~ The original story was posted on the Winthrop University website. 

The Center for First-generation Student Success, an initiative of NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education – and The Suder Foundation, has designated Winthrop University as one of its 2021-22 First-gen Forward Institutions. 

The First-gen Forward designation recognizes institutions of higher education that have demonstrated a commitment to improving experiences and advancing outcomes of first-generation college students. Selected institutions receive professional development, community-building experiences and a first look at the center’s research and resources.

“As a first-generation college graduate, I am keenly aware of the challenges associated with navigating higher education: the use of unfamiliar terminology, the assumption that one knows how to ‘do’ college, or that one even knows what questions to ask,” said Shelia Burkhalter, Winthrop’s vice president for student affairs.

“Student Affairs is excited to work with TRiO Achievers Program, the McNair Scholars program and the rest of the Winthrop community to think more strategically about serving first-gen students at Winthrop,” she continued. “While we look forward to advancing the success of first-generation students, the student success literature confirms that efforts to advance first-generation students will ultimately benefit all students on campus.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 33 percent of higher education students today are the first in their family to attend college. Winthrop mirrors the national statistic, Burkhalter said, noting that approximately one-third of Winthrop students identify as first-generation, when defined as a student whose parent(s)/legal guardian(s) have not completed a bachelor’s degree.

That population includes Imani Belton, an integrated marketing communication major and chair of the Council of Student Leaders (CSL), Winthrop’s student government body.

“Throughout my time at Winthrop, I’ve been able to connect with first-generation faculty, staff and students, which has made my collegiate experience 10 times better because of bonds we’ve created,” she said. “Being a first-generation student is a point of pride for me and other Winthrop students who have benefitted from learning on a campus that provides outreach and services for students like us.”

Winthrop has already made significant strides in first-generation student support and outcomes:

*The TRiO Achievers Program has supported first-generation students for more than 15 years, providing students with a variety of services such as personalized academic counseling, tutoring, individualized needs assessment and more.

*Since 2009, the McNair Scholars program has prepared first-generation, low-income and underrepresented undergraduates to be successful in Ph.D. programs through research, extensive support, and transformational opportunities throughout the junior and senior years.

*Within the Division of Student Affairs, the Office of the Vice President as well as the Diversity and Student Engagement office facilitate events to celebrate first-generation students and graduates (for example, among the faculty and staff) and to raise awareness regarding issues impacting first-generation student success.

“Through the application process, it was evident that Winthrop University is not only taking steps to serve first-generation students but is prepared to make a long-term commitment and employ strategies for significant scaling and important advances in the future,” said Sarah E. Whitley, senior director of the Center for First-generation Student Success.

To learn more about first-generation efforts at Winthrop, contact Burkhalter at burkhalters@winthrop.edu or Kinyata Adams Brown at brownka@winthrop.edu.

About NASPA and the Center for First-gen Student Success

NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education—is the leading association for the advancement, health and sustainability of the student affairs profession. Its work provides high-quality professional development, advocacy and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries and eight U.S. territories. The Center for First-generation Student Success is the premier source of evidence-based practices, professional development and knowledge creation for the higher education community to advance the success of first-generation students. Visit www.naspa.org and www.firstgen.naspa.org for more information.

Karla Badillo-Urquiola ’14 ’15MS strives to break stereotypes through her work and her community activism.

The awards are piling up for UCF McKnight Fellow Karla Badillo-Urquiola ’14 ’15MS who in the past two months has been named a McKnight Award winner and an Order of Pegasus Award recipient.

Badillo-Urquiola, a doctoral candidate in modeling and simulation, is committed to academic excellence, diversifying the STEM field and making an impact in her community.

Badillo-Urquiola’s research focuses on investigating the challenges teens in the foster care system face online and ways to empower them to have more control of their online safety.

