First Generation Fund

If you are the first of your family to go to university, a so-called "first-generation student," you usually find it harder to find your way there. Charisma Hehakaya also experienced this when she was a student. Now that she is obtaining her doctorate, she would like to give knowledge, experience and financial support to these students. She has taken the initiative to establish the First-Generation Fund together with the Utrecht University Fund.

In order to set up a sustainable fund with which to provide subsidies from the returns, your support is very welcome.

The First-Generation Fund aims to provide financial support to first-generation students. 

Charisma and the First-Generation Fund appeared in social media:

Algemeen Dagblad

Volkskrant

Nature Human Behaviour

 

Charisma Hehakaya, a first-generation (PhD) student, took the initiative to establish the First-Generation Fund after her last master graduation. She has also experienced challenges during her studies. Charisma wants to give back knowledge, experience and financial support to other and future first-generation students at Utrecht University.

Charisma completed a bachelor and master Science, Business & Innovation and master Business Administration at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and the master Clinical Epidemiology at Utrecht University. Since September 2018, she has been working on her PhD at Division of Imaging & Oncology at UMC Utrecht.

Interested in the lessons she learned from her experience? Read it here:

World view: Academic institutions need to do more for institutions

Lessons for students: How to thrive at university when you are the first in the family going to university

Lessons for universities: How to champion first-generation students at university

Charisma's motivation for the First Generation Fund in the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad