The good Cornellians can do: Carol Traupman-Carr MA ’89, PhD ’95

Carol Traupman-Carr MA ’89, PhD ’95 was a first-generation college student who now serves as provost, vice president for academic affairs, and chief academic officer at Moravian University, her undergraduate alma mater. For Carol, being first-gen has never stood in the way of achieving her dreams.

Determined to change what she saw as a false narrative around first-gen students, Carol founded Alpha, Alpha, Alpha (Tri-Alpha) Honor Society at Moravian in fall 2017.

“At that time, I was seeing a lot of higher education news that was casting first-gen students in an exclusively negative light: first-gens are economically disadvantaged (true for some, not for all); first-gens are academically disadvantaged (also true for some, not for all),” Carol explains. “Honestly, while I came from a middle-, middle-class, blue-collar family, these statements did not represent my experience, and I was starting to take it personally.”

Tri-Alpha is the first and only national honor society for first-generation college students. Now, eight years later, Tri-Alpha is a fully incorporated 501(c)3 corporation, with more than 280 chapters in more than 35 states. The honor society also inducts first-gen faculty and staff, who serve as role models for students.

“This might make the first-gen faculty and staff more approachable for students who are struggling, and help them to recognize that people they know and respect have achieved what they want, and being first-gen didn't hold them back,” Carol says.

Read about the founding of Tri-Alpha in The Comenian, Moravian University’s student newspaper.