Like many people across the country, we cheered when the indie film CODA (Children of Deaf Adults) won an Academy Award for Best Picture in 2022 having already snagged a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. CODA is a coming-of-age movie about a high school senior who is the only hearing member of a deaf family that operates a financially limited fishing business in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Defying family tradition, Ruby wants to sing and to attend the prestigious Berkelee College of Music, becoming the first in her family to go to college.
The purpose of this piece is to give practitioners tangible ideas for how to incorporate this popular movie into programming and faculty or staff trainings that specifically support prospective or enrolled first-generation college students like Ruby. The varied themes presented within CODA have implications ranging from admissions and orientation to parent and family engagement. We draw upon our personal and administrative experiences as first-generation professionals who work with first-generation college students in the arts. One of our goals is to generate a strengths-based conversation, and the other is to illuminate the unique experiences of first-generation student artists.
Getting to Art School
The process for applying to art schools, including performing and visual arts programs, can be mystifying and even frustrating for those who are unfamiliar, including pre-college or transfer students. College admissions already may be a cloudy endeavor for prospective first-generation student artists and their families/caregivers; the pathway to studying the arts may be even more daunting. CODA can be shown to pre-college students with an interest in the arts to get them thinking about this process early on. For instance, the film illuminates the audition process for performing artists when Ruby, a vocalist, applies for Berkelee College, about 45 miles south of Gloucester. In fact, Berkelee requires that applicants to their music program have a 15-minute audition and a 15-minute interview. Instead of an audition, students interested in the visual arts typically have to submit a portfolio showcasing their work. The components of art school admissions can be strikingly different than the typical process, including taking standard tests and writing traditional admissions essays.
Student artists also need to decide whether they are studying at a traditional college or university like Emerson College or if they want to attend a dedicated art school or conservatory, such as Berkelee, Delaware College of Art and Design, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, etc. Most colleges require that students take General Education courses and electives in addition to an academic major in order to satisfy degree requirements. These usually span a variety of academic subjects for breadth, so a college student is exposed to all kinds of disciplines outside of a declared major. On the other hand, a school of the arts typically means art all–or most– of the time. There may be a science or writing requirement but for the most part, students are immersed into a variety of art disciplines that can span from fine arts like photography, drawing and sculpture, to film and video, to fashion and design. While we don’t see these granular distinctions being made in CODA, space can be created to have a dialogue with exploring students about their options for pursuing art at a variety of institutions. In this way, the film can provide a gateway into the unique process of art school admissions, potentially removing barriers for first-generation students and their families.
Family Support & Engagement
CODA not only contributes to discourse about family support of first-generation students, the film also validates family concerns. The primary source of tension within the narrative is Ruby’s desire to pursue her own individual goal of going to college and studying music while also being a financial contributor and translator for her family. As the only hearing member of her family, Ruby plays a pivotal role in all public facing interactions with outsiders. She is a critical member of the family’s fishing business, rising in the early morning before school starts to work alongside her father and older brother. As a result, she falls asleep in class. She also has limited opportunities to participate in school activities that could potentially enhance her college applications. Because of this unusual lifestyle, along with her non-hearing family members, Ruby is a social outcast in school. Here we see the various external factors that might impede Ruby’s achievement; however, her situation is represented as precarious but hopeful, especially because of her family not despite them.
Not only does Ruby use sign language to translate for her family, she also serves as a cultural broker (Faulstich Orellana 2009) helping her parents navigate both financial and medical processes with authority figures outside of the family circle. We see several scenes that demonstrate this dynamic. Ruby brokers deals between her father and one of the seamen, while she worries that her family will be cheated as a result of their hearing impairment. There’s even a comedic scene where Ruby has to attend a doctor’s visit with her parents who are diagnosed with jock itch, and she has to explain that they must not have sexual intercourse for two weeks. Embarrassed and frustrated, Ruby struggles to explain to her mother and father that she would rather not be the mouthpiece for the family, which could be interpreted as selfish and individualistic behavior.
