PIVOT program provides resources to help first-generation UTSA students graduate
(October 4, 2016) -- Nearly half of the students attending The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) are first-generation students and there is a program that is making sure they have a support system in place to reach their highest potential. The First to Go and Graduate initiative (F2G&G) is part of the PIVOT for Academic Success program at UTSA.
Students involved in the program are matched with a faculty coach and a peer mentor. Both faculty coaches and peer mentors know what students are going through because they are also the first in their family to go to college.
Jacqueline Contreras is a UTSA graduate student and says she finds fulfillment in being a PIVOT mentor.
“I believe the program is important because it allows students to help guide other students,” said Contreras. “We all need support to reach our highest potential and PIVOT offers that support.”
There are currently 15 faculty coaches who are top-tier researchers and scholars supporting students, though many others would like to participate.
“Since I am a first-gen myself, I share similar experiences with first-gen students,” said faculty coach Edwin Barea-Rodriguez.
Each mentee is placed in a F2G&G familia or family where they are able to meet other first-generation students.
“One thing