Analysis Of Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs Of First-Generation College Students

Today we have the highest number of students who attend college. All of these students are pursuing their dreams of getting a better future with an education while each and every one of them went through different levels of difficulties just to graduate. These difficulties range from not having a safe home to live in to not knowing what career to pursue. As a college student right now I can see the fall backs I have and how others have it a lot easier than I do. This can be said for every college student. But one thing college students don't realize is the students who have it harder than we do. Right now the group of individuals that have the most difficulty graduating are first-generation college students who make up approximately twenty
In the hierarchy we can find a way to assist all first-generation college students to be able to reach their goal of graduating from college. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is made up of five levels. The five levels are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. The needs are set up in a manner where your physiological needs are your most basic and demanding needs. The best way to understand them is to think of them as a pyramid. Each level makes up a row in a pyramid. With physiological needs being the base and self-actualization being at the top. In order to make this pyramid you need to work your way up one level at a time. The first level is your physiological needs, which are the basic needs of an individual. These needs consist of air, water, food, sex and shelter. Once you have these needs in your life you can move onto the next level of the pyramid which are your safety needs. Safety needs is the feeling of being safe. After you have this you can move on to social needs which is having the sense of being loved and belonging. As you move up you then have esteem needs which are inclusive of attention, confidence, freedom, independence, recognition and self-respect. Lastly is self-actualization, in which a person comes in terms with their fullest potential, and you have reached the top of the pyramid. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is the key to
Colleges can have upperclassmen mentors as well as lower classmate that are first-generation students themselves. They would be capable of showing incoming freshman the resources they need to be successful and the resources they have available to them at the institution which they attend. They can share their experiences and the mistakes they made in the year in order to show freshman a better path to follow. The mentors can have Maslow's hierarchy of needs to help guide them and help themselves reach self-actualization. The mentors won't just be there to help with academics but as well as someone to talk about their problems with. Having someone to reach out to can help students tremendously in their school work and social lives. Whether it be tutoring they need or some motivation to keep them in school when they feel like they aren’t going anywhere with school. The mentors will be there to remind student that they are slowly but surely reaching their goal of graduating. They not only would be their to encourage students but would also be example that they went through the similar problems one may be facing and they are still putting their best effort in continuing