A new program at the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) seeks to address the academic performance gap for first-generation students, focusing on challenges they have historically faced in core quantitative courses.
Andrew Barksdale, associate director of CSOM undergraduate career advising, launched the initiative this past November after conducting an internal data study on students’ academic performance.
“After we kind of identified this data and these outliers, we were then saying, ‘How can we improve this? Is this something, you know, structurally, that we can do to help support these students?’” Barksdale said.
To address these challenges for first-generation students, the program provides extra academic support tailored to the CSOM curriculum.
Participants take one core quantitative class per semester, complemented by a supplemental seminar designed that offers one-on-one access to a professor and additional academic support.
Both the small cohort size and supplemental seminar aim to foster a tight-knit learning community and enhance students’ understanding of the material, according to Barksdale.
Sydney Catalan, CSOM ’28 and a participant in the program, said having a designated time to receive assistance has allowed her to form closer relationships with her professors.
“I feel like this program has really helped me be able to come out of my shell and get to know faculty more than I probably would have without it,” Catalan said.
In addition to academic support, the program builds community through group outings and peer mentorship, pairing freshmen with upperclassmen mentors.
Gabriel Galloza, CSOM ’28 and another participant, has found his peer mentor to be a valuable resource.
“He’s given me so many insights,” Galloza said. “Hearing it from somebody that is so similar to you, you do internalize the advice, and so it’s super helpful.”
Participants also enroll in the Career Bridge course, which aims to help students navigate unfamiliar internship and job recruitment cycles and expand their professional networks.
In the spring of their freshman year, students in the program enroll in a career accelerator course that focuses on networking and job search skills.
Barksdale emphasized the close connection between career preparation and academic performance.
“Quite frankly, from a career perspective—I was a former career coach—it’s harder to work with a student who’s underperforming academically,” Barksdale said. “Their opportunity—the best firms that recruit here—may not be able to go for those firms because they just don’t have the performance that’s necessary to get there.”
Currently funded by the CSOM Dean’s Innovation Fund, the program supports a cohort of 20 students, according to Barksdale. While expanding depends on funding and available resources, Barksdale said he hopes to increase the program’s reach in the future.
“If I can grow that from 20 students in the freshman class to 40 students, we’re serving more students,” Barksdale said.
Barksdale said he hopes the program provides first-generation students with the tools they need to achieve their goals.
“We want all of our students who come into Carroll School to have the opportunity to do whatever they want and have, you know, kind of live the American dream and kind of shoot for whatever they feel like they can get,” Barksdale said.
Leave a Reply