From October 11 to 13, over 150 students and administrators from around the country came to Brown for IvyG—a conference that brings together first-generation and low-income college students through panels, workshops, and community-building activities. The Education Department was a sponsor of the event.
This convening marked the 10th anniversary of the conference, which began at Brown with members of the class of 2016, including Education Studies graduate Viet Nguyen. He now serves as the Executive Director of EdMobilizer, the parent organization of IvyG. Ten years later, first-gen Education Studies students remain committed to building a more supportive higher educational landscape.
Maria Camacho, a Class of 2027 Education Studies concentrator, was one of Brown’s delegates. According to Maria, her “identity as a first-generation student connects deeply with my passion for Education Studies” and her decision to pursue education as a concentration. She wanted to participate in the weekend “to help empower and grow alongside other students.” Her major takeaway from the weekend echoed her reason for participating: “Meeting other first-generation students and student leaders was incredibly inspiring. Seeing the strength within our community and learning more about the power we hold was truly transformative.”
Another soon-to-be-concentrator participating was Paola Chapilliquen ’27. She noted that the conference was meaningful to her as she was “able to further connect with the first-gen community and be surrounded by such amazing students from all over the country, many of which I can now call my friends!” Pao also co-led a student workshop as part of her work with the Brown Dream Team, a student group focused on undocumented+ students. The workshop focused on building cross-campus connections to “expand the grounds for undocumented+ advocacy.” For Pao, “1vyG and the presentation showed me how important communication, listening, and understanding is for community engagement and learning.”
Education Studies faculty and alums also participated in the weekend. Andrea Flores, Vartan Gregorian Assistant Professor of Education, spoke to administrators on her research with Katherine Mason in the Anthropology Department, on the impact of Covid-19 on First-gen college students. Flores noted that the project’s undergraduate research team is almost entirely composed of first-gen, low-income students—with most being Education Studies concentrators. Flores also took part in a roundtable on faculty-staff collaborations to promote student engagement and well-being alongside Valeria Chavez-Ayala, UEP Class of ’23 and Assistant Director of Brown’s Undocumented, First-Generation College and Low-Income (U-FLi) Student Center. Reflecting on the weekend, Flores stated that “I’m really very proud of the Ed Studies students who are here at IvyG and all those, past and present, who are part of the UFLI community. I see all the work they do for their community while also doing the important work of their own educations. I’m glad that as a concentration we are providing a campus home for these exceptional students.”
As IvyG moves into its second decade, the Education Studies department—from alums to students to faculty—look to continue the work to make higher education more supportive to first-gens.