First Gen Table Talks: Recent Episodes
First Generation Students
This podcast is to inform people (students, parents, professors) about what is First-Generation and the importance of knowing what it is and how people benefit from being first gen. There will be several episodes talking about mental health, minorities being in predominantly white institutions, transition from high school to college. As well as having guests in the show to share their experiences and stories of being a first gen student.
As a first gen student being set apart from our peers is already our normal. In this episode we speak with the President of Spectrum and fellow student leader Archie who tells us how he navigates college as a first gen while also celebrating his queer identity!
In this episode we highlight an important resource which is the HWC, this center focuses on both students mental and physical health! As a first-gen student make sure you stop by to get a check up sometime!
In this episode First- Gen Table Talks has the honor of hosting three women who have made history here on ATU Campus. Guests are Dr. T, Taylor Wilkerson, and Kate Manuel!
This week we get to know Megan Bell she is the Coordinator of Civic and Community Engagement and Leadership Development for the Department of Campus Life. This office has the honor of awarding Who's Who, The Service Excellence Award, Student Leader of the Month, and Student Leader of The Year! Feel free to explore this offices website and apply for these prestigious awards!
In this episode we celebrate Black History Month by inviting four of Arkansas Tech's Black Student Leaders Noah Sumler, Maddie Cook, Cynseree Ryan, Charles Moton. Many of who hold positions within Registered Student Orgs and are Student Workers.
In this episode we get to highlight a resource that is located in Rothwell Suite 107, featuring two guests from their office Kylia Stewart and Kristen Merritt Beck! In this episode we hear how Kylia has grown into her career as a First-Gen and now uses those experiences to help others as well as how Kristen has found meeting the needs of First-Gen students to be a rewarding experience. Both ladies walk us through how they help First- Gen students and what services and events their office offers!
In this episode we get to highlight a resource that is also located in Doc Bryan 171, featuring special guest Rhylie Gachot as she takes us though her own first- gen student experience and how she came to be the Assistant Dean of Campus Life at ATU and what that means for students!
In this episode we are joined by a very special person to me, Lindsey Reidmueller who is the Assistant Dean of TRIO SSS here at ATU. In this episode she helps us get to know the valuable resource that SSS is and can be for First-Generation Students
As we highlight resources on campus, maybe one of the most important ones is The Tech Learning Center (TLC), represented by William Scott Tomlin in this weeks episode. While we learn to navigate college as first-generation students it is also important to learn skills to keep our grades up, and in honor of making it though midterms... lets see what our tutoring services have to offer!
On this episode, we get to know the Associate Dean for Multicultural Student Services, Malik McBride, as he tells us a bit about his First-Gen college experience and what kind of Resource he aims to become for our First-Gen Students!
In this episode, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with two of Arkansas Tech's Latina student leaders Sofia Guerrero and Litzi Baltazar. They are the current presidents of 3 out of 4 of the Hispanic/Latinx Student Organizations here on campus!
An introduction of who the new host is and what the podcast will be about! As well as a few tips that will help First- Generation students.
The ending of one era and the beginning of a new one, Lesly and Aileen take on this episode and run through Lesly's experience as the founding student worker of the First Gen Table Talks podcast.
On this episode, we talked to Kylia Stewart and Yushia Thao, who work in the Norman Career Services Office. It's important to talk about all the resources Arkansas Tech has to provide, especially to our First-Generation students.
As Women's History Month comes to an end, two First-Gen student leaders talk about the adversities they have faced as being young women of color. Star Douangchanh and Kristin Hardy are both Seniors at Arkansas Tech.
March is Women's History Month and as we continue to celebrate and honor women all around us, we took a moment to sit and chat with Natasha Golden. Natasha is a graduate assistant for Student Transition and the Campus Life Department.
As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, we asked our Black student leaders to share with us on how they have made an impact on campus. Morgan Smith, Jaelun Thomas, and Kenneth Wade give us an insight on their journey as leaders.
This episode is all about highlighting the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Arkansas Tech. Caylin Allen, the graduate assistant for DDI talks about their resources and upcoming events.
As we dive into a new year and a new semester, reflecting upon one's actions is important. It's a new year with new beginnings and we talk all about it. This episode is a casual conversation with Paris Thompson, a freshman at Arkansas Tech.
The month of November is a special month for First Generation because we celebrate National First Generation Week from November 7-11. This episode is a casual conversation with Sierra Smith, a graduate student at Arkansas Tech.
Arkansas Tech's Homecoming was celebrated on October 10-15th. Paula Gonzalez and Marquis Vasquez are the newly selected homecoming queen and king for the 2022 school year. They both share their experiences as they went through the process of being nominated to selected.
As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, this episode is about different Latino/a students sharing their struggles as first-gen students: Litzi Baltazar, Aidin Lopez, Cristi Mena, and Rodrigo Reyes all share their personal experiences.
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, this episode is about learning the different terms/labels that people are identifying themselves as. Daniel Gonzalez and Mario Mendez both share their thoughts on the terms: Hispanic, Latino/a, Latinx, and Latine.
On this episode, we have three first-gen students who are members of Greek Life here at ATU. Tendai Chiutare from Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, Aileen Rivera from Delta Zeta, and Noah Sumler from Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity. They share their experiences as first-gen students who are affiliated with Greek Life.
It's a new semester and that means SEASON 2 of First Gen Table Talks is here! This episode is about tips and tricks for studying and the importance of getting involved on campus.
As we continue to move forward with the transition to college, we continued speaking with Alyson Caldwell, Sofia Guerrero, and Yeymi Rosales. This episode consists of giving tips and advice to make the transition to college easier to both students and families.
This bonus episode speaks directly to the incoming class of '26, where we have freshman students talk about their transition coming to college. Angel Hernandez, Alyson Caldwell, Sofia Guerrero, and Yeymi Rosales all speak about their freshman experience.
Our last episode of this season is about mental health. Hunter Bramlitt is one of Arkansas Tech's counselors, who shared tips on how to take care of our mental health state.
Natasha Golden and Tia Brown are two Arkansas Tech graduate students who share their stories of what it's like to be in graduate school.
On this episode, Deidra Dillard, First-Generation Student Experience Coordinator was invited to discuss the checklist of the things students should do before heading home for the summer.
In honor of celebrating Women's History Month, we had two young women Noelia Lopez and Olivia Rowe share their stories as First-Generation women attending Arkansas Tech.
In honor of Black History Month, we had four students share their experiences attending Arkansas Tech University as POC.
Arkansas Tech students Taylor Wilkerson, Daniel Gonzalez, and Nigel Lewis share their stories detailing their experiences of being a minority at a predominantly white institution.
Arkansas Tech has a student led organization dedicated for First Generation Students. Elli White and Dakota Bridges, who are freshman at Tech share their stories as they are part of this organization.
This episode is an interview with Arkansas Tech Alumni, Brent Garrett, who graduated in 1988 with a business degree. He now owns a successful business, Sirius Plumbing & Air-Conditioning.
In this episode, Evelin Leon and Justin Fuentes stop by and discuss their experiences being first generation students at Arkansas Tech University.
This episode focuses in depth of what it means to be a first generation student. We invited a few first gen students that attend Arkansas Tech University, to share their experiences first hand, of being a first generation student.
An introduction of what the podcast will be about which is what First-Generation is and a brief introduction of who the host is.