Linfield University is now home to the state of Oregon’s first chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha (or Tri-Alpha), a national honor society for first-generation college students.
Linfield’s Tri-Alpha – Beta Pi chapter is one of more than 60 across the nation at institutions ranging from community colleges to state universities.
“Joining the national honor society is an effort to recognize the academic achievement and advance the efforts of first-generation students at Linfield,” said Gerardo Ochoa, director of community relations and special assistant to the president.
Students can qualify for Tri-Alpha if they have earned a 3.2 GPA as an undergraduate with at least 30 credit/semester hours under their belt or a 3.5 GPA as a graduate student with nine or more graduate credits. Students’ parents, step-parents or legal guardians must not have completed a bachelor’s degree.
It’s a reflection of Linfield’s ongoing and unwavering commitment to first-generation students, who account for a whopping 32 percent of the university’s first-year class.
“The demographics of our country and Oregon continue to change with more first-generation students going to college,” Ochoa said. “Linfield is being intentional about creating an interdependent campus culture where both first-generation and continuing generation students can thrive. When first-generation students complete a college education, it changes the trajectory of their family for generations to come.”
