To prepare for the conference, U-FLi Center staff and students have collaborated with 1vyG’s parent organization, EdMobilizer, since February, with Brown seniors and conference co-chairs Gabriel Herrera and Jennifer Tran leading the charge.

“1vyG has always been student led, and we really want to carry that from year to year,” Tran said. “We can identify what first-gen students want and need the most, because we’re the ones actually living that experience.” 

Conference attendees will participate in a wide variety of programs and events over the weekend, each designed to support first-generation and low-income students. Presenter panels and poster sessions, student-led workshops, professional development seminars and a career fair will be punctuated by opportunities for students connect on a more personal level, like a social mixer and community open mic night. 

Each event ties into the conference’s theme, “In Motion,” meant to highlight the evolving needs of students, Herrera said. 

“At first, the approach to advising and supporting first-generation students was very academically focused, with help for extra school expenses and textbooks and things like that,” Herrera said. “Now, it’s really grown beyond that into a holistic community. There is no one way to be first-gen, and similarly, there is no singular first-gen experience.” 

In fact, it is the vast and varied experiences of first-generation students that make the 1vyG conference so special, Tran said. By hearing from one another, students from across the country can bring new perspectives, ideas and frameworks back to their respective institutions. 

“It will be really interesting to see what other schools have, what they can teach us and vice versa,” Tran said. “I wonder how students can become more connected across institutions and how we can best advocate or each other.”

1vyG’s return to Brown is particularly meaningful to Tran and Herrera not just as conference co-chairs, but as close friends who were united through the U-FLi community and will soon graduate and venture beyond the Van Wickle Gates as members of the Class of 2025. The two met during their first year at Brown as participants in what is now known as the Kessler Scholars Program and were part of the inaugural cohort of U-FLi peer counselors. 

“We’ve been involved in the center every single year that we’ve been here, and especially as seniors, it feels like 1vyG’s return is the culmination of all of that work,” Tran said. “It’s a great way to show others what we do here, because we’re really proud of the community.” 

Since its launch in 2016 with Reyes as its director, the U-FLi Center has grown from a single staff member working to support first-year students to a team of three professional staff members and 14 student employees dedicated to providing peer counseling, connection and entry points for students throughout every year of their Brown education. 

It’s not the center’s expanded footprint on campus that instills the most pride in Reyes, he says: It’s the change in culture and conversation surrounding first-generation students. 

“Students feel like they’re capable of succeeding at Brown because of their experiences, rather than feeling like those same experiences are hindrances to them,” Reyes said. “I’ve noticed that narrative shift, and it’s been very empowering for students to realize they can be successful in multiple ways because of their backgrounds.”