“Teens in the foster care system are some of the most vulnerable to the most serious online sexual risks, such as sex trafficking,” says Badillo-Urquiola, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s in modeling and simulation.  “My goal is to understand the ‘why’ and ‘how,’ and find tangible solutions to help them engage safely online.”

Seeking to understand teens within the foster community does not end in the lab. Through her volunteer work with the Foundation for Foster Children, she connects with teens and ensures her work is grounded in their reality.

“I want to have a direct impact on the people I interact with daily,” says Badillo-Urquiola, who also serves as an ambassador for an anti-sex trafficking nonprofit organization. To her it is invaluable to first understand her “users” before interpreting her data.

The Russell V. Ewald Academic Excellence and Order of Pegasus Awards are presented to students who sufficiently demonstrate their commitment to academic excellence and to community service; Badillo-Urquiola uniquely takes this initiative to heart by improving her research through her community service, and she hopes in the end helping the community.

As a Latina, she takes pride in being a role model for minority women and breaking stereotypes through her academic work and community activism. Badillo-Urquiola says she is no stranger to the assumptions that can often arise because of gender, ethnicity and her identity as a mother. She is expecting her second child while balancing the pursuit of a doctorate degree.

There tends to be an unspoken rule that you must choose between the roles of mother and student, and the current climate of STEM does little to dispel this mentality, she says.

“In academia we have this sense of culture where you have to be ‘more professional’ and family doesn’t seem to fit into that mentality,” says Badillo-Urquiola.

But Badillo-Urquiola is an example that being an excellent professional and having a family is achievable. After earning her degree, she plans on becoming a tenured professor.

She says that when she succeeds, she will join the 1 percent of Latinas nationwide that are tenured faculty at universities.

She will be presenting her research during Student Research Week March 30-April 3.

~ The original story was written by Simone Rosseau on February 26, 2020, in UCF Today. 

“Long gone are the days when students could graduate from a university and not do research. If you have any intentions of going on to do any sort of advanced graduate work, and if you have any intentions of finding funding for your research for your graduate studies, you must do research,” said Assistant Vice Provost for Access and Success E. George Simms.

Hosted by the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program at FIU, the FIU McNair Scholars Research Conference provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to present their research to peers, faculty and experts in their field.

The conference will take place Oct. 14-16 and is open to all FIU students, as well as students from universities around the world. Last year’s participants included students from Marquette University, Binghamton University, the University of the West Indies and more.

Simms said the goal of the McNair program and conference is to prepare students for top-notch universities and to apply for research funding once they’re in graduate school.

“In the highly competitive world that is now applying for graduate schools, having something like great research—and especially mentored research, where you have a well-known person in that field writing a letter of recommendation, working with that student on producing a really publishable project—really helps students stand out from the horde,” said Steven Fernandez, director of the McNair Program.

The McNair Conference is designed to guide undergraduate students through the research process and showcase their findings to the professional community.

At the conference, students will have the chance to present their research in both oral and poster formats, participate in a graduate school fair and hear from guest speakers who are leaders in their fields of study.

During the research process, students must work with faculty mentors who oversee their work and guide them through the process of gathering information and producing a paper ready for publishing.

“When you start at the undergraduate level, it gives you a really big step forward because you already know what you are going to use in your application if you go to graduate school,” said Department of Earth and Environment professor Florentin Maurrasse, who serves as a mentored with the McNair Program.

Maurrasse’s first mentee in the McNair Program was alumnus Jose Ilaguno ’14, who presented his research on sedimentology in Spain at last year’s McNair Conference. His research compared the current period of global warming to previous periods of global warming using the method of carbon sequestration, which compares carbon isotopes in layers of the ocean floor to determine climate conditions millions of years ago.

Because of his experience researching with Maurrasse and presenting at the McNair Conference, Ilaguno decided to continue at FIU to earn his master’s in geosciences.

“You get the feeling that they do want to help you from the bottom of their heart,” he said. “It’s almost like they’re your family.”

This article was originally posted on July 27, 2015 on FIU News . Click here to read the original article.