Supporting First-Generation Students in College Success

What can we do when we see a high-achieving student with no roadmap? Bright students can often be blocked by lack of access, know-how, and “network advantage.” But often these high-achievers have mentors: you and me. As mentors, we have opportunities to refer students interested in “dream universities” not usually pursued by students at your school to a program that can help them gain admission. Additionally, it will help them know what steps to take this spring while they still have time. For students who are juniors in high school, the time is now! Today is one such example of this transformational approach we all need to understand, particularly as we seek to help high-potential first-generation college students navigate the process.

Zak Adams is the guest on today’s show, and Mrs. Wilkinson was the teacher who helped him move forward when he didn’t have a roadmap. Zak, a junior at Harvard University, shares how Project Access helped him secure the mentorship he needed—and what that kind of support looks like for students from lower-income backgrounds. You’ll hear what mentor support actually does, how the matching works when students have target universities in mind, and the kinds of supports we can put in place at school so more students can take a real next step toward opportunities they may not even realize are possible.

Project Access

Key Takeaways for Teachers

• College admissions can feel confusing and uncertain for students without support systems, so mentorship can provide the steady guidance many students need.
• Programs like Project Access look at “high-potential, low-opportunity” indicators (including local context and access barriers) to identify students who may need extra support.
• There are deadlines (often around September), so identifying and referring students early (especially during junior year) matters.
• Mentor matching connected to a student’s target university can provide “network advantage” and practical insight that students may not otherwise have.
• Mentors can support students with real application tasks, including feedback on writing and helping students understand what selective universities are looking for.
• You do not have to know every step to help; a supportive adult who says, “We’ll figure this out together,” can be the turning point.

Visual Summary

I used Notebook LM to extract a visual summary from the transcript of today’s show and edited with Canva and proofread to ensure it captured much of what we discussed. Enjoy!

Listen to the Show

Author Bio as Submitted.

Zak is a student at Harvard from Coventry, England. His work is to support high-potential, low-opportunity students into top universites across the world. Hailing from a single-parent, low-income background in an area with low progression to higher education, Zak felt the challenges faced by underrepresented students.

Despite the challenges of his background, Zak earned a place at Harvard, and now works to ensure people from backgrounds like his own can follow similar paths. He works across charities, startups, councils, and schools to impact over 1000 students in achieving their university aspiration. Zak’s approach combines practical guidance with empathetic support. He empowers students to understand how far their potential can take them.

From one-on-one mentorship to designing initiatives that adress systemic inequities, Zak grounds his work in “You canot be what you cannot see.” His advocacy equips studens with the belief that nowhere is off limits. Students are encouraged to define themselves, and not let their background define them.

Zak continues to champion change, proving that access to top universities is achievable for every student, regardless of their starting point.
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/zakjayadams

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