We refer to a Circle of Champions as a Circle or your Circle. The Circle includes all the Champions who are supporting a student's academic journey (one student and several Champions). It may take a little while (a few months?) for each student to build their Circle. Students may add people to their Circle over time as key individuals come in and out of their life. Regardless, a Circle is a group of people who will celebrate with the student when they achieve important accomplishments and help the student when they struggle with challenging hurdles.

First-generation college students (students from families where no one has completed college) particularly need a Circle of Champions. First-gen students come from communities with friends and family who love them, but often lack college experience and know-how. As a result, these students receive less guidance in their academic journeys. Surrounded by people who want to help but often don’t know how, they are less likely to receive support when applying for college, choosing courses, securing financial aid, planning for careers, and generally navigating the complexities of college. In addition, the under-funded condition of the public colleges they most often attend means college personnel are not typically able to fill these support gaps leaving an estimated 45% of college students (and more for marginalized students) to never see an academic advisor (Flaherty, 2023). The result is first-gen undergraduates navigate complicated academic journeys largely by themselves. This condition contributes to an academic equity gap for students from historically underserved communities. While we can celebrate the achievement of proportionate college access for most student groups (Mora, 2022), success and completion rates remain disproportionately low for students of color and low income students from all race and ethnicity groups. An engaged Circle of Champions has been proven to help first-gen students find greater academic success.

This feature allows you to see all the Champions in your student's Circle. You can view their individual profile information and reach out to them via email or chat. You can also communicate with the entire Circle easily from this view.

At a minimum, students should aim for 3 Champions to be in their Circle. We recommend that student's not exceed 10 Champions. If your students has not completed their Circle, it would be helpful if you encourage them to do so.

This varies quite a bit from student to student. Some students are able to identify nominees very quickly, extend invitations, and fill their Circle in a matter of weeks. Other students come from small families, no families, or families with strained relationships and consequently spend several months or longer going through the process of building their Circle. If your student is struggling to find a minimum of 3 individuals to join their Circle, you may want to reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) ((https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach))for help finding additional Champions.

Reach out to your student's coach (www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach)((www.mycircleofchampions.com/mycoach) or find other resources for help at https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/help. (https://www.mycircleofchampions.com/help.)