Making an Invisible Identity Visible: First-Generation, Low-Income Week of Celebration at MIT 2024

Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s FLI Week of Celebration was a result of a semester-long journey dedicated to empowering, connecting, and celebrating our First-Generation, Low-Income (FLI) students. This year’s theme, “Brick by Brick: Building on Your Strengths,” — a whimsical ode to MIT’s motto of Mens et Manus, “mind and hand” — symbolized our commitment to an asset-based approach of honoring the resilience, strengths, and unique contributions our FLI community brings to MIT. 

As one of 65 recipients of a grant from the National FirstGen Forward Network, we integrated this theme across multiple events and initiatives, building up to our main celebration on November 8th. 

Cross-Department Collaboration 

By reducing barriers to seeking help and putting a face to the name of the department, we foster relationships that branch outside of our office. Such outreach resulted in 10 independent events with six MIT offices, which can be found in our special event calendar.

These events included collaborations with gFLI, the FLI graduate community, and several campus partners. Our FLI into Research dinner, organized in conjunction with gFLI and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), where 70+ participants heard from four panelists—two undergraduates and two graduate FLI students—about how to engage in academic research and the traits that make a positive mentor/mentee relationship. Other notable events included drop-in budgeting and financial advice with Student Financial Services; a discussion about purposeful careers with Career Advising and Professional Development; and a Student Support Services led initiative called “Tomorrow Time” where students work on procrastination and learn time management skills.

Through our week-long programming, FLI students become aware of options for support even if they do not use them immediately. In addition to highlighting resources, our students feel a sense of peer-to-peer support across departments and graduation years at MIT. 

Iconic Red FLI Sweatshirts

This is our second year where we hand out red FLI sweatshirts to undergraduate students, with a focus on our first-year class. We even began inviting staff and faculty to participate in the tradition. Needless to say, the sweatshirts were a hit! We handed out over 200 sweatshirts, of which 171 were given to the class of 2028. Each student signed-up for our FLI newsletter mailing list and filled out a FLI affirmation. 

Not only did students take away a sweatshirt to bear the New England winter, but students wrote affirmations pertaining to the FLI identity that were then attached to large poster boards. These affirmations are made visible in our office and in the Infinite corridor, the main thoroughfare of campus. That way, students can read the affirmations that other students wrote as they go to class. FLI is an invisible identity, which can make our students’ experience at MIT feel lonely. By promoting the red sweatshirts, which have subtle logos but bold colors, we encourage them to take pride in their FLI identity. 

On FLI Day of Celebration, we were flooded with a sea of red. Students came in to check out our events, from alumni to faculty to undergraduates to graduate students! 

FLI Team Alex Hoyt, Sade Abraham, Tiffany Low, and Winni pose with Diana Grass, PhD student and co-founder of gFLI.
FLI Team Alex Hoyt, Sade Abraham, Tiffany Low, and Winni pose with Diana Grass, biology PhD student and co-founder of gFLI.

Build Yourself (and MIT) 

In addition to handing out red sweatshirts and our academic workshops throughout the week, over 300 students joined us on Friday to craft custom LEGO minifigure keychains, reflect on personal strengths through FLI-themed affirmation cards, and enjoy LEGO-inspired cupcakes (thank you, Jocelyn Heywood and Renee!). Many students wore our custom MIT FLI sweatshirts, a powerful symbol of unity and pride. The keychains served to remind students of their aspirations and strengths — students often equipped their LEGO mini-me with artifacts of dream careers, hobbies, or interests.