Bringing a light: First-gen student strives to support others through hardship
Kenan Thomas is the subject of a video in a documentary film series called First Degree, which highlights standout first-generation students at CSU System campuses. The docuseries demonstrates that academic achievement is possible with talent, tenacity, and support. By showcasing the paths of first-gen students pursuing higher education and its benefits, the series underscores a core mission of our land-grant university System. At CSU, first-generation students make up about 25% of the undergraduate population.
Fruitful career: First-gen alumna goes from orchard to entrepreneurship
Christina Horn, 45, blossomed into an entrepreneur after becoming the first in her family to earn a university degree – first, a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University, where she studied business, and, later, a master’s degree from CSU Global in teaching and learning. Her path of lifelong learning illustrates how higher education can empower people to contribute to their families and communities.
Warrior mentality: First-generation CSU student excels as ROTC leader
Ashley Magee is the subject of the newest video in a CSU System documentary film series called “First Degree,” which traces the personal and academic journeys of first-generation university students and young alumni as they realize the benefits of higher education. She is a junior studying health and exercise science on a full-ride ROTC scholarship.
Going home: Cattlewoman applies first-gen education on the Navajo Nation
Justina Slim grew up in the heart of the largest Native American reservation in the United States, where her family raises a herd of about 150 Angus crossbred cattle. Her path from CSU back to the Navajo Nation is the subject of the newest video in a CSU System docuseries, called First Degree, which traces the personal and academic journeys of first-generation college students and young alumni as they realize the benefits of higher education.
‘Just keep trying’: First-generation student musters grit to graduate
Jesse Vido’s family faced financial hardship in Pueblo, yet Vido made it to CSU Pueblo to study cybersecurity and compete on the nationally dominant CyberWolves team. He is active in student government, works on campus, and aims to be a role model for his five younger siblings.
Sprinting into a nursing career: CSU Pueblo alumna embodies first-generation success
Yasmine Hernandez is a standout student-athlete from CSU Pueblo who is on a fast track in her early nursing career while competing in national middle-distance races as a post-collegiate runner. She has earned two national track-and-field titles and is graduating at the very top of her class – with three degrees.
Turning the tides: First-generation student overcomes adversity to earn college degree
Robert Lamm, a CSU senior studying environmental engineering with a minor in sustainable water management, is featured in a new video released today as part of a CSU System docuseries called First Degree, which highlights first-generation students as they pursue higher education and its benefits.
A revolutionary program for first-generation students
CSU President Amy Parsons reflects on first-generation students, who make up about 25% of CSU’s undergraduate population, and their legacy.
First degree
A new documentary film series called First Degree illuminates the personal and academic journeys of first-generation students at CSU System campuses. The series portrays the doubts and challenges first-generation students face in college, the benefits they hope to realize for themselves and their communities, and the ties between first-generation student success and Colorado State’s land-grant mission.