Eight first generation college students received textbooks on Friday, thanks to the Hogan Book Award.
Created just last year, the award provides first generation college students in STEM disciplines with the textbook for one of their introductory science courses.
Kelly Hogan, senior STEM lecturer and the director of instructional innovation in the College of Arts & Sciences, and her husband Brian Hogan, research assistant professor in the department of chemistry, are advocates for first generation college student success.
“I am a big believer that education will take you wherever you want to go," said Brian Hogan. "I never thought that I would have the life that I have, and it’s all due to education."
Textbooks in STEM disciplines are often the most expensive. The Hogans created the Hogan Book Award in partnership with Pearson to reduce the financial barrier that often hinders persistence in STEM fields for first generation college students, Kelly Hogan said.
“One thing that is apparent is that finances are a stress on a lot of people around here, and sometimes we feel guilty about how expensive science books are, but we are not willing to forego the idea that we learn from books,” she said.
Carmen Huerta-Bapat, coordinator for first generation college students, said the Hogan Book Award will help to make textbooks more affordable.
“A lot of the times people don’t realize that it’s the little things that can make a difference in a student continuing to persevere or not, and our idea is to find solutions to those little problems,” Huerta-Bapat said. “If that little problem is a book, then we will make it accessible for the students so they can concentrate on what really matters — their studies.”
Simone Mccluney, a first-year and recipient of the Hogan Book Award, said for first generation STEM students it’s really expensive to buy books.
