First generation students UCL student podcasts: NewCL and JewCL

Cathy is back with new series of student podcasts! For the NewCL project, Coskun Guclu – a first generation students – has conducted research interviews to find out the experiences of first generation students at UCL, including the obstacles they face, the joys of being a first generation student and whether we should even call them that. In this episode, Cathy and Coskun discuss the findings and introduce the podcast series.
 
In this episode, Coskun talks to Catarina Lomelino and Laura Fisher about their experiences of being students and the importance of thinking about being a first generation student in the wider context of privilege and disadvantage. Cathy also pops up at the end because she cannot quash her unbearable need to editorialise.
 
If you are curious, UCL Widening Participation offer support to students who are disadvantaged on a range of different dimensions: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/widening-participation/eligibility-criteria. Being a First Gen student is not enough on its own to qualify for extra support, but as we hear on the show, there are nevertheless some obstacles faced by all First Gen students, no matter how privileged or disadvantaged they may be on other grounds.
 
We are grateful to all the students who shared their stories with us. Thanks also to Dave Pickering for his help in producing and editing the podcast and to the UCL Arena Centre for the money to do the project and the UCL Department of Political Science for all their support. Artwork and music: Coskun Guclu