My parents worked hard to have great careers despite not going to college, and it feels great to be able to honor that hard work by attending college and working hard to excel as well. Professor Carolyn Forestiere has been an amazing support, by helping me understand research methods and data analysis, to working with me as a mentor to present at the Pi Sigma Alpha National Undergraduate Research Conference, to always bringing energy to my 8:30 am's!

Post-Grad Plans: I plan to get a job in supply chain and logistics, then one day start my own company using my business degree experience as well as my political science degree experience to create a company that helps create a more sustainable and just world.

It is a privilege to be the first from both sides of my family to attend and graduate college. By having this foundation, I hope to leave my mark on this world through helping people, and setting an example to future generations to come. There have been MANY faculty and staff that have supported me throughout these four years — David Hoffman, Candace Martinez-Doane, Beatriz Gutiérrez-Malagón, Dr. Sto. Domingo, and Dr. Schiffman to name a few. I wish I could thank each and every friend and family as they have all supported me throughout my life, but we would be here for 32 hours. Namely I want to honor Yaw Owusu-Boaitey, for he always continues to inspire me, and will graduate together on his behalf. Lastly, I want to thank my Poppop whom without him, I would never be where I am today, and I am eternally grateful for. 

Post-Grad Plans: Being the first to complete undergraduate from both sides of my family, this has inspired me to go one step further and complete a PhD in Neuroscience — and become the first to obtain a doctorate!

Graduating from UMBC as a First Gen College Student means so much to me. Majority of people including my parents and family members saw my college entry as a break in the family system rather than a continuation of schooling. This created a huge responsibility on my shoulder. My educational journey was dominated with pressure. I can’t fail them. I needed to do everything perfectly, so that my family could be proud. Now, I am graduating and I can see the smile from my mother and the happiness from my sisters. This means the world to me. I did it and I am so proud of myself. I would like to thank my family, CollegeTrack coaches and friends for always supporting me in this journey. When I thought this was impossible, these people pushed me to believe in myself. I can’t thank them enough for that.

Post-Grad Plans: Currently I am working as a Certified Dental Assistant and I am planning to attend Dental School after a year. 

It means to me that push myself really hard to get to this point. I went through so many trailing errors but, being first generation of my family. Ran a lot to me. My advisor Maria celleri and Dr. Drabinski both push me to do better and become best version of my self. 

Post-Grad Plans: I plan on attend grad school spring of 2022 and I got offers intern at Maryland state police department.

I am proud of myself for coming this far and accomplishing this amazing goal. My parents and my boyfriend, Matt have supported me in completing my degree.

I believe graduating as a First Gen college student shows the ability I have to navigate new challenges and overcome them. I attribute my success to my mother, a Cuban immigrant, who has sacrificed beyond measure for the sake of our family and I shall do the same. 

Post-Grad Plans: I plan to start a career in the research of wildlife conservation. After gaining some experience in the field, I will decide if a Masters degree is an appropriate next step. 

Given the opportunity to be a first generation college student means the world to me. Experiencing college, both the educational and social aspects, have made a big impact on my life. It has provided me the courage, grit and determination to go forth and peruse all of my dreams. Having this experience has opened a whole world of new possibilities for me and I couldn’t be any happier. Thus, being able to graduate, as a first generation college student, from such a prestigious university is an honor.

Through my whole college experience, my two biggest supporters were my parents. They did all they could to help me succeed, whether it was offering advice, or congratulating me on the small victories. I also had a multitude of support from many of my peers and facility. Any question, concern, or wonderment was answered by many of the people I’ve come across during my journey. Together, all of these people helped me graduate. 

Post-Grad Plans: Taking a year off to study for MCAT and getting myself ready for medical school. 

It means a lot to me to be graduating from UMBC as a First Gen College Student because it means that I have been able to push myself to achieve my goals despite this being an entirely new experience for me and my family. It also means that all of my hard work over the years has meant something and I am finally seeing the payoff. Dr. Quiton has been very influential throughout my time at UMBC. I am happy to have been an undergraduate research assistant for her and this has really helped me in deciding what I want to do post-graduation. She has been extremely helpful, kind, and inspirational for my academic career.

Post-Grad Plans: In Fall 2021 I will be attending Towson University's Psychology M.A. program in the Experimental Psychology Concentration.

This means being part of a new normal. This means that I no longer have to fit within a particular criteria to be educated and successful. This means opening the doors for people like me. This means no longer waiting for a change and just being the change. I wouldn’t have been able to get through this without my immediate family and my small friend group. They kept me above water and showed me that what I am doing is for a purpose and that giving up would make me fit in with what society wants me to do anyway. They taught me to be strong and to understand that accepting failure would deter me from the success I’ve always craved.

