Gen1 Spotlight: Lacey & Shaquel

Lacey (left) & Shaquel (right) on the Pennsylvania
Avenue Terrace at the Newseum in
Washington, DC

One of the perks to being a part of the Gen1 program is the opportunity to meet new individuals. Many first generation students do not have the luxury of entering the college environment with individuals with whom they already know, and share a common bond. For two of the Gen1 members, Lacey and Shaquel, such was not a factor.

            Fourteen years ago, Lacey and Shaquel walked into the same Pre-K classroom, and right from the start the two became the best of friends. Unfortunately, it was the transition into first grade that severed their ties as the two of them went off to separate schools. While the experience may have broken their connection, it never erased their memories of one another.

            As fate would have it, Lacey and Shaquel were reunited eight years later upon entering the first-year class at The Seton Keough High School in Baltimore, MD. The duo quickly rekindled the friendship that was left behind in the kindergarten classroom shared by them eight years prior.

            Lacey and Shaquel were both accepted into Stevenson University’s 2010-2011 first-year class. Unbeknownst to each of them, they also had been accepted into the Gen1 Program. It came as a pleasant surprise for the two of them to see a familiar face at the first Gen1 meeting.