First-generation students — those whose parents did not earn a bachelor’s degree — can face additional barriers when it comes to accessing resources and navigating the various systems that make up higher education. As of last October at Colorado State University, almost one in four students, or 23%, are first generation, hence the need for a variety of programs that provide resources and support. CSU’s First-Generation University Initiative is one of these programs, and its 2-year run concluded this past school year.
Taking place during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years, the FGUI worked toward “advancing and supporting priorities for first-generation students,” according to the program’s website.
“The First-Generation University Initiative at Colorado State University is dedicated to validating and uplifting the experiences of first-generation students,” the website reads.
The website goes on to explain that the initiative plan was split into two parts, each spanning one year.
For the first year, the goal was to “coordinate the first-generation experience by mapping current CSU opportunities and high-impact practices that support first-generation success for undergraduate and graduate students,” according to the First-Generation at CSU website.
“I’m the first in my family to pursue a doctorate, which means I continue to navigate the first-generation experience in new ways. While I now have more knowledge and resources to guide my path, I remain mindful that engaging this experience through the lens of my family and culture is both unfamiliar and beautiful at the same time.” –Mary Ann Lucero, CSU Academic Advancement Center executive director
Efforts during the second year focused on “(Identifying) and (addressing) gaps that exist in how we support first-generation student success, and (exploring) methods that are grounded in research and models including the Boyer Commission Equity/Excellence Imperative,” according to the FGUI website.
Mary Ann Lucero is the executive director for CSU’s Academic Advancement Center, and she is also a part of the leadership team for the FGUI. Lucero said she drew from her own experience while leading the project.
“I’m the first in my family to pursue a doctorate, which means I continue to navigate the first-generation experience in new ways,” Lucero said. “While I now have more knowledge and resources to guide my path, I remain mindful that engaging this experience through the lens of my family and culture is both unfamiliar and beautiful at the same time.”
She said the initiative’s development had been a long time coming.
“The First-Generation University Initiative was established in 2009 to provide a coordinated foundation for first-gen support efforts,” Lucero said. “In 2023, CSU joined FirstGen Forward, a national association centered on first-generation student success.”
While building the initiative, there were some major accomplishments, including achieving Network Champion status in 2025, which is considered the highest designation in the FirstGen Forward Network. Effectively, this earned CSU distinction as a national leader in first-generation student success advancements.
She also said that its goals and mission remained constant.
“Since 2009, the FGUI has remained dedicated to validating and uplifting first-generation student experiences,” Lucero said. “While this core mission has remained constant, our approach has evolved considerably.”
Although CSU is part of a larger network for first-generation students across the nation, these efforts are still centralized for CSU students.
“What sets CSU apart is the integrated commitment shared between the Student Success Initiative and the First-Generation University Initiative,” Lucero said. “This alignment reflects our understanding that first-generation success and student success are inseparable. Advancing educational pathways for first-generation students is advancing student success for all.”
Lucero not only works with students through the FGUI but also through other programs that support them.
“At CSU, I have the privilege of working directly with first-generation students through the programs within the Academic Advancement Center, and I also collaborate with colleagues within FGUI who are equally committed to advancing first-generation student success,” Lucero said.
“Since the fall of 2021, CSU has experienced a steady increase in first-generation enrollment,” Lucero said. “This upward trend continued in fall 2025 when CSU welcomed 1,454 new first-generation students to campus, bringing total first-generation enrollment to 5,886. This growth reflects CSU’s commitment to expanding access for first-generation students.”
Blanche Hughes, the vice president for student affairs, has worked alongside Lucero throughout the duration of the FGUI program’s existence. Hughes comes from a first-generation family herself.
“My older siblings went to college, but my parents did not,” Hughes said. “I always knew that college was the path, but when it came to any questions I had, my parents told me to ask my siblings or teachers.”
Hughes said the initiative focuses on the success of students, not just while they are at CSU but beyond graduation as well.
“First-generation is important to CSU,” Hughes said. “That is why we try to grow the mission we have by admitting first-generation students. We want our first-generation students to not only graduate but be prepared for the future. That is why we continue to make sure we are open for students and how we support them. We want the students to feel comfortable.”
Another highlight of the program was engagement with other universities, Hughes said.
“We like to collaborate with not only students by getting feedback from them but also other schools so we can learn from each other and make improvements,” Hughes said.
What Hughes said she really appreciates seeing are the connections built.
“(It’s) all the connecting we do,” Hughes said. “If it’s faculty and students or other connections, role models matter.”
Reach Jolynn Montiel at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