Post-Grad Plans: My post graduation plans include to receive my first masters as a Physician Assistant, gain experience and then become a Doctor.

I am very proud of myself. My family has always been my greatest support system and I would not have completed this without them. Our hard work has paid off and I hope to be an example to my cousins, nieces, and nephews. I want our family to start building in academia. My biggest supporter is my older brother Johny Amaya. He is truly my backbone. He has peer reviewed countless papers, bought me my laptop, and has really helped in every aspect of my education. He has never doubted what I could accomplished and has always encouraged me to keep going. My journey has been a long ride and he has been patiently sitting next to me helping me navigate.  

Post-Grad Plans: I am taking my undergrad licensure exam and entering the work field. I am planning to see how the first year goes and then possibly looking into grad school.  

My degree represents both the hard work that I have put into the last four years and all that my family has done to help me get to where I am today. I would not be where I am today without their support and confidence that I can do anything.Jessica Cook from the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program and Dr. Kelber-Kaye from the Honors College have both been instrumental in helping me navigate life at UMBC and figure out my future!

Post-Grad Plans: After UMBC, I will be pursuing an M.Phil. in Education, Globalisation and International Development at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

It was my coming of age story. Nothing but experiencing it first-hand could teach me how this was about dedication and consistency. Even amid the unpredictability of daily life, juggling all the stressors to get to this day is an accomplishment. This wasn't a prize cause no one gave it to me, but this was a achievement because I attained it. My family who loved me, My teachers all across who believed in me such as Omar Ka who taught me the language of my homeland, Lisa Kelly who taught me the chemistry that makes up our physical world and Kalman Names who got me to believe that I could be good in Math. 

Post-Grad Plans: Aim to work as a lab assistant. Then I'll see about grad school in the future.

It has been a long but rewarding journey to prepare myself for college as well as complete it. In addition to being the first in my family to pursue a college education, I was also the one to fund it entirely, which was a different challenge in itself. This forced me to always maintain a balance between my academic life and my work life. I have learned an incredible amount and built habits which undoubtedly benefit me in the future. Not only have I made my parents proud, as they believed I could do anything so long as I tried hard enough, but I have also made myself proud with all I have achieved in addition to my degree. I am relieved to say that all that work is finally worth it. 

There have been numerous people that I have met along my college journey that have shown me tremendous support; however, one person that comes to mind particularly is Dr. Chris Bradburne, my project manager during my internship at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Dr. Bradburne picked me to work on his project even though I had no experience in bioinformatics. He noticed I had an interest in veterinary medicine, and since his project was about dog genomics, he thought this would be an amazing opportunity for me. He told me he saw how hard I worked through my grades listed on my resume, and from that he was sure that I could learn what I needed in order to contribute good work to his project. He was right; I have worked for him for nearly three summers and we have both learned an incredible amount along the way and the project has made significant progress. He has also been incredibly helpful in my pursuit towards veterinary medicine, through his advice and his recommendation letters. 

Post-Grad Plans: I will be pursuing my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

It is an absolute honor graduating first generation in my family. Growing up, I witnessed how hard my parents worked for our greater education, so to be able to hand them my degree this semester is an experience I will never forget. Thank you to my friends, who supported me in the high and lows, in the failures and successes, the friends who shared my pain and stress when classes got too hard, but who shouted that one day it will all be worth it. 

Post-Grad Plans: My plans for after graduation is to take a well-deserved break before I begin studying for my DAT where I have plans to attend dental school to eventually open up my own office in the near future. 

Being first-gen means being rewarded for singular efforts, suffering numerous setbacks, but persevering through it all to graduate and be the first in the family to do so.My parents, who early on invested in my education and ensured the opportunities denied to them were always extended to me.

Post-Grad Plans: I will be attending Johns Hopkins University as a MS student in Security Informatics. Furthermore, I will be working as a Cybersecurity Consultant with the firm, EY.

It’s such an honor to be a first gen graduate. I hope I am the new trend setter for my family and encourage my younger family to get involved in the sciences! I would like to thank my parents for supporting me from day one. I wouldn’t be who I am without you!

I've persevered through a lot and there were times I wanted to quit, but I proved I'm better than my thoughts.

It is a true privilege to graduate with my Bachelors from an Honors University as a first generation student. There were countless challenges during my journey here at UMBC, but it was all worth it. This is just the beginning and I am excited to see what is in store for myself in the future, but as well as the university.

Thank you to all of the UMBC staff, faculty and community members for providing me support, confidence and advice. My family have supported me since the beginning and I am so grateful for every single person, especially my parents. I would like to especially thank my friends who I met at UMBC, they are lifelong friends and together we can overcome anything. My CWIT (Center for Women in Technology) community was SO supportive with the countless gatherings, uplifting messages and bonds that I've created. Thank you to the Career Center Faculty and my HackUMBC team members they were so helpful in being a great community to work alongside!

