First Scholars Office Cap and Gown Legacy Project and Regalia Legacy Award
The First Scholars Office at Iowa State University invites you to support the Cap and Gown Legacy Project, an initiative dedicated to ensuring first-generation students can fully participate in one of the most meaningful moments of their academic journey: commencement.
Through this project, we provide graduation regalia to students for whom the cost would otherwise be a barrier, affirming that every student deserves to walk across the stage with pride, dignity, and a sense of belonging.
Two ways your support makes an impact:
The Cap and Gown Legacy Project
This initiative provides caps and gowns to undergraduate and graduate first-generation students experiencing financial need. Graduation should never require students to choose between celebrating their achievement and meeting basic needs. Your gift helps remove that barrier!
The Regalia Legacy Award
The Regalia Legacy Award honors one notable first-generation undergraduate and Ph.D. student each year by providing a complete set of graduation regalia. This award was inspired by the legacy of Dr. Lyn Ann Brodersen Cochran, whose family generously donated her doctoral regalia. That act of generosity sparked a broader vision: transforming regalia from a financial obstacle into a symbol of belonging, mentorship, and legacy for future scholars.
Why Regalia Matters
Graduation regalia is more than fabric. It represents years of perseverance, sacrifice, and achievement.
For first-generation students, particularly doctoral scholars, regalia can be prohibitively expensive. A full Ph.D. regalia set can cost $800–$900, placing a significant burden on students who have already navigated higher education without generational guidance or financial safety nets. Your support ensures that cost never overshadows accomplishment.
Your Gift at Work
By donating, you help support:
Graduation Regalia
Covering the full cost of caps, gowns, stoles, hoods, and doctoral tams for students receiving support through the project and the Regalia Legacy Award.
Recognition & Celebration
Supporting meaningful recognition of award recipients through ceremonies, storytelling, and campus communications that uplift first-generation success.
Program Sustainability
Building a fund that allows the First Scholars Office to award regalia annually, with a long-term goal of establishing an endowment.
Expanding Impact
As the project grows, additional funds may support outreach, storytelling, and expanded awards for undergraduate and master’s students.
Join Us in Building Belonging
Your generosity helps ensure that first-generation students are not only supported academically, but celebrated fully at the moment they cross the stage.
Together, we turn generosity into legacy.
$25
First-Generation Cyclone Spark
Your gift can help create visible moments of belonging for first-generation Cyclones.
$50
First-Generation Stole Support
Your gift can provide a first-generation stole to a graduate, which is an important symbol of persistence making first-generation identity and achievement visible across campus.
$100
Cyclone Pathway Builder
Your gift can help first-generation undergraduates see themselves reflected in masters and doctoral success at Iowa State.
$150
Doctoral Regalia Contributor
Your gift can help fund a Ph.D. tam or hood for a first-generation Cyclone, making doctoral achievement visible to the next generation.
$200
Undergraduate Regalia Champion
Your gift can fully cover cap-and-gown regalia for a first-generation undergraduate Cyclone.
$400
First-Gen Futures Advocate
Your gift can support celebrating multiple graduates in a First Generation graduate celebration.
$800
Doctoral Regalia Sponsor
Your gift can provide full graduation regalia for a first-generation Ph.D. student, standing as a visible model of what’s possible.
$1,000
Regalia Legacy Sustainer
Your gift can sustain the Regalia Legacy Fund by supporting undergraduate and doctoral regalia, first-gen visibility, and the long-term legacy of First Generation students at Iowa State University.