It’s a year of firsts for College of Charleston freshman Michael Faikes. He’s the first member of his family to go to college, pledge a fraternity, run for Student Government Association, and be selected to blog for a national non-profit. He’s also part of the Honors College. Faikes is one of eight students across the U.S. to be awarded an I’m First scholarship. In addition to $2,000, Faikes will also share his college experiences and offer advice to aspiring first-generation college students who visit imfirst.org.

[Related: Read Michael’s blog here]

Beginning college as a first-generation student, while exciting, can also be challenging and intimidating. In his I’m First blog post on September 3, 2013, Faikes wrote about transitioning from his Irmo, S.C. high school to college through the College’s Speedy Consolitation and Transition (SPECTRA) program for first-generation and underrepresented students enrolled as freshmen at the College.

“As I left my hometown of Irmo, South Carolina, I knew that I was prepared for college. I had spent my entire month of July preparing for college in a transition program, SPECTRA. Getting this small taste of real college has gotten me very excited about what these next four years may hold for me,” Faikes said.

[Related: Read about ROAR Scholars, another College of Charleston program for first-generation students.]

“The College is thrilled to include first-generation students in our community, and we want to make the transition as seamless and friendly as possible,” SPECTRA program director Teresa Smith. “We always hope to foster opportunities for excellence. Michael went above and beyond to ensure a successful college career and he deserves this honor.”

Faikes offers advice for other students, “Everything about Charleston has been excellent and I love it so much, but sometimes I do get overwhelmed with the commitments that I am taking on. To ensure that I stay on track, I have joined an academic support group to help me stay accountable for all of my academic responsibilities… I would highly recommend this to any high schoolers and college students, by the way!”

Faikes was selected for the I’m First Scholarship for his demonstration of strong writing, reflective blog writing, leadership abilities, and commitment to community service. He was one of eight winners out of more than 1,600 scholarship applicants.

[Related: Find out more about the I’m First Scholarship]

For more information, contact Michael Faikes at faikesmr@g.cofc.edu.