CANYON, Texas — Several prominent area educators will speak about their experiences as the first members of their family to pursue higher education in an upcoming event at West Texas A&M University.
WT’s Office for Engaged Citizenship will host a “We Are One” talk featuring several contributors to “First-Gen Stories for Success,” a book compiled by WT’s Dr. George Pacheco Jr.
The event will begin at 6 p.m. Oct. 3 in Legacy Hall inside the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT’s Canyon campus.
The book collects essays by Pacheco, several of his WT colleagues and scholars from across the country that address the balance between a student’s goals and their family’s plans, the importance of student organizations and mentorship, and how to create a path to success, among other topics.
“When I looked around, there was nothing available like this,” said Pacheco, the founding adviser for WT’s F1RSTGEN student organization and himself a first-generation student. “I want this book to help these students find their way by learning from the authors’ own stories. I hope the students see themselves in those shoes.”
Pacheco, WT associate professor of communication, will be joined in the panel discussion by Dr. Shanna Peeples, WT’s John G. O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education; Dr. Nancy Garcia, assistant professor of media communication; Dr. Lisa Garza, associate professor of sociology; Jonathan Cordova, program coordinator for Study Abroad and Nationally Competitive Scholarships; and Melodie Graves, associate director of academic advising at Amarillo College.
“This event presents a valuable opportunity for faculty and staff to gain insights into serving first-generation students and for first-generation students to better understand and navigate their academic journey,” said Angela Allen, director of WT’s Office for Engaged Citizenship.
WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, offers numerous programs, services and initiatives for first-generation students, including the F1RSTGEN student organization. WT was named in March 2022 to the 2022-23 First-Gen Forward cohort, among 53 institutions around the country.
Currently, WT’s undergraduate population is more than 47 percent first-generation.
Reflecting and serving the diverse population of the Texas Panhandle, including first-generation students, is a key mission of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $150 million.
