Valentina Rojas Abreu òòò½´«Ã½™24 knows the experience of a first generation student better than most. Not only is she one herself, but sheòòò½´«Ã½™s been helping cultivate a supportive network as President of the First Generation Program.
Read on to hear her perspective on the distinct challenges and triumphs that define the first generation student experience.
Iòòò½´«Ã½™d heard great things all through high school about how many connections Pace has to different companies and programs. I liked that I could commute and that there was a New York City Campus I could take advantage of if I wanted to.
A lot of us first generation students are so independent because we don't have that safety net. Not that we don't have people to depend on, but at least on an academic standpoint, you are on your own.
As a first generation student, I ended up being very independent. I'm the firstborn in my family. So I don't have an older sibling to ask òòò½´«Ã½˜how did you do thisòòò½´«Ã½™ or òòò½´«Ã½˜what is FASFA?òòò½´«Ã½™ I feel like a lot of our students, including myself, feel like school is a bit easier now because I've been doing everything by myself. Having to figure things out on your own can help students reach for the stars. They know how to opportunities or have higher aspirations because they know theyòòò½´«Ã½™ve always had to.
Some people donòòò½´«Ã½™t even realize theyòòò½´«Ã½™re a first generation student. Even if your parents received an associate degree rather than a four-year degree, or your siblings have gone to college, you're still considered a first generation student.
I try to encourage students in the First Generation Program in the same way I was encouraged.
After the passing of two long-term and dedicated Alumni Board Members, the Honorable Sandra A. Forster òòò½´«Ã½™79 and Adele Lerman Janow òòò½´«Ã½™90, the Alumni Board decided to establish an Immediate Impact Scholarship to commemorate the lives of these esteemed alumnae, The Adele Janow and Judge Sandra Forster Memorial Scholarship.
For Amanda (Mandy) Howerton-Fox òòò½´«Ã½™27, deciding to attend law school was not just a career shiftòòò½´«Ã½”it was a natural continuation of her lifelong commitment to advocacy. A former teacher of the deaf, Mandyòòò½´«Ã½™s passion for special education and disability rights first led her to pursue a PhD and become a tenured professor of education. Now, she has embarked on a new path at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at òòò½´«Ã½, with a goal of effecting change through law and policy while advocating for people directly.
Meet Raquel Sammartano! In May she represented the College of Health Professions (CHP) at the national in Denver, Colorado with her father, Robert Sammartano, PA-C, also in attendance!
We connected with Raquel to learn more about her academic and professional journey, inspired by her father to follow in his footsteps as a PA.