Finding community and belonging is a tall task for any newly inducted college student. But the stakes are even higher for those whose collegiate careers are unprecedented within their families.
An estimated one in three students at Santa Fe College are first-generation, meaning they are the first in their families to attend college. To recognize and support these students, Santa Fe will host its inaugural first-gen leadership conference Nov. 7. The conference is funded by a $5,000 grant from the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.
Santa Fe is one of only 26 educational institutions in the nation to receive the grant. Its provisions were clear: celebrate first-gen success.
Planning and preparation
The conference will dive into topics to develop students’ professional skills, according to Santa Fe first-gen advisory group co-chair Shanna Ratliff. The hands-on activities include resume workshops and opportunities for professional headshot.
“I think it’s going to be fun,” Ratliff said. “I just love that we get to offer something fresh for these students.”
The conference will help students connect with like-minded peers while exploring academic passions, Ratliff said. Students were involved in planning the conference, getting the chance to bring their perspectives and creativity to the table.
Ratliff helped write the grant proposal after attending a first-gen career conference at Florida International University in April with some of her students. Ratliff described it as transformational for the students that attended, as they were given the chance to connect with first-gen students across the country, participate in career readiness activities and listen to footnote speakers.
“I came back and I was like, ‘this is something I would really like to do,’” she said. “We can’t afford to take every student to Miami for a conference.”
Friday’s conference will be free and accessible to all first-gen Santa Fe students.
Ratliff became involved with the advisory group about five years ago, following her personal experience as a first-gen student at Santa Fe from 1999-2007.
She assumed the advisory role after earning her master’s at FIU in 2009. It felt like a natural fit to her, she said, and she considers herself lucky to help the same demographic she was once part of.
At the conference, Ratliff looks forward to the student-led fashion show the most, she said, which will feature various categories, such as interview or conference attire.
Students can develop their unique styles in the fashion show by creating their own outfits and modeling them on a runway. This will help students learn to personalize their outfits in a business setting, she said. Clothing will be accessible for students at Saints Share Wear, an on-campus resource which provides students with affordable clothing priced at a dollar or less apiece.
“I want to honor their personal style, too,” Ratliff said. “It doesn’t just have to be a suit and tie.”
The conference will feature guest speakers, like Helda Montero, a Santa Fe psychology professor with a background in career counseling.
Her speech will focus on career selection, personal values and imposter syndrome, or feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt. Because first-gen students are the first in their families to attend college, she said, some of them may feel out of place in doing something new.
“It can feel like everybody else knows what they’re doing but them,” Montero said. “So it can feel like you’re the only one. That can feel isolating.”
Montero hopes to help first-gen students overcome their insecurities and anxieties to become natural trailblazers, she said.
The first-gen perspective
Gloria Picaso, a 34-year-old Santa Fe social work major, is involved in the college’s first-gen advisory group under Ratliff and plans to attend the leadership conference.
Picaso was one of 11 students who attended the conference in Miami, which she said helped her find meaning in her education. She discovered a passion for social work she never knew she had after hearing Janett Cordoves, one of the panelists, speak about her experience in a nonprofit organization, which existed to help children and teenagers in education, housing and community experiences.
“Having this conference, I feel, would give others the chance to find that clarity or that purpose,” Picaso said.
Picaso was out of school for almost 12 years, she said, and the time away from education was mainly spent raising her child and working jobs to provide for her family. She earned her high school diploma at 32 years old in 2022 from Penn Foster, and she enrolled at Santa Fe to continue her education, making her the first person in her family to attend college.
She decided to attend college partially because her living expenses have increased, and she felt a college education was necessary to obtain a higher-paying career.
“Just knowing that I couldn’t advance further in jobs or employment without education was a motivation,” Picaso said.
Picaso said her experience in first-gen advisory has been positive, and she’s gained a support group from it. It’s made her feel like she’s not alone in her journey, she said.
Lilith Little, a 19-year-old Santa Fe journalism sophomore, is another first-gen student who will attend the conference. She decided to pursue a college education on a whim after her high school digital video technology teacher suggested it. Once she began her curriculum at Santa Fe, she found her passion in journalism.
Little said she feels connected to her first-gen advisors on a more personal level than her general advisors. General advising was confusing for her at times, she said, because there were a lot of terms she didn’t understand.
“I didn’t know what a grant was,” Little said. “I didn’t know about even some of the programs at the school that we had.”
First-gen students often lack the resources to learn and understand what other college students consider to be common knowledge, Little said. She learned how to navigate university best in settings personalized for first-gen students.
The conference will take place from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Santa Fe’s northwest campus Nov. 7. Students must sign up prior to the event.
Contact Leona Masangkay at lmasangkay@alligator.org. Follow them on X @leo_amasangkay.
Leona is a second-year journalism student and the Fall 2025 Santa Fe College reporter. They previously worked on the audience and growth team over the summer as a social media strategist. In their free time, Leona enjoys going to the gym, listening to music and watching Marvel movies.