These situations likely resonate with many first-generation college students who may also be cultural brokers in their families. For these reasons, students may be hesitant to live on campus, participate in extracurricular activities, or even discuss their college experience or aspirations with their non-college attending family members (Covarrubias, Romero, Trivelli, 2015). Rarely do we see these dynamics portrayed in popular media; thus, CODA can ignite conversations with students about ways to manage parental or familial expectations and concerns.
It often is presumed that first-generation college students receive less support from their families compared to their continuing generation peers; however, studies show that these relationships are more complex when interrogated closely (Barry, Hudley, Cho, & Kelly 2008; Bryan and Simmons 2009; Gofen 2009; Ziemniak, 2011; Roksa 2019). Some parents or caregivers may distrust formal institutions, or may have a general misunderstanding about academia, including costs and the return on investment. Ruby’s parents, her mother especially, cannot understand why she wants to leave their supportive environment, and she initially resists her daughter’s college aspirations. It is also significant–and perhaps even symbolic–that because of their deafness Ruby’s family cannot fully engage with her passion for singing. But they show up and show their support anyway. At the school’s recital, they must take their cues from the other hearing attendees about when to clap, for instance. The viewers experience the performance from the family’s perspective, i.e., during Ruby’s big number there is no sound at all. Later that evening, while they are sitting on the back of the family truck, Dad asks Ruby to explain what the song was about and asks her to sing it for him doing his best to understand his daughter’s gift despite his own limitations. Additionally, dad, mom, and brother Leo all accompany Ruby to her in-person audition for Berkelee and find it odd when the school staff tell them that they cannot watch her perform.
Rather than seeing the family members of first-generation students as problems or adversaries, secondary schools and higher education institutions need to embrace the families. Sy et al (2011) specifically call out the need for intentional partnerships between schools and families, bringing parents and caregivers into the process while also acknowledging their fears and concerns in addition to their enthusiasm and support. CODA can be an effective tool to spark discussion with families. This might include showing clips of the film when parents and families are present, such as during orientation programs, summer bridge, or parent and family weekend. It is critical to create meaningful opportunities for both students and their parents to share their perspectives, concerns and expectations of one another.
Faculty & Staff Engagement
In order to best serve first-generation students on our campuses, awareness and understanding of the first-generation experience is needed across campus. CODA can be a great tool for bringing a new perspective to faculty and staff about the complexities of where our first-generation students may be coming from. CODA clips (or viewing of the entire film) can be used as a more engaging way to start the conversation with faculty and staff about the first-generation student population. The film provides perspective on the intersectional and complex experiences of artistic first-generation students.
If CODA teaches us anything, it’s that there are so many other things going on in a student’s life than just their studies. This is particularly true for first-generation college students. Not only are first-generation students typically coming to campus with little to no background knowledge about college and how it works, but they may also be navigating familial expectations & responsibilities, developing personal relationships, and working one (or multiple) jobs. As can be seen in the film, there can be tensions between an art student’s desire to pursue their craft and the responsibilities and commitments they have to their home communities. It takes hard work, courage, determination, and passion to choose a completely new path that diverges from the path your family took.
At the same time, first-gen students are bringing with them the valuable skills and life experiences of their own journey as the first in their family to go to college. Faculty and staff can lift up those skills by offering regular reflection for their first-generation students. Through reflection questions and small group discussions, faculty and staff can learn more about their first-gen students’ experiences and can facilitate dialogue on how powerful the students’ experience is.
Some examples of reflection and/or small-group discussion questions may include:
- How do you feel about going away to school?
- Who is in your support system?
- How has your support system encouraged or guided you in your journey to college?
- What skills/strengths/lessons do you bring from your journey & experiences back home?
- How will these things serve you throughout college?
- How can you translate what you’ve learned back home to a college setting?
- How can you bring back what you learn to your community of origin?
We cannot underestimate the power of connection and mentorship between faculty & staff and first-generation students. In addition to reflection and discussion, faculty and staff should consider how they might serve as a mentor to their first-gen students. As can be seen in CODA, Ruby’s music teacher, Bernardo, serves as a source of encouragement and provides guidance in order for Ruby to pursue her artistic dreams. If Bernardo had not committed time and energy to coaching Ruby, it is very possible that she would not have seriously considered, let alone pursued, a music degree. His encouragement was in the form of “tough love,” but it was what she needed in order to seriously consider a future doing the thing she was most passionate about.
