and Learning Award from the American Sociological Association Many students struggle with the transition from high school to university life. This is especially true of first-generation college students,...
My American journey
Powell, Colin L.
Paper Book
"A GREAT AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY . . . AN ENDEARING AND WELL-WRITTEN BOOK." --The New York Times Book Review Colin Powell is the embodiment of the American dream. He was born in Harlem to immigrant parents from Jamaica. He knew the rough life of the streets. He overcame a barely average...
Know that you are worthy : experiences from first-generation college graduates
Rodriguez, Adam J.
Paper Book
Thirty-one alumni who were the first in their family to obtain a college degree share their experiences as first-generation students in this noteworthy new text. Their stories illuminate how the struggles of first-generation students are primarily due to a combination of multiple social...
Economic inequality, neoliberalism, and the American community college
Sullivan, Patrick
Paper Book
This book aims to deepen public understanding of the community college and to challenge our longstanding reliance on a deficit model for defining this important, powerful, and transformative institution. Featuring a unique combination of data and research, Sullivan seeks to help redefine,...
Crack the Code: A Guide to College Success for First Gens
Lieberman, Susan
Paper Book
Start college with your own wise mentor-in-a-book. Be prepared for challenges and opportunities by learning from the experiences of dozens of First Generation students who speak to you in this Guide about what they wished they had known and now, want you to know.
Einstein : his life and universe
Isaacson, Walter.
Paper Book
By the author of the acclaimed bestsellers Benjamin Franklin and Steve Jobs, this is the definitive biography of Albert Einstein. How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson's biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of...
Getting the Most Out of College
Chickering, Arthur W.
Paper Book
In this book, you will find the information you need to make your educational experience a valuable step in achieving your career and personal goals. Anchored in sixty years of research, "Getting the Most Out of College" uses eye-opening self-assessments so you can apply the concepts to your own...
The 4 Realities of Success During and after College
Roth, Bob
Paper Book
People are more successful in life when they get off to a great start. You will have an early advantage over the competition when you follow the principles within this practical book and apply them with enthusiasm, self-confidence and a positive attitude. Many highly intelligent young adults fall...
Student success in college : creating conditions that matter
Kuh, George D.
Paper Book
Student Success in College describes policies, programs, and practices that a diverse set of institutions have used to enhance student achievement. This book clearly shows the benefits of student learning and educational effectiveness that can be realized when these conditions are present....
Inclusive Directions: The Role of the Chief Diversity Officer in Community College Leadership
Pickett, Clyde Wilson
Paper Book
As community colleges continue to be significant in the national landscape of higher education by providing access to education and job training to diverse constituents, conversations about the support for strategic diversity leadership are paramount. Now more than ever, senior leaders must be...
Economic Inequality, Neoliberalism, and the American Community College
Sullivan, Patrick
This book aims to deepen public understanding of the community college and to challenge our longstanding reliance on a deficit model for defining this important, powerful, and transformative institution. Featuring a unique combination of data and research, Sullivan seeks to help redefine,...
Rising class : how three first-generation college students conquered their first year
Miller, Jennifer
Paper Book
This eye-opening YA narrative nonfiction follows three first-generation college students as they navigate their first year--and ultimately a global pandemic. Making it through the first year of college is tough. What makes it even tougher is being the first in your family to...
Decoding College: Stories, Strategies, and Struggles of First-Generation College Students
Clark, Kallie
Paper Book
Decoding College is a slice-of-life, college exposure guide aimed at first-generation college students and their families. Decoding College provides a comprehensive guide to the basics of the college admissions, selection and enrollment processes while specifically focusing on issues unique to...
Tom : the unknown Tennessee Williams
Leverich, Lyle.
Paper Book
Emerging at last from six years of legal entanglements involving the Tennesee Williams estate, this intimate and important portrait of Tennesee Williams, written with all the colorful detail and personal insight of a well-crafted novel, spans the unknown years of the playwright's life, as he...
Pour your heart into it : how Starbucks built a company one cup at a time
Schultz, Howard.
Paper Book
The success of Starbucks Coffee Company is one of the most amazing business stories in decades. What started as a single store on Seattles waterfront has grown into a company with over sixteen hundred stores worldwide and a new one opening every single business day. Just as remarkable as this...