Post-Grad Plans: I plan to work full-time at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and hopefully I'll be going to graduate school soon (:

 

Congratulations to all our First-Generation College Student Graduates!

In honor of May graduation, we'd like to introduce a few of our first-gen grads, in their own words:

 

When comparing my experience as a first-gen student at UMBC with my experience at a different institution, there is no comparison. At UMBC I not only felt like I was surrounded by resources and support, but also like I knew how to access those things. A school could be the biggest, brightest, most well-reputed star in the sky, and that's meaningless if students can't navigate their way to success there.

Dr. Amy Froide has been an incredible source of support over the last few years, even as I careened wildly into her office as a transfer student with no real sense of where to go or what to do except for starry eyes and big dreams. The other History faculty have also been wonderful, and my colleagues in the Residential Life office have also been fantastic cheerleaders.

Post-Grad Plans: I'll be continuing at UMBC in the Historical Studies MA program.

I am very excited to be a First Gen graduate! During my time here I have been able to make and maintain strong connections with faculty and students that has allowed me to achieve all that I have accomplished. I have learned so much about career and post graduate opportunities that would have been difficult to navigate on my own. I also want to thank my family for always supporting me throughout my undergraduate journey.

Dr. Jacqueline King as well as the faculty from the Meyerhoff and MARC/URISE Scholars programs have been a great mentor to me! My journey as an undergrad preparing for graduate school has been very fruitful and enjoyable. Dr. King has great advice and is awesome to talk to to navigate tough decisions. I also want to thank Dr. Peter DeCrescenzo as well as the faculty members from the LSAMP program for helping me with applying for summer research experiences and getting involved with graduate school developmental experiences. Dr. DeCrescenzo had great advice for how I could develop my a personal statement and make myself stand out as an applicant.

Post-Grad Plans: I plan to pursue my PhD in at MIT in the Computational and Systems Biology program!

For me, being a first generation student means hope and success for my family. My mother and father have supported me in completing my degree.

Post-Grad Plans: A career within the IT field.

This is very big for my family, college was something that was not important to my grandparents so they never pushed my parents into going. I am so grateful to have parents that supported and pushed me through all my college years. Being a First Gen College Student is a great honor but I couldn't have done it without my parents!

My mom has been with me for every big milestone in my life, I couldn't have asked for a better support team than her. My dad has always had my back, I couldn't have asked for a better fan than him. My brother has always been there to help me get back up, I couldn't have asked for a better friend than him. Kyle has been my partner in crime this past year, he has helped me get through online classes and covid. These are the people that have supported me and I am truly grateful!

Post-Grad Plans: Iwill be going back to work full-time, I will be applying to a new position at work, and I will be starting grad school at UMGC.

Graduating from UMBC as a First-Gen College Student means that I have persevered through the challenges that include but not limited to, not knowing what steps to follow, what I may need to succeed, or the guidance when making life-changing choices. I think it's inspiring for me that I have made it this far and strive to always succeed in the future. It really shows that with dedication and hard work, you can succeed. In terms of family, I am able to show them my accomplishments, which my parents have worked hard to allow me to achieve. With being a First Gen, I am able to live the experiences firsthand of being a college student and make connections with students with similar interests. College really shows you how to appreciate the developments in engineering and how far the world is, and what is still required. Therefore being a first-gen student I am able to share that knowledge and experience with my parents.

In terms of UMBC, I think my entire CBEE undergraduate department has helped me to complete my degree, have supported me, and convey the work associated to get to where I dream. The faculty has allowed me to grow as a student/individual, and break away from my shell. I think a specific shoutout would go to Dr. Castellanos and Dr. Raikar for not only being available 24/7 but also supporting our student org and all the work they do to help us achieve our dreams. My brother has also always supported me and believed in me.

Please join the First-Gen Network as we continue our discussion on Positive Mental Health Practices.  Last semester discussion was insightful and we learned various techniques for staying healthy mentally during this time.   Please be sure to click on the "Attending" tab in MyUMBC to let us know that you will be joining us for this discussion.  If you would like to submit questions/concerns prior to attending the event, please fill out the google form below.  We look forward to seeing you there!  

Please submit any questions you may have regarding this topic prior to the event here:  Google Form

Webex Link:  Brown Bag Lunch Discussion

April 28 from 5:30PM-7PM - Student Vs. Faculty/ Staff Game Night

May 4 from 12-1PM - Brown Bag Lunch Discussion(Positive Mental Health Practices)

May 6 from 6-7PM - First-Gen Alumni Panel