In June of 2016 six public universities from around the United States participated in a Student Summit funded by First In The World, a program of the U.S. Department of Education. The seeds for The UnGuide were planted at that Summit. Students from the six universities began to map out possibilities for a project that could identify barriers, identify supports, map out creative strategies for getting through college as a first generation student and/or student of color.
Since that summit, a group of us have continued the work. This collaborative has been to envision how we could craft an inviting space that is both a resource but is also a community, that is both local, speaking to issues that our individual universities face, but also inclusive so anyone from any university can find support here.
The website as you see it now has been a carefully created space. But it does not belong to any specific university or any specific group of people. We want this to be a space where we, you, find the tools you need to navigate your undergraduate years when so often the institutions that hold us were not made for us. We want this to be a meaningful space that we build together, a space that is shaped by each person that chooses to contribute to it, a space that changes with time and the needs that we encounter.
Because of The UnGuide, we hope you feel less alone, less isolated, but we also hope that The UnGuide will inspire institutional shift and help create the universities we all deserve.
Use The UnGuide as you need it. Come here for resources. Tap through our key words. Watch the videos. Visit into our social media links and join the conversation. Post your experiences. Offer the tools you’ve discovered to others. We want this space to be meaningful, we want it to celebrate you, to reflect your experiences.
Thank you for building this resource with us.