First-generation high school students from across Colorado gathered at Colorado State University April 17 for the “Rooted in Dreams, Rising Together” conference, a one-day event organized by CSU’s First Generation Student Organization. It was designed to introduce students to college life while providing resources, workshops and a supportive community focused on access, belonging and future success.
“The overall idea of the conference seemed comforting for being a first-generation student,” said Azul Gonzalez, a high school senior at Early College Academy in Greeley, Colorado.
Reflecting on her experience at the conference, Gonzalez said the atmosphere was welcoming and supportive.
“They were really sweet and answered all of my questions,” Gonzalez said. “It was nice to be able to ask stuff.”
When the conference was initially becoming a reality, conversations were held among leadership to decide which direction the organization wanted to go in.
“As this conference was starting, brainstorming ideas began over a year ago, (and) it was kind of, like, our rebrand of what FGSO was before,” said Alondra Mendoza Hinojos, vice president of FGSO.
FGSO’s rebranding was about “reaching new heights we’ve never seen before,” said Mendoza Hinojos.
When the idea first started, Alondra Mendoza Hinojos said it was the group effort that helped the vision become a reality, including input from the current president, Irving Mendoza Hinojos.
“Irving brought up the idea of creating a conference, and we really grounded ourselves in making that happen, especially (at) the beginning of this semester,” Alondra Mendoza Hinojos said. “We had a very strong executive board, whose all ideas really worked together to make this happen. Within that, we really just wanted the whole layout of this conference to feel inspiring.”
The intention of the conference wasn’t “really for recruitment (but) for higher education because how (workshop facilitator) Ryan Barone says, ‘Success looks very different, and many different places of success doesn’t just mean that you have to go to college,'” said Alondra Mendoza Hinojos.
“I am the first doing something so that someone else can have that a little bit easier. … It’s a legacy (to) leave behind.” –Alondra Mendoza Hinojos, CSU First Generation Student Organization vice president
When it comes to the power that being a first-generation student holds, Alondra Mendoza Hinojos said she wanted attendees to feel inspired.
“(We’re) creating that space of empowerment of, ‘You are a first generation,'” Alondra Mendoza Hinojos said. “What does that hold? What power does that hold? And how do you live within it?”
Alondra Mendoza Hinojos said it is significant that an event like this hasn’t happened at CSU before.
“A conference like this, specifically tailoring (it) like this, is the first ever,” Alondra Mendoza Hinojos said. “I feel a lot of pride being able to say that, that I was part of something that was the first because that means that it won’t be the last.”
As a first-generation student herself, Alondra Mendoza Hinojos said she says a similar phrase often: “I am the first because I don’t want to be the last. I am the first doing something so that someone else can have that a little bit easier. … It’s a legacy (to) leave behind.”
Alondra Mendoza Hinojos further discussed the level of involvement required to help the conference come to fruition.
“We definitely were able to do it,” Alondra Mendoza Hinojos said. “And I think because of that, it was a lot of teamwork. It was that communication that had to happen within us.”
FGSO Alumni Ambassador Carlos Ornelas said his primary goal was to make sure first-generation students felt understood.
“(What) I’m really hoping for them to really understand is that they’re not alone,” Ornelas said.
Being a first-generation college student, Ornelas said he experienced a variety of obstacles.
“We grow up figuring things out,” Ornelas said. “Like, figuring things and ourselves out. Just realizing there’s other people like us, trying to figure things out, it’s important for us because it really helps us understand and makes us feel comfortable.”
Reach Jolynn Montiel at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