First-generation college students come to campus with a wealth of knowledge and experiences that provide their unique perspectives, but they could benefit from connection with a staff member who is rooting for them and able to help them navigate this new, potentially strange environment. As Lundberg, Schreiner, Hovaguimian, & Miller (2007) explain, “Engagement with faculty and other university personnel may be especially beneficial for first-generation students as those people can provide the necessary information, perspective, values, and socialization that may compensate for cultural capital that was not available to first-generation students in their families and broader social networks prior to the college experience” (p. 59). By investing some extra time and energy to provide encouragement and guidance to first-gen students, faculty and staff can make a major positive impact on the retention and overall college experience for these students.
The Arts Beyond the Classroom
While this particular piece has focused on how CODA can be used within art & design institutions of higher education, it is important to note that this conversation about first-generation students in the arts does not necessarily mean that art school is the only direction for creative students. It’s not just about going to an art school, but rather about engaging and interacting with the arts no matter a student’s school or major. Art is a mental and emotional outlet that can play a powerful role in all first-generation students’ lives. Engagement in the arts can be facilitated outside of the classroom via extra- and co-curricular activities on campus. Talent shows, student exhibitions, zines, radio shows & podcasts, and open mic nights are all examples of activities that encourage student strengths development and artistic expression outside of their classroom experiences. Students’ artistic accomplishments can be weaved into first-generation celebration days, family weekends, and graduation ceremonies, to name a few. By validating and promoting students’ artistic achievements outside of the classroom, institutions can elevate their support for and encouragement of artistic expression as a central part of campus culture.
Coda
Despite the increased spotlight of first-generation college students, many institutions are not yet poised to develop full-blown programs or dedicated services to this diverse population and may have to rely on creative outreach methods in order to scale up. However, it is much more realistic and accessible to use popular texts like CODA, other films, television shows or podcasts to inform and instruct faculty, staff and administrators of the first-generation college experience.
Works cited
Barry, L. M., Hudley, C., Cho, S., & Kelly, M. (2008). College students’ perceptions of parental support: Differences and similarities by first-generation status. Southeastern Teacher Education Journal, 1(1), 101–108.
Bryan, E., & Simmons, L. A. (2009). Family involvement: Impacts on post-secondary educational success for first-generation Appalachian college students. Journal of College Student Development, 50(4), 391–406.
Covarrubias, R., Romero, A., & Trivelli, M. (2015). Family achievement guilt and mental well-being of college students. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(7), 2031–2037.
Faulstich Orellana, M. (2009). Translating Childhoods: Immigrant Youth, Language and Culture. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Gofen, A. (2009). Family capital: How first-generation higher education students break the intergenerational cycle. Family Relations, 58(1), 104–120.
Lundberg, C. A., Schreiner, L. A., Hovaguimian, K., & Miller, S. S. (2007). First-generation status and student race/ethnicity as distinct predictors of student involvement and learning. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 44(1), 57-83.
Roksa, J., & Kinsley, P. (2019). The role of family support in facilitating academic success of low-income students. Research in Higher Education, 60(4), 415–436.
Sy, S. R., Fong, K., Carter, R., Boehme, J., & Alpert, A. (2011). Parent support and stress among firstgeneration and continuing-generation female students during the transition to college. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 13(3), 383–398.
Ziemniak, A. (2011). The contribution of family members to first-generation college student success. AHEPPP Journal, 2(1), 12–26.
Bios:
A once aspiring novelist and poet, La’Tonya Rease Miles is a first-generation graduate of the University of Maryland at College Park (English Language and Literature) and the University of California at College Park (American Literature). Dr. Miles is a Partner and Director of Scale & Support at Career Launch; she has established first-generation college programming across the country, including at the University of California, Los Angeles and Loyola Marymount University. Her daughter is a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Katie Gaither is a proud first-generation graduate of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (Psychology & Women’s Studies) and Grand Valley State University (Higher Education – College Student Affairs Leadership). Katie serves as the Director of Student Engagement at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI where she developed the institution’s first-ever first-generation college student development program and teaches a first-generation First Year Experience course.
First Gen and Juice 