UMKC’s First Gen Roo program kicked off its National First Generation Celebration by hosting author Alejandra Campoverdi on Oct. 24 in the Student Union Theatre.
On the first leg of her book tour, the women’s health advocate and former White House aide to President Barack Obama spoke on her new memoir “First Gen” and her experiences of being Latina and a first-generation college student.
“I really felt like I connected with her already by just reading the book,” said senior pre-dental hygiene student and event attendee, Jazmin Barahona. “We had a lot of similarities we could connect to. We’re first-generation students, Latinas and we both grew up with a single mother.”
Campoverdi spoke with Dr. Toya Like about her path of getting into college and navigating her experience as the first person in her family to do so. She eventually attended the University of Southern California and later Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
“Sometimes I feel like ‘Oh God!’” Campoverdi said. “I have to be responsible for going to school first– breaking intergenerational trauma– it feels like it’s a lot. What helped me make sense of it is actually in the book. One of the nicest reviews that’s been said about this book is that it’s a resource, which is really what I wrote it for.”
Many first-generation students experience imposter syndrome and isolation during their time in college.
“They say when you’re skating on thin ice, your speed is your safety, and a lot of times the first-gen experience feels like that,” Campoverdi said. “If you’re moving and trying to survive, and you’re also coming from cycles of survival in your family, taking a moment and acknowledging your actual lived experience can feel like a radical act and can feel like something that we haven’t had space to do.”
Nearly half of all undergraduate students at UMKC are considered first-generation. First-time college students who are first-generation make up 54.3% of UMKC’s population.
“For me, it’s really just about all the nuances of navigating college life for the first time,” said Antwone Moore, a First Gen Roo mentor and a music education major. “The only analogy I can come up with is that it’s like breaking a glass barrier. You don’t know how hard it is until you get here and you see how easy everyone else has it.”
Moore was part of UMKC’s First Gen Scholars program, which is designed for incoming first-time college students to be mentored by peers to gain support and insight into campus resources. He later became a mentor for the program.
“We celebrate our first gens and it’s a badge of honor that we wear. Other students might think that there’s a stigma around being first gen,” said Megan Elsen, associate director of academic support and mentoring. “But instead, we kind of flip that and celebrate it. We want everyone to know that we’re first gen.”
Throughout November, UMKC’s First Gen Roo program is hosting events for National First Generation College Student Celebration. To learn more about First Gen Roo events, click here.
