“I think sometimes coming from a different background, you’re differently prepared,” says Taylor, whose own mother didn’t earn a bachelor’s degree until the end of Taylor’s high school career. “Being a first-gen student is pivotal to my identity, as is being the child and grandchild of immigrants and being from Miami.”

As an undergraduate at Florida International University, Taylor was deeply involved in organizations that supported first-gen students and other historically underrepresented groups, and when she arrived at Northeastern Law, she was delighted to learn about FGLA. “There are all these terms people throw around, acronyms, and no one sits down and tells you what they mean,” Taylor says. One example she and other FGLA students cite is OCI, which stands for “on-campus interviews” by law firms and other prospective employers. “The assumption is that you know — or that you will gain that knowledge from somewhere.” Perhaps the biggest gap between first-gen students and others is institutional knowledge, and FGLA is “a safe space to pass down” that knowledge, Taylor says.

Nationally, 26 percent of law students were the first in their families to earn a college degree, according to a 2023 survey by the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE). There are significant racial disparities in this statistic: 53 percent of Latinx law students, 40 percent of Native American law students and 36 percent of Black law students have parents who did not graduate college, compared to 21 percent of white law students.

“First-generation students tend to enter higher education with fewer financial resources and less social and cultural capital than those who have at least one parent who completed a college degree,” according to the LSSSE. Furthermore, first-gen students tend to have more responsibilities competing for their time: for example, they work more hours per week for income — but also study more each week — than students who are not first-gen.

Meanwhile, according to LSSSE, 20 percent of law students have at least one parent with a doctoral or professional degree, and 11 percent have a parent with a JD. About 30 percent of students with a JD parent graduate debt-free, compared to 17 percent without a parent who holds a doctoral degree. When it comes to debt, 24 percent of students with a JD parent graduate with more than $100,000 in debt, compared to 40 percent whose parents don’t hold a doctoral degree. Given these differences, it speaks volumes that Northeastern Law has a dedicated student organization for self-identifying first-gens, Taylor says, as many schools do not. “If they do,” she adds, “I think it’s indicative of that law school’s student culture.”

Supporting students from a wide variety of backgrounds, including first-gens, is an institutional priority for Northeastern Law, says Lindsey Sadonis, director of development and alumni/ae relations. Northeastern Law graduates, she adds, help to provide critical resources that advance the school’s mission-driven work and bring institutional priorities to life. For example, Andrew Glincher ’84, a first-gen graduate, served as CEO and managing partner of Boston’s Nixon Peabody for more than a decade — and he wants to support the new generation of first-gen students. In 2021, Glincher, who today is chairman emeritus at Nixon Peabody, created the first endowed scholarship at the law school specifically for first-generation students. Two years later, Amy Stephson ’77 and David Balto ’83 also created endowed scholarships for first-gen students. There are now three scholarships specifically earmarked for this group. Balto made his gift to express gratitude for his Northeastern Law education and provide support for talented students. Stephson was inspired by the school’s mission and motivated to ensure that future first-gen students have the opportunity to attend Northeastern Law.

Kiana Pierre-Louis, the law school’s assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion, is a first-gen graduate. Going through Bentley University and Suffolk University Law School, “there were so many things — terminology, resources — just so much that was unknown,” she recalls. “You often feel like an island, like you’re the only one feeling this way. You feel stupid and like an imposter, quite frankly.”

When Pierre-Louis arrived at Northeastern Law in 2022, FGLA leaders invited her to work with them to build the organization. She helped create a program where first-gen students are mentored by first-gen faculty, staff and graduates; an online orientation specifically for first-gen students; and dedicated office hours for first-gen students to meet with first-gen faculty and staff. FGLA is about “really feeling like you’re not alone and you have that support,” Pierre-Louis says. “There’s a real sense of community.”

At the beginning of each academic year, FGLA presents 1L Declassified, a program to help new students understand how best to approach law school and studying, Taylor says. It also hosts social events to help members de-stress, panel discussions where first-gen graduates share their stories and networking events.

“First-gen students don’t come with a built-in professional network; they have to create their own,” says Fray, who is faculty cosponsor of FGLA along with Professor Victoria McCoy Dunkley. Fray also developed a networking spreadsheet for students to keep track of job leads and referrals that she shared with FGLA.

It’s important to note that first-gen students enhance the school community, Pierre-Louis and Fray say. “I do think classroom conversations are richer” with first-gen students’ contributions, Fray says — especially given the law school’s social justice focus. “I think these students bring a lot of intangibles to those conversations.”

And while Fray emphasizes that she wants to avoid overgeneralizing, “I do think there is a strong work ethic among first-gen students,” she says. “You have to really want it to get this far without the built-in supports that others have.” Compared to some students following in their families’ footsteps to go to college or graduate school, “first-gens made that choice despite hurdles,” Fray says. First-gen students exhibit “grit, determination and intellectual curiosity that drives them to pursue education in a way that’s really unique.”

It’s nice to have a mentor and to talk to folks in similar positions as you are who have gone through the same thing.

— Anaïs González ’25

Anaïs González ’25 grew up in the Central Valley in California among a family of farm workers and Mexican immigrants. Although both her parents are college graduates, they knew very little about law school culture, such as the process of applying for financial aid and the value of professional networking when building a legal career. Being a member of FGLA has been “really helpful” with those things and with other challenges, González says, such as struggling with imposter syndrome, the feeling that she didn’t belong at law school and wasn’t capable of achieving academically. FGLA also emphasizes mental health and self-care, she says. González was encouraged to build a legal career that harmonizes with her passion for sports — she was an NCAA Division III athlete at Bates College — by going into sports and entertainment law while continuing to nurture her interest in social justice through pro bono work. “It’s nice to have a mentor and to talk to folks in similar positions as you are and who have gone through the same thing,” she says.

Sebastien Philemon ’24, born and raised in Boston, is a first-generation Haitian American. Both his parents hold bachelor’s degrees, and his mom studied law as an undergraduate in Haiti, but he is the first in his family to pursue a JD. While his parents are deeply supportive of his education, he ultimately had to learn on his own how best to achieve academic success in law school. “It’s hard in general to succeed when you are the first in your family to do something and there are no precedents,” says Philemon. “It sometimes felt isolating.”

As a 1L, he joined both FGLA and the Black Law Students Association (BLSA), groups for “communities I identify with,” says Philemon, who will join the Boston office of Ropes & Gray as a litigation associate this fall. “I think it’s important for people to believe in themselves and not to get imposter syndrome. As a 1L, there were many nights I did feel unsure of myself, and I’m really glad I had close friends in FGLA and BLSA. I couldn’t have done it without them.”