If you’re planning on becoming the first person in your family to earn a bachelor’s degree, then you probably already know that the experience can be both exhilarating and personally meaningful. First-gen students are taking action to work toward the career and the life they want.
What does being a first-generation college student mean for you? Every student has a different experience with it, but you might feel that you bring determination and resilience to the college environment. Students who are facing challenges and working to overcome them may gain a sense of personal pride in their accomplishments.
At GCU, we have numerous current first-gen students and alumni who take pride in their journey toward being the first in their family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. Among them is Steven Valero, who was the first in his family to not only earn a bachelor's but also a PhD. After earning his bachelor’s degree in psychology, Dr. Valero became a life coach and started his own business, helping software engineers transform the company culture of their workplaces.
Dr. Valero hopes that his experience can encourage other first-gen students to feel empowered to graduate. “I’m a first-generation graduate from college (and) now to my PhD and so I wanted to show people that there is a path that they can take. I didn’t have it all figured out. But instead I just kind of took what (I was excited and passionate about) and took the next step, and here I am today,” Dr. Valero said.
Dr. Valero also noted that he really enjoyed the personalized attention he experienced as a GCU student. “…every time I took a class, at the end of the class, I would have someone there that would talk to me and make sure I was on the right path.” He appreciates the hard work it took to complete the dissertation, noting that it gave him the confidence necessary to achieve his post-graduation dreams.
