Nakyah Vaughan emerges as a first generation superhero
After a rough first semester that ended with her on academic probation, Vaughan went on to gain an internship, found a student organization, and participate in study abroad.
Packing for winter break and her first study abroad trip was particularly sweet for one computer science major. That's because getting through her first semester at Virginia Tech was not always a sure thing for rising junior Nakyah Vaughan.
“I got the Global Education Scholarship to go to Costa Rica, and I'm really excited about that,” Vaughan said. “It’s my first scholarship, and I wanted to celebrate how far I’ve come.”
She has worked hard to get here.
Feeling lost and overwhelmed
In her first year at Virginia Tech, Vaughan signed up for 17 credit hours of classes — a daunting academic load for any new student. She’d done well in middle and high school in Woodbridge, Virginia, despite COVID pandemic hybrid courses, and picking up coding skills as an 11-year-old from engineers at the company where her mom worked. It seemed like a good strategy to get ahead by piling on the classes in college.
“But it was not a good idea,” Vaughan said. “I was just going through a whole bunch of things — not understanding my coursework, working, and trying to figure out how I'm going to keep paying for school. I had a friend die. I got really sick and missed classes and then missed some finals.”
About 5,700 Virginia Tech students identify as first generation, meaning neither parent or guardian has received a four-year college or university degree. While going to university can be a big transition for any student, those without higher education experience in their immediate family can find it especially challenging. Extra hardships, like illness, can pile on.
“I did not have my life together at all, and I kind of gave up. I thought I didn't belong here. I thought I couldn't do what needed to be done to be here," Vaughan said. "And every time I tried, something else got in my way.”
Going home for winter break and telling her family she was in danger of losing her place at Virginia Tech was hard, Vaughan said. Some of them had even contributed money to help her pay tuition.
“It bothered me so much. I never failed at anything before, and I felt guilty because they had helped me. But they weren’t even mad,” she said. “They just wanted to know what they could do to help.”
About 19 percent of current undergraduate students in the Department of Computer Science identify as first generation students, according to department figures. And the undergraduate advising team works to support them in their particular challenges.
Paige Johnson, director of undergraduate programs, didn’t meet Vaughan until she had overcome that first difficult semester. But Johnson knows that situation well, from professional - and personal - experience. She herself was a first generation doctoral student.
“First generation students often feel like they're working uphill, so they pile a lot on,” Johnson said. “But your body can only take so much, and then when they can't do all those things, these students also feel a little bit like they have failed because they couldn’t do the 20 things they wanted to do.
“Nakyah has definitely carved her own lane, but I wish it had been easier for her - and that she would not have had to do so much on her own,” Johnson said.
To support all students, including first generation, Johnson said the department’s seven-person advising team uses a holistic approach called developmental advising. They consistently ask students a range of questions to assess their physical, emotional, and academic progress. It can seem a little intrusive to young adults tasting independence for the first time, Johnson said. But it can help identify issues and help struggling students get support sooner.
Finding resources and belonging
Often people think of the challenges facing first generation students as the result of deficits, but not Tamara Cherry-Clarke, Virginia Tech’s senior assistant dean of students, who herself was a first generation college student.
“I talk about our superpowers. When I think about first generation students, we’re pioneers, we’re creative, we’re innovators,” Cherry-Clarke said. “Where continuing generation students - those whose parents graduated college - assume they will go to university because it’s expected, first generation students are self-motivated.
“We have this innate ability to unlock our potential independently. I tell students to lean into that superpower and give themselves permission to invite support as they are planning their strategy,” Cherry-Clarke said.
The most important message? You are not alone, Cherry-Clarke said. There are many peers, faculty mentors, advisors, and coaches out there to help first gen students navigate their college careers.
Virginia Tech has several programs in place to support first generation students as they transition to college, including:
- The GenerationOne living-learning community
- First generation scholarships
- The Hokies First peer mentoring program
- 1G@VT student organization
- @vt1stgen Instagram community
Vaughan said she didn’t know about those options when she was struggling.
“I wish I had known I could get medical leave," Vaughan said. “I didn’t realize the countless opportunities available on campus, whether it’s job opportunities or research or volunteering.”
But she turned her college career around by finding an internship at ABB, a global engineering firm with offices in North Carolina. She also signed up for fewer classes in her second semester. Since then she’s begun to thrive and has made it her mission to help support her peers.
Vaughan founded a student organization called ColorStack at Virginia Tech. ColorStack is a national organization that supports professional development and networking for Black and Latinx computer science students. When Vaughan was looking for a faculty advisor for ColorStack, Associate Dean Emerita Bev Watford introduced her to Johnson.
“I had never been an advisor for a student organization before, but Nakyah was so organized and just on top of everything that I agreed,” Johnson said. “Now every time we meet, I'm kind of blown away. My job is to find contacts for her and sometimes nudge her in a direction. But ColorStack is a well-oiled machine.”
While the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers often collaborate, Johnson said, ColorStack is the first organization to bring both groups together under one umbrella. The Virginia Tech chapter is the first of its kind on campus. About 200 students are affiliated with ColorStack, Vaughan said.
The pizza boxes were stacked high in Derring Hall on a recent Monday night, when members of ColorStack at VT filed in for dinner, social time, and a panel discussion about the fears they face as students in technology fields.
As part of the program, Vaughan told her own story and described how going after an internship helped her rebuild her academic career.
“I almost didn't come back to school. Y'all, it was that bad, but I did come back,” she said. “I worked hard. I brought my grades up and got off of academic probation. I got a job. And then, I started this club.
“All that to say, you're going to go through hardships, but you can always get back up,” Vaughan said. “You may not feel like you belong here, but you do. I believe in each and every one of you.”
A global perspective
Vaughan hasn’t stopped there. She applied for and got the Global Education Scholarship to go to Costa Rica over winter break with the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures. While there, she studied Spanish, took a Costa Rican cooking class, and met and stayed with locals. Vaughan said she didn’t even miss her devices and internet access. It was a big achievement and a celebration of all Vaughan has done so far at Virginia Tech.
But it didn’t come without some stress of its own. Johnson helped Vaughan think through the financial ramifications of studying abroad.
“We had to figure out how it was going to work. She had some money, and she got the scholarship. But it will still be a financial burden,” Johnson said. “I think it's been a really good opportunity for her to branch out.
“The problem is that those things that students do like study abroad that give them advantages in a fairly crowded job market aren’t available to everyone because they are expensive,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she hopes departments and the university more broadly can find ways to support students who can’t do these things alone.
To that end, the university has initiated Virginia Tech Advantage, a multi-year, universitywide effort to offer a broad educational experience to all students. The university is emphasizing learning opportunities such as study abroad and paid internships that help students build competitive resumes, add value to their degree, and enrich their education.
For her part, Vaughan is focused on the future and those coming up behind her.
“I really want to do well for myself,” she said. “But I also want to do it for all my younger siblings -- to show them that they can be in this field, and they do belong here.”