The elegant universe : superstrings, hidden dimensions, and the quest for the ultimate theory
Greene, B.
Paper Book
Now with a new preface (not in any other edition) that will review the enormous public reception of the relatively obscure string theory—made possible by this book and an increased number of adherents amongst physicists—The Elegant Universe "sets a standard that will be hard to beat"...
African American healers
Cox, Clinton.
Paper Book
Throughout American history, determined African Americans havebecome healers. As doctors, nurses, and scientists, they have madevital contributions to the health of the American people. The road to attaining the knowledge these healers longed for was adifficult one. But they kept going,...
Make your home among strangers
Crucet, Jennine Capó
Paper Book
A New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, winner of the International Latino Book Award for Best Latino-themed Fiction 2016, Longlisted for the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Named a best book of the season by Cosmopolitan, Vanity...
The sympathizer
Nguyen, Viet Thanh
Paper Book
Now an HBO Limited Series from Executive Producers Park Chan-wook and Robert Downey Jr., Streaming Exclusively on Max Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Winner of the 2016 Edgar Award for Best First Novel Winner of the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for...
Fulfilling the promise of the community college : increasing first-year student engagement and success
Brown, Thomas.
Paper Book
Published in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges For the past three decades, American higher education has paid increasing attention to the beginning college experience -- to ensuring that entering students make a successful transition to college. Yet,...
Student success in community colleges : a practical guide to developmental education
Boroch, Deborah
Paper Book
Student Success in Community Colleges As more and more underprepared students enroll in college, basic skills education is an increasing concern for all higher education institutions. Student Success in Community Colleges offers education leaders, administrators, faculty, and staff an...
Check it off! : pave your way through college to career
Teller, Vera
Paper Book
Check It Off! Pave Your Way through College to Career is an excellent resource for high-school students entering college and a great read for parents too! Vera Teller, a college lecturer of first-year seminars, shows readers what they need to do in college to prepare themselves to seek employment...
Getting from college to career : your essential guide to succeeding in the real world
Pollak, Lindsey.
Paper Book
"A well-written, lively and easy to follow guide." --Time.com "Perfect for today's students, who inevitably want what they want (and only that!) when they want it." --Campus Career Advisor Getting from College to Career by Career Expert and Global...
College rules! : how to study, survive, and succeed in college
Nist-Olejnik, Sherrie
Paper Book
This updated classic gives students the tools they need to successfully transition from high school to college, avoid rookie mistakes, and set themselves up for academic success from day one. College can be the most exciting time in your life, but it also throws you into the deep...
Beyond Fitting In: Rethinking First-Generation Writing and Literacy Education
Ritter, Kelly
Paper Book
Beyond Fitting In interrogates how the cultural capital and lived experiences of first-generation college students inform literacy studies and the writing-centered classroom. Essays, written by scholar-teachers in the field of rhetoric and composition, discuss best practices for teaching...
Paying the price : college costs, financial aid, and the betrayal of the American dream
Goldrick-Rab, Sara
Paper Book
If you are a young person, and you work hard enough, you can get a college degree and set yourself on the path to a good life, right?   Not necessarily, says Sara Goldrick-Rab, and with Paying the Price, she shows in damning detail exactly why. Quite simply...
33 simple strategies for faculty : a week-by-week resource for teaching first-year and first-generation students
Nunn, Lisa M.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2020 Scholarly Contributions to Teaching and Learning Award from the American Sociological Association Many students struggle with the transition from high school to university life. This is especially true of first-generation college students,...
The Chicana/o/x Dream: Hope, Resistance and Educational Success
Conchas, Gilberto Q.
Paper Book
Based on interview data, life testimonios, and Chicana feminist theories, The Chicana/o/x Dream profiles first-generation, Mexican-descent college students who have overcome adversity by utilizing various forms of cultural capital to power their academic success. While college...
Know That You Are Worthy: Experiences from First-Generation College Graduates
Rodríguez, Adam J.
Paper Book
Thirty-one alumni who were the first in their family to obtain a college degree share their experiences as first-generation students in this noteworthy new text. Their stories illuminate how the struggles of first-generation students are primarily due to a combination of multiple social...

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