A Tribute to the Trailblazers

“Being first can be hard. Being first can be scary,” Valery Aldebot Ho, Class of 2026, told the dozens of undergrads gathered for the November 7 induction ceremony for Alpha Alpha Alpha, the national honor society for first-generation college students.

“And,” the accounting and global business major added, “being first can be exciting.”

More than one-third of Suffolk undergraduates are the first members of their families to attend a four-year college. As Aldebot Ho pointed out, they wear many hats: not only scholars, but also “volunteers and organizers, system navigators and translators, household leaders and sibling wranglers, advocates and pioneers—the ones who are first.”

From November 1-8, the University’s Center for First-Generation & Educational Equity celebrated their resilience and achievements with a series of events, including the Tri-Alpha ceremony; a screening of the powerful documentary First Voice Generation, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker; a career networking dinner with first-gen alumni and business partners; a panel discussion on the mental health experiences of first-gen and BIPOC students; and a Friday night dance.

First-Gen Week also celebrated the 60th anniversary of TRIO, the federal program that helps first-gen, income-eligible, and under-represented students pursue college and graduate school. Suffolk launched its TRIO programs in 2007, and the Center for First-Gen & Ed Equity now provides academic advising, tutoring, grad school planning, financial aid information, and more with its McNair Scholars, Upward Bound, and Veterans Upward Bound programs.

“Let me tell you, TRIO works—it has so much to do with where I am today,” said filmmaker Cynthia Martinez following the screening of First Voice Generation, in a Q&A moderated by Areta Odiah, Class of 2025, and Victor Cruz-Castro, Class of 2027. A first-gen college student and TRIO alumna, Martinez went on to the Columbia School of Journalism and then returned to her hometown of Holland, Michigan to document the barriers—racial, cultural, economic—that three Latinx high school students confront en route to becoming the first members of their family to attend college.

“First-gen students have to overcome different obstacles to sit in the [classroom] chairs that we do. And if [faculty and administrators] don’t invite those kind of discussions, that won’t be known,” said Gael Figueroa Enriquez, one of the featured students who attended the screening with Martinez. “I love that this film invites those discussions. Many people have this same story. The only thing that makes me different is that I was followed around by a camera.”

Suffolk first-gen and BIPOC students had a chance to share their stories as part of the “Chew on This” panel discussion, sponsored by Suffolk’s Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion and the Counseling, Health & Wellness Center. Like the students in First Voice Generation, they described the toll that having to regularly explain their identities and prove themselves in new settings can take. Yet reaching out for support—be it academic advising or mental health counseling—doesn’t always come easily for students who, as the first in their families to do many things, are accustomed to being self-reliant.

“It can be hard to reach out for resources because you’ve grown up so independent,” said Aylin Avalo Soto, a sophomore interior design major. “I have this mindset that I need to push through things on my own.” First-gen students often have to contend with imposter syndrome, added criminal justice grad student Bailee Mallett, “that sense of not feeling worthy of being where you are.” It’s important, she said, “not to feed into that, and to break the stigma around caring for your mental health. It’s OK to get support.”

There was plenty of support, encouragement, and advice on the menu at the First-Gen Networking Dinner on November 6. Co-sponsored by the Center for Career Equity, Development & Success as well as the Center for First-Gen & Ed Equity, the dinner attracted 20 alumni and employer partners, including Trustee Tamela Bailey, JD ’04, senior counsel at National Grid; Colin Loiselle, BS ’16, MS/MPA ’18, Tyngsborough town manager; and Danielle Pinson, BA ’15, MPA ’17, assistant vice president at PNC Bank.

Graduate School Bootcamp announced

During First-Gen Week, Lisa Rivera, director of first-generation student initiatives, announced a new initiative: the SuffolkONE Graduate School Bootcamp.

Launching during the spring term, the six-week program will provide undergrads with an in-depth look at the graduate school application process, with sessions on exploring career options with master’s and doctoral degrees, identifying graduate schools and professors, and securing funding for advanced education.

Sessions will be led by distinguished Suffolk faculty—including Associate Provost Rachael Kipp; Associate Dean Micky Lee; Senior Instructor Sarah Mellen; Associate Dean Marjorie Salvodon; and Associate Dean Felicia Wiltz—and expert staff, including Abraham Peña, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for First-Generation & Educational Equity; Adesuwa Igbineweka, director of career equity & access; and Natasha Berger, academic & research specialist, McNair Scholars Program.