Episode 56: A Celebration of Giving Back to the First Gen Community (Anniversary Episode)
Welcome to Episode 56! We’re celebrating our 1 year anniversary with friends of How to College: First Gen in a panel format just to make it that much more special. Fabio shares his story of how he grew up with many other first gen college students in his community and why it’s important for him to support other first gens. Avdeep shares her family’s immigration story and how she thinks it’s important to support all students including First Generation, Low Income, Immigrant students and more. Last but not least, Julia talks about how she had to find information on her own as an aspiring first generation student through high school, which motivated her to start First Gen Support.
In this episode Mijin chats with Fabio, Julia, and Avdeep about their individual first gen journeys, what motivated them to give back to the first gen community and why they think it’s important, and why they think How to College: First Gen’s narrative sharing is so important.
In this episode you will hear from:
Fabio is the founder of Peña & Co. Consulting and a proud first gen graduate of University of Washington. He comes from a migrant farming family and grew up in a very small community where he had to learn how to navigate the college landscape without much help or guidance. He hopes his work through Peña & Co. Consulting helps more first generation students reach their goals and dreams.
Avdeep, comes from an immigrant family from India and graduated from UC Berkeley as the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree. She is the Co-founder and Co-director of First Gen Empower, a nonprofit organization that provides high-quality information about college, financial aid, extracurricular activities, and future career opportunities to first-generation, low-income, and undocumented students.
Julia, a first generation college student who will be starting her college career at Cornell University this fall. Julia also is the founder of First Gen Support, an information hub where we research and share opportunities and advice for First Generation, Low Income (FGLI) high school students, especially underclassmen.
For our first gens who are interested in learning more about the organizations Fabio, Julia, and Avdeep are leading please find the links below:
Also, make sure to subscribe to How to College: First Gens so you don't miss an episode!
We’d love to connect with you!
Social Media:
Facebook: How to College First Gen
Instagram: Howtocollegefirstgen
Twitter: HTCFirstGen
LinkedIn: How to College: First Gen
Email: Howtocollegefirstgen@gmail.com
