Spider First Generation becomes Spider First Generation Low Impact

At the start of this semester, Spider First-Gen was renamed to Spider First Generation Low Income to include low-income students at the University of Richmond, according to the Spiders FLI website. 

Spider First-Gen was an on-campus program that worked to bring first-generation college students together, according to the Spider FLI homepage. The change in name from Spider First Generation to Spider FLI was done to expand the community that has access to the resources that make the program so valuable. 

“The program strives to provide first-gen low-income students a transition into an excellent institution like Richmond,” said junior and Spider FLI member Christopher Oritz-Martinez .

Students from diverse backgrounds come together in one inclusive and supportive group to help one another and be a safety net, said Dom Pham, a junior and Spider FLI ambassador. 

“I feel secure knowing that there is a community that can understand this part of my identity that feels so contradictory to the image that this institution holds,” Ortiz-Martinez said. “Especially, when I feel like the majority demographic here at U of R is from an upper class, I know that there are other students who are experiencing similar feelings to my own.”

Spider FLI helps people with different identities to come together, have a space to talk about their experiences and take part in activities that are described by Ortiz-Martinez as, being fun social and educational opportunities that bring members together and facilitate the transition into the University of Richmond community.   

“The best part of FLI is the mentorship program that pairs incoming FLI spiders with first-gen, low-income upperclassmen,” Ortiz-Martinez said. “This system helps spiders empathize with the first years and creates meaningful relationships that better our spider community.” 

Spider FLI hosts several programs and events throughout the academic year to bring members of the community together and facilitate the formation of relationships between students. 

The fist Spider FLI event was the Mentor Mentee Kickoff in August which was followed by a range of events throughout September such as a panel of Spider FLI members talking about their experiences and a screening of “In The Heights” followed by a discussion of the movie. In October there was a talk on how to help students meet their financial goals and a workshop on maximizing benefit from on-campus jobs.   

National First-Generation Celebration Week, which will occur the week of Nov. 8, will include various activities and events to bring members of Spider FLI together to celebrate. The schedule for upcoming events can be found on the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion website. 

The Spider FLI website posted the decision to change the name, which was selected by students in the program, at the beginning of this semester. 

“There is a lot of overlap in the issues that first-generation students and low-income students face,” Pham said. The Spider FLI program prioritizes inclusivity throughout campus and the name change to incorporate and bring in other groups of people perpetuates this goal. 

“By changing the name, it more publicly announces that FLI is here for anyone and everyone.”

The name change will not impact the program much, other than expand its services to a wider audience, Pham and Ortiz-Martinez said. 

The core values of Spider FLI will remain constant and apply to the new students joining, but more financial literacy programs may be instated, Ortiz-Martinez said.

Contact writer Evelyn Barringer at evelyn.barrigner@richmond.edu.