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First-year First Falcons pose together with Flex the Falcon after the pinning ceremony.
Bentley’s newest First Falcons pose with Flex after the pinning ceremony. (Photos by Eddie Monigan, Marianna Olivia Lordou and Vanessa Velasquez.)

Beautiful to be a ‘First and Only’: Bentley Celebrates First-Gen Students

by Molly Mastantuono

When Harry C. Bentley founded his School of Accounting in Boston in 1917, he committed to serving all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status. After all, as the first member of his own family to earn a university degree, Bentley understood firsthand how higher education could open doors to personal and professional opportunities that otherwise seemed impossible. The equity-minded educator welcomed students from religious and racial minorities and offered evening classes to accommodate working-class students with full-time jobs.

More than 100 years later, Bentley University proudly continues its founder’s legacy of providing accessible and inclusive educational experiences. Among current undergraduates, 22% identify as first-generation college students, defined as having parents or guardians who did not complete a bachelor’s degree. Collectively known as “First Falcons,” these trailblazing Bentley students bring with them diverse strengths and unique perspectives that enrich the campus community.

In November, Bentley hosted First Falcons Week, a series of events and activities designed to celebrate and empower first-gen students. From social gatherings and a pinning ceremony to an in-depth conversation with Alejandra Campoverdi, award-winning author of “First Gen: A Memoir,” the week provided ample opportunities for students, faculty, staff and alumni to come together.  

“These events are an ode to our roots,” says Vanessa Velasquez, first-generation experience specialist and a member of the university’s First-Gen Student Support Committee, the week’s primary organizer. “Through them, we reaffirm Bentley’s long-standing commitment to supporting and uplifting first-generation students, celebrating their achievements and building a sense of belonging and community.”  

Read on for highlights from First Falcons Week 2024: 

Six students sit around a table, eating pizza and pupasas while painting on individual canvases.

“Puppies, Paint, Pizza, Pupusas”

The week’s kickoff event, co-sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Multicultural Center, featured festive food and furry friends. Nearly 200 participants — including current Falcons and prospective students from local high schools — engaged in a group painting activity while noshing on pizza and pupusas, a traditional Salvadoran flatbread.  

First Falcons also had the chance to relax and recharge with emotional support dogs, courtesy of Pets and People Foundation and Animal Assisted Therapy Services of Massachusetts.    

“First Falcons in the Workplace” Alumni Panel

Who better to advise First Falcons than first-gen Bentley alumni (and one soon-to-be graduate) who once stood in their shoes?  

During an event co-sponsored by the Pulsifer Career Development Center’s First Generation Student Career Community, four panelists shared insights from their experiences both as Bentley students and working professionals. The discussion covered a variety of topics, including how to navigate imposter syndrome, strategies for building a professional network and qualities to look for in jobs and internships. 

Pictured: Alumni panelists (from left) Charbel Hanna ’18, Nyleah Feebles ’24, Anyfern González Brache ’23 and Argelys Jiminian ’25. 

Four Bentley alumni — Charbel Hanna ’18, Nyleah Feebles ’24, Anyfern González Brache ’23 and Argelys Jiminian ’25 — prepare for a panel discussion.

James Heber ’27, left, and Zach Johnson ’27 display their Tri Alpha certificates.

Tri Alpha Induction Ceremony

In 2023, Bentley established its own chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha (Tri Alpha), a national honor society recognizing academic excellence among first-generation college students. To become members, students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.2 (for undergraduates) or 3.5 (for graduate students).  

Tri Alpha welcomed its newest members during First Falcons Week, inducting 34 students, 12 faculty and staff members and one Bentley alumnus during a special ceremony. 

Faculty advisers Jackie Masloff, senior lecturer in Computer Information Systems (CIS), and Arianna Falbo, assistant professor of Philosophy (and a first-gen student herself), also announced a new Tri Alpha mentoring program. Launching this spring, the program will pair students with Bentley faculty and staff who can offer support and guidance based on shared experiences. 

Pictured: New Tri Alpha members James Heber ’27, left, and Zach Johnson ’27. 

First Falcons Pinning Ceremony

The signature event of First Falcons Week, the annual pinning ceremony formally recognizes and celebrates Bentley’s newest first-gen students.

Emceed by First Falcons Avery Perry ’25 and Meryem Hakkaoui ’27, who each shared personal reflections, the event also featured remarks from the following Bentley community members, as well as a vocal performance by Honors student Julia Masse ’25:

First Falcons — including Jose Quezada ’28 (pictured) — were then pinned by a loved one or Bentley community member as Associate Provost for Student Success Jane De León Griffin explained the act’s symbolism: “This pin symbolizes your tremendous achievement in becoming a Bentley University student. If at any point during your Bentley education, you doubt your belonging within our academic community, let this pin serve as a reminder of your strength and accomplishments.” 

A family member affixes a First Falcons pin to the shirt collar of Jose Quezada ’28.

Flex the Falcon and Alejandra Capoverdi sit in blue-upholstered armchairs in front of a First Falcons banner.

Armchair Discussion with Alejandra Campoverdi

Post-pinning, First Falcons and their families enjoyed a luncheon in the Executive Dining Room, followed by an armchair discussion with Alejandra Capoverdi (pictured left, with Flex the Falcon) a former White House aide to President Obama and author of the national best-seller “First Gen: A Memoir.” (All First Falcons received their own copy.)  

During a conversation moderated by Dominique Wilburn, director of programs and communications for Bentley’s Center for Women and Business, Capoverdi discussed the challenges of being a “First and Only,” her term for “those of us who are the ‘first generation’ or the ‘only’ member in our family, community or social demographic group to cross a threshold.”  

Sharing examples from her own experiences as a Mexican American woman raised by a single mother in Los Angeles, Capoverdi spoke at length about what she calls the “Trailblazer Toll”: the seldom acknowledged emotional costs associated with the “delicate balance of surviving where you come from while acting like you belong where you’re going.”  

Too often, she said, First and Onlys are conditioned “to be so grateful for our opportunities and so protective of our fragile new status that we leave no room for questions, doubts or our own humanity.” But it’s important to address these feelings openly, Campoverdi emphasized, so “the predominant feeling isn’t loneliness and isolation.” 

After all, she reminded participants, “It’s a beautiful thing to be a First and Only, the one who disrupts deep-rooted generational patterns to become our ancestors’ wildest dreams.”

RELATED: Celebrating the first graduating class of FirstGen Presidential Fellows

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