NOVEMBER 7, 2022 — UTSA is joining institutions across the country this week in celebrating its first-generation student population by hosting First-Gen Fest. Organized by the UTSA First-Generation & Transfer Student Programs (FGTSP) office in collaboration with other areas across the university, the festival takes place Monday, November 7 through Friday, November 11 and includes a series of events for students, faculty and staff that support, empower and celebrate first-generation students.
First-generation college students are a core part of the Roadrunner community, representing nearly half (45%) of UTSA’s student population. The university’s first-generation and transfer student programs are nationally recognized.
In 2019, FGTSP was designated a “Program to Watch” by Excelencia in Education. That same year, the Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) named UTSA a top university for its programming efforts to create a supportive and empowering campus for first-generation and transfer students.
Students who are the first in their family to go to college have an advantage at UTSA to connect with a strong support network and academic support programs so they can confidently chart their path toward graduation. Programs include First to Go and Graduate (F2G&G), First-Gen STEM Scholars, First-Gen Living & Learning Community and the First-Gen Second Year Experience.
As a result of these programs and other student success initiatives, UTSA has seen substantial gains in first-gen student graduate rates and degrees awarded over the past five years. The six-year graduation rate has increased 14%, from 37% in 2017 to 51% in 2022. Additionally, the number of degrees awarded annually to first-gen students has increased 15%, from 2,215 in 2017 to 2,539 in 2022.
“UTSA is proud to recognize the resiliency, unique experiences and outcomes of our first-gen students,” said Tammy Wyatt, vice provost for student success. “These trailblazers are charting a new path to change the trajectory of their lives and that of their families and communities and it is an honor to be at a university that wholly supports them.”
The Roadrunner community is invited to celebrate National First-Gen Celebration Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, November 8 at Central Plaza on UTSA Main Campus. This signature event will include prizes, food, games and activities to celebrate our first-gen students, faculty and staff.
Other events include a career exploration workshop, a first-gen family social, sessions dedicated to exploring first-gen identity and first-gen veteran identity, a holistic health day with wellness activities, and a workshop about generational wealth.
UTSA hosts First-Gen Fest in conjunction with National First-Generation College Celebration Day, which falls on or around November 8 each year to acknowledge and elevate first-generation college students. First-Gen Fest has been held annually at UTSA since 2017.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
M. Bayani Cadenas from UT Austin will present a research lecture on "Hydrobiogeochemistry of terrestrial-aquatic interfaces from pore to continental scales."
Loeffler Room (BSB 3.03.02), UTSA Main CampusHave questions about making your OER accessible on UTSA Pressbooks? The OER Team and the Digital Accessibility are ready to answer them! Bring your questions about OER and accessibility and receive guidance from our two teams.
Virtual (Zoom)Perfect for faculty and grad students who are ready to take their research to the next level, this workshop will guide you through the basics of the I-Corps program. Learn how I-Corps can teach you entrepreneurial skills to translate your research to commercialization, how you can get funding to discover customers for your technology, and how I-Corps can help you find the value proposition that will get your technology to sell. Lunch is included.
TBDLearn how to maximize the benefits of ORCID, how it can help you save time, and how to set up automatic updates to keep your ORCID record current.
Virtual Event (Zoom)In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography. Attendees are encouraged, but not required, to have EndNote already installed on a personal computer.
Virtual Event (Zoom)Pressbooks Basic workshop attendees will be able to: create a new book, clone an existing book, remix chapters from a variety of different Creative Commons licensed books, add media and other content to a book, export a book in a wide range of formats.
Virtual (Zoom)This workshop will guide you how to leverage Overleaf program to effectively manage citations in your research papers.
Virtual Event (Zoom)The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
