Schedule

All dates and times are subject to change.

Friday Session Options 

8:30 AM - 8:50 AM ET

Welcome

8:50 AM - 9:00 AM ET

Break

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ET

Between Two Worlds: The Emotional Weight and Resilience of the First-generation Journey

Naira Bishop

For many first-generation students, the pursuit of higher education is both a dream realized and a heavy responsibility. As a first-generation student myself, I learned to navigate two worlds, the demanding expectations of academia and the unspoken duties of home life. Balancing coursework with family obligations often left little room for rest or reflection, and conversations about mental health were unheard of in my family’s culture. This presentation delves into the emotional and psychological dimensions of the first-generation experience, exploring how cultural values, silence around mental health, and systemic barriers shape students’ sense of belonging and well-being. Through a blend of personal narrative and academic insight, this session will highlight the importance of culturally responsive support and the transformation of campus climates to better serve first-generation students. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how institutions can create spaces where first-generation students are not only seen and supported but truly understood.

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ET

Voices of Change: First-generation, Immigrant-Origin, and Multilingual Teachers Shaping Education

Dr. Brooke Hoffman & Dr. Kate Seltzer

Drs. Brooke Hoffman and Kate Seltzer coordinate Rowan University’s graduate and undergraduate ESL Certificate and Bilingual Endorsement programs. In these roles, they work closely with a number of first-generation, immigrant-origin students who are bilingual/multilingual in English and other languages. Most of these students were classified as ESL students or participated in bilingual or dual-language programs as K-12 students. They are first-generation changemakers, pursuing careers in teaching, a field dominated by white, monolingual, English-speaking women. Drs. Hoffman and Seltzer will facilitate a session in which these students (a) share the factors that have contributed to their career readiness and professional identity and (b) describe how they are leveraging their cultural and linguistic resources (Athanases, Banes, & Wong, 2015) to pursue the ESL Certificate and/or Bilingual Endorsement.

Prioritizing the voices of Rowan’s own first-generation, immigrant-origin, multilingual students, Drs. Hoffman and Seltzer will supplement their narratives with relevant research. Our session will draw on research and students’ own voices to emphasize how they “mobilize the resources that they possess in negotiating their success to get to and complete college” (Varghese & Fuentes, 2020, p. 2). As (future) educators themselves, these students have valuable insights for educators in PK-12 and higher education settings.

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ET

Building Social Capital Networks through Aspirational Peer Mentoring for First-generation Students

Wendy Cavendish, PhD & Deborah Perez, PhD

This presentation will provide an overview of an aspirational peer mentoring program for first generation high school students and University undergraduates. The Inspire U program was developed 14 years ago through a school-University partnership to build upon research that supports cross-age peer mentor networks as important sources of social capital (e.g., Gibbs Grey, 2018). The Inspire U program (now a University student organization) has continued a goal-oriented approach (college aspirations and college access) and a focus on connection-to others (building the mentor-mentee relationship) and connection-to-society (activities that include a focus on students’ culture, school, community, and family). As strong social networks are related to improved youth outcomes including college matriculation (e.g., Skobba et al., 2018), we will highlight student perspectives related to the aspects of peer mentoring for the development of social capital networks that may increase equity in college access, enrollment, and success for multiply marginalized students. Specifically, we will share qualitative and quantitative research findings that center student’s perspectives related to the factors that contribute to the development of mentor-mentee relationship quality as well as first generation undergraduate mentors’ views of mentorship and leadership role development.

10:00 AM - 10:15 AM ET

Break

10:15 AM - 11:15 AM ET

Supporting First-Generation Students Through the College Application Process: A Presentation for High School Counselors

Milan Whetstone

For many first-generation students, the college application process can feel like stepping into unfamiliar territory without a map. Without family experience to guide them, students often rely heavily on high school counselors to help them navigate deadlines, financial aid, and the unspoken expectations of higher education. This presentation centers the counselor’s role as a guide and advocate in the first-generation journey. Through real-world insight and practical strategies, participants will explore common barriers first-generation students face and learn how clear communication, early planning, and intentional partnerships can transform uncertainty into confidence. Using Rowan University’s ASCEND programs as examples, the session highlights how institutional support can bridge access gaps and promote student success.

Counselors will leave with actionable tools to better prepare first-generation students and their families for a successful transition to college.

10:15 AM - 11:15 AM ET

Against the Odds: A First-generation, Non-Traditional Student’s Path to Medicine

Richard Cristobal

First-generation, non-traditional medical students face unique challenges that remain underexplored in medical education literature. These students often enter medicine at older ages while managing family obligations, financial pressures, and an application process with no familial roadmap. Despite growing research on diversity in medical education, there is limited discussion on the lived experiences of first-generation, non-traditional students, particularly regarding nonlinear timelines, economic barriers, and navigating the hidden curriculum.

This session presents a personal narrative of entering medical school at age 28 as a first-generation student after growing up in a low-income, violence-affected community and working throughout high school to support his family. Through this story, attendees will explore what nonlinear pathways to medicine look like in practice, including adapting to dynamic life circumstances, challenging conventional pre-medical narratives, and accessing and utilizing support systems beyond family networks. Overall, the session aims to expand the definition of what a successful path into medicine can be.

10:15 AM - 11:15 AM ET

From First to Fearless: Lead Forward as a First-gen Student

Meredith Brown

11:15 AM - 11:30 AM ET

Break

11:30 AM - 12:15 PM ET

The Juggle is Real: Navigating Career, Family, and Personal Growth

Alex Delgado, EdD & Shirley Delgado

Balancing career, family, and personal growth can be challenging, especially for first-generation graduates forging new paths in their professional and personal lives. In this engaging session, two first-generation professionals share their lived experiences of navigating their career journeys, managing family responsibilities, pursuing post-graduate degrees, and fostering self-development.

Through honest conversation and practical insights, participants will explore approaches to boundary-setting, time management, and self-advocacy, as well as methods to address imposter syndrome and burnout. The session aims to provide a supportive space for first-generation professionals to exchange insights and develop actionable strategies for thriving both personally and professionally in the face of competing demands.

11:30 AM - 12:15 PM ET

Tools or Sovereigns? A Critical Conversation on AI, Dashboards, and the Datafication of University Subjects

Ricky Urgo

We live in a time where artificial intelligence and technology is almost ubiquitous in public and private spaces (Gallup, 2025), including education. Colleges, universities, k-12, and their intermediaries, have adopted or legitimated the use of artificial intelligence and dashboards through curricular establishment, investments, and practice architectures in their respective fields (Mulford, 2025; Vilcarino & Langreo, 2025). This exponential growth comes with cautionary tales and critiques, however. Thanks to the critical work of scholars like Taylor (2022, 2023), Brown and Klein (2020), Smithers, Eaton, and Flint (2025), Foucault (1994), and Chiarello (2023), we can start to anticipate (and observe) impacts on First Generation students with the implementation of more data praxis. Namely, how these technologies act upon actors through surveillance, constraints on agency, hegemony, nudges, and more, creating an environment that attends and proliferates the status quo, and is directly antithetical to the espoused values in uplifting First Generation students via strengths perspectives.

In this presentation, I explore themes of biopolitical ontopower, contemporary political perspectives and economic logics, and the ways in which these interwoven fabrics should give us pause and new direction. Join for a generative discussion centering critical perspectives to data praxis and uplifting student actors through empirical practice.

11:30 AM - 12:15 PM ET

Navigating Medicine as a First-generation Latin-American Student

Daniel Rios & Michael Acevedo

12:15 PM - 12:20 PM ET

Break

12:20 PM ET

Closing Remarks

Friday Session Options