History

The Swarthmore First-in-Family program was established circa 2008 by Karen Henry and Pattie Kim-Keiffer. It was renamed during the 2018-2019 school year to the FLI Office following the emergence of the 1vyG conference. As of 2024, the current director of the FLI office is Dean Karen Henry and the assistant director is Gabrielle White.

In the past, the FLI office has hosted a variety of workshops on topics such as financial aid, participating effectively in class, and introductions to on-campus peer mentors. In addition, the FLI office employs student employees dubbed “FLI Interns” who hold office hours weekly and serve as point-of-contact for FLI students seeking guidance. Since 2018, the FLI Office has maintained a FLI resource guide that serves as a one-stop-shop for frequently asked questions. The guide is shared on our website, but is also available here.

Resources

The FLI Office is responsible for overseeing the following resources

• Swarthmore Emergency Fund
  • Covers items such as:
    • DACA Renewal Fees
    • Financial support for unusual or unforeseen medical expenses such as emergency medical, dental, vision procedures, and insurance copays
• Richard Rubin Scholars Mentoring Program
• S3P (Summer Scholars Program)
• Discover Swarthmore
• Swatlight/Swatstruck
• FLI Resource Guide