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  • CAREER FEATURE

First-in-family scholars bust generational barriers

First-generation students face challenges navigating graduate school. How can institutions better support them?
  1. Nikki Forrester

    1. Nikki Forrester is a freelance science journalist based in Davis, West Virginia.

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“As a first-generation student, the challenges start before grad school,” says Jisub Hwang, a PhD candidate at the Korea Polar Research Institute in Incheon, South Korea. Hwang is the first person in his family to attend university. “It’s tough to help my family understand the long journey of getting a PhD. They want me to earn money at a company.”

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Nature 604, 585-587 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01048-9

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