The Catholic University of America celebrated the arrival of new students who are the first in their families to attend college. The warm welcome featured a three-day pre-orientation that introduced them to the campus life and resources to support their success.
Take Flight, a program of the Center for Cultural Engagement (CCE) that guides first-generation students throughout their college years, welcomed 75 first-year students — the largest incoming cohort yet.
CCE Director Javier Bustamante, himself a first-generation college student, led Take Flight’s launch in 2019. Pre-orientation participants who live on campus get to move in early at no additional cost to help make sure no one misses this summer bridge program.
“Take Flight’s pre-orientation is about creating a space for students with a shared experience to connect with one another and campus leaders, helping them shape their network of support within the wider University community,” said Bustamante.
Faculty, staff, and current students provided guidance and encouragement through workshops on building your home away from home, managing time, finding campus resources, and more. Law Professor Veryl Miles and Academic Coach Josef Simpson – both first-generation college graduates – offered advice from their own experiences. Each day’s events also included outings to Washington, D.C., to build bonds outside of the classroom.
Architecture and civil engineering dual major Julieta Romero, a native of Colombia, visited campus years before her family moved to the United States, and she remembers it felt like home.
“Out of the 15 colleges I applied to, Catholic University was the only one to reach out to me with a personalized email,” said Romero. “It’s like a family.”
Although Romero has family members who attended college in her native country, she’s the first to navigate the U.S. higher education system.
“It’s totally different,” she said, and she found it overwhelming. She was grateful to Take Flight for helping to equip her with the knowledge to navigate the process and offering a supportive community.
Architecture major and civil engineering dual major Luc Vanraes, whose father is from Belgium, said he had a similar experience, and Take Flight pre-orientation has helped fill in the gaps. Vanraes said it made him feel at less of a disadvantage than his peers than he did before. “It gives us a leg up,” he said.
History major Diego Diaz said Take Flight helped him feel more prepared to enter the larger Orientation experience that followed the next day. Most importantly, it’s reaffirmed in his mind that he made the right choice.
“I really like the history program and opportunities they have here, also the Catholic perspective,” said Diaz. “It’s the place for me.”