Finding the "firsts" for certain demographics is one of the hardest things to track or pin down in early University history. This is largely due to limited demographic data-gathering until the 1950s or later for University statistical purposes, as well as the absence of self-identification. When records do not include self-identification by the individual or demographic data does not exist, Special Collections hesitates to declare anyone a "first." It is not always possible to rely on family names, pictures, or a person's country of origin to determine demographic information and it takes significant background research, as well as historical context, to make any definitive statements.

While declaring conclusive "firsts" in the University for demographics is outside our purview, researchers can discover quite a lot about student life in our collections, including home countries and US state listings in the Alumni Directories, senior portraits in La Vie yearbooks, or campus addresses in the yearly Student Directories. Oral histories and scrapbooks are a great way to explore student experiences from a primary source, and University demographic data for select years is compiled in the Penn State source book.