Each fall, thousands of students arrive at UW-Madison to start the next chapter of their lives. They attend orientation wide-eyed and brimming with enthusiasm, looking forward to the college years to come. Sitting in the Kohl Center, the new class of Badgers is welcomed and told how the application process was “selective” and that they’re “the best of the best.” 

But within this group, there are students wondering, “Is this a mistake? Am I supposed to be here? Do I really belong?” 

These are common questions among first-generation students, who are the first in their immediate families to attend or graduate from a four-year institution. According to statistics from UW-Madison, 17 percent of the class of 2020 self-identified as first-generation students. Some of them experience nagging internal doubts about whether they truly belong and deserve to be in college, along with thoughts about the family they are leaving behind. Many feel like outsiders or imposters just trying to fit in.

First-gen students wear their pins with pride.

Being a first-generation student is an accomplishment, and it’s not an easy feat. These students often don’t have a background that helps them navigate the higher-education system, so dealing with everything from the admission process, to filling out paperwork for financial aid, to knowing what classes to take — among hundreds of other details — presents challenges. First-generation students come from various family backgrounds and have unique perspectives, yet their intersecting identities and world views add to the richness of the Wisconsin Experience and contribute to making UW-Madison a world-class institution. 

Claudia Mosley is the director of the Center for Educational Opportunity at UW-Madison, a place that helps students on their college journey by providing them with mentoring, resources and support. Mosley works with many first-generation students and refers to them as trailblazers, as they are managing college with no previous experience of what to expect. 

“What [the Center for Educational Opportunity] focused on is really working with students to navigate the campus, so that they are thriving and doing well in their classes, so that they return to UW-Madison each year, and so that they graduate,” Mosley says.

To make a huge institution like UW-Madison feel smaller, the center hopes to provide a sense of community and a home base where students can ask questions, feel comfortable and safe doing so, and be encouraged that they can succeed in college. 

“We’re not trying to fix people — because there’s nothing to fix there. People need support; everybody needs that,” Mosley says. “We’re providing unique support and guidance to [help students] navigate UW-Madison.”

Seeking guidance

Samantha Cailey, a first-generation student, created the First Generation Student Success organization at UW-Madison.

For UW-Madison junior Samantha Cailey of Morris, Illinois, a city in the southwest Chicago metropolitan area, going to college was always something she knew she wanted to do. Growing up, she was a good student and enjoyed school, so attending college was the next logical step in her educational journey. Cailey knew it was a big decision, but ultimately, she knew that leaving her small town would give her more options. 

She says arriving on campus was an overwhelming experience. Moving to a new place while taking classes, working and trying to be involved was a lot on her plate, but it was what Cailey thought she was supposed to do. “I felt like I was starting off behind the start line where non-first gen students were, so I tried to make up for it by doing way too much,” she says. “Because my parents did not attend college, I did not know how to gauge myself to past experiences or how to ask for help.”

While Cailey says her parents are supportive of her and her endeavors, they sometimes have trouble wrapping their heads around what exactly she is doing. “There’s always a lot of questions,” she says. “Why are you studying so hard? Why are you volunteering? Why are you doing this?” Cailey tries to explain things to her parents the best she can but often isn’t sure exactly what she should be doing herself.

In October 2018, she was exploring the Wisconsin Involvement Network of student organizations looking for a group geared toward first-generation students, only to find that none existed. 

Baffled by this, Cailey decided to start a club to help other first-generation students with everything from talking through their struggles to finding opportunities and gaining advice from others about how they are figuring out the unknown. 

“I got into contact with someone from [the financial aid office] and was like, ‘Do you think this is a good idea?’” Cailey says. The answer was a resounding yes. In spring 2019, Cailey began reaching out to various offices on campus to help create First Generation Student Success. Doing so has required time and energy, but Cailey is passionate about the work. 

“I really just want to help these other students because I feel like we’re on the same page,” Cailey says.  “And that page is a little crinkled and messed up.”

Parent’s sacrifice 

For many first-generation students’ parents, achieving higher education wasn’t in the cards. 

Enrolling in college was something senior Omar Espino’s parents had always dreamed of, and they made incredible sacrifices to get him and his sister to where they are now. Espino’s parents came to the U.S. from Mexico when they were in their late teens, hoping for a better future. 

“Growing up, it was always my parents that kind of led me toward college,” Espino says. “They were always very strict on me when it came to school. They made sure I was getting good grades and doing my homework. They kind of built me up to go to college instead of the workforce right after high school.”

While Espino always knew he wanted to go to college, he thought he would end up going to a community college that would be cheaper and closer to his home in Chicago. 

“I actually never really thought about UW-Madison. My senior year in high school, one of my teachers nominated me for a scholarship called Posse,” Espino says. “Thousands of kids from Chicago apply, so I was lucky enough to get that scholarship. And it’s a full-ride scholarship.”

Posse is one of the most comprehensive and renowned college access and youth development programs in the U.S. Founded in 1989, Posse identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes.

UW-Madison was the first major public research institution to launch this program. UW Posse works with four cities — Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington D.C. — to offer students from each of the cities the opportunity to pursue personal and academic excellence by placing them in supportive, diverse teams, called Posses, with 10 students each. 

Through this program, Espino has found great resources, support and mentorship to help guide him. While Posse has helped him immensely with school and career plans, his parents always have been and remain his main role models.  

“The biggest driving force is my mom and dad. They dropped everything in Mexico and came here when they were so young. They got to Chicago with nothing,” Espino says. “They worked so hard to be able to give me and my sister the opportunity to go to college.”

Support on campus

UW-Madison also has many resources to help first-generation students, including scholarships, tutoring, learning centers and other programming.

Joselyn Diaz-Valdes is a senior adviser with the Office of Student Financial Aid. At UW-Madison, there are four programs designed to assist Badgers who are either first-generation or come from low-income households.