First Gen & Juice: Exploring First-Gen College Student Narratives in Pop Culture and Mass Media

First Gen & Juice: Exploring First-Generation College Student Narratives in Pop Culture and Mass Media is a practical, imaginative, and deeply engaging resource for educators, student-success professionals, and anyone working with 21st-century learners. Born from conference rooms, comic conventions, classrooms, and countless conversations with first-generation students and the people who support them, this edited collection invites readers to rethink how first-gen identity is taught, discussed, and understood.
Rather than approaching the first-generation college experience solely through deficit-based or struggle-focused narratives, First Gen & Juice turns to the cultural texts students (and instructors) already know and love-film, television, comics, animation, music, and fandom-to spark recognition, connection, and critical reflection. Each chapter centers the first-generation college experience and offers a deep dive into a specific pop-culture text or genre, from blockbuster films and television series to K-pop and superheroes.
Contributors examine how first-gen journeys are portrayed, complicated, or erased across mass media-and why those representations matter in real classrooms and campus spaces. What sets this book apart is its unapologetically use-it-tomorrow approach. Every chapter includes discussion questions, adaptable assignments, activity ideas, and program or workshop concepts designed for immediate application.
Readers will find ideas that work in first-year seminars, learning communities, summer bridge programs, orientation sessions, transfer-student programming, graduate and professional school spaces, and co-curricular workshops. Chapters can be read in any order, making the book ideal for instructors and practitioners looking to plug a single idea into an existing syllabus-or redesign a course with cultural relevance at the center.
First Gen & Juice is intentionally accessible. You don't need to be fluent in every fandom or keep up with every trend to use this book effectively. Instead, the editors encourage readers to start with their own interests and passions, modeling how authenticity and curiosity can build stronger learning environments for today's students. At its core, this book affirms that first-generation students are not an afterthought in popular culture or in education.
Their stories are complex, creative, and worthy of close attention. For those committed to culturally responsive pedagogy, student engagement, and reimagining how learning happens in the 21st century, First Gen & Juice offers both inspiration and a clear roadmap forward.