‘Speaking on Firsts’ panel highlights first-gen experiences

Facing the task of navigating higher education can be daunting for first-generation students. During a “Speaking on Firsts” panel, held Nov. 2 in the Student Union, four members of the UB community spoke with students about how they navigated their own first-generation challenges and went on to build successful careers.

The panel marked the start of UB’s First-Generation Celebration Week, held Nov. 2-6 to honor the achievements of first-generation college students, faculty and staff. The week featured a variety of opportunities for students to connect, including speed networking sessions, a panel where first-generation students shared their stories, and activities centered on self-care and community building.

The celebration is part of UB’s Proud to Be First initiative, which supports the academic, social and professional development of first-generation Bulls – a community that makes up 31% of UB’s undergraduate student population.

Among the panelists was Tomás A. Aguirre, UB’s dean of students.

“I am first-generation in every capacity,” Aguirre shared with students. “Growing up, I didn't even know what first-generation was. I didn't really become aware of those struggles until many, many years later. But you know about being first-gen. You know what those struggles are. You know the resources that we have here at UB to support you. So being first gen, it's kind of like your superpower. It's your secret super strength.”

The panel featured three other first-generation professionals, each with a connection to UB:

• Salma Attai, a urology resident at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences who also earned a bachelor’s in biomedical sciences and her medical degree from the Jacobs School in 2018 and 2024, respectively.
• Rubén González, an assistant professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction in UB’s Graduate School of Education.
• E. Jeannette Ogden, a justice of the New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division, Fourth Department and a 1983 graduate of the UB School of Law, a former adjunct faculty member and past president of the UB Law Alumni Association. She is also the first Black woman to receive the law school’s Edwin F. Jaeckle Award.

With first-generation experiences spanning high school, undergraduate studies and advanced degrees, each panelist shared where they came from and the challenges they had to overcome. The panelists taught students how to draw on their own first-generation experiences to create opportunities for themselves, their families and their communities.

“I grew up poor, hungry and driven,” González says. “So, for me, there was no other motivating factor like seeing my parents struggle with what they were doing for work and wanting a little bit more for myself.”

“Similar to others on this panel, I grew up in a housing project,” Ogden says. “I chose to be a first-gen law student because I was going to better myself. I was going to come out and earn some money to change my social status, to help my children and to be a benefit to my community that was very familiar with the criminal justice system.”

Beyond motivating their goals, the panelists also shared how being first-generation helped them develop skills they now use professionally. For Attai, those experiences became an asset in communicating complex medical information and connecting with patients as a urology resident at UB.

“A lot comes from being a first-generation student,” Attai says. “For most of us, our parents speak a different language, and the majority of my life I've had to translate complex things to simplify it for my parents so they can understand. So, I really hone into that when I'm talking to patients. I think being a first-generation student allowed me to build a lot of life experiences like these to have that confidence, especially when communicating with patients.” 

Together, the panelists’ experiences highlighted the challenges first-generation students encounter and the strengths they bring to college and their careers. Their stories reinforced the celebration’s message that first-generation students can achieve their goals regardless of the obstacles they face – all while building their careers, creating opportunities for their families and communities, and paving the way for future students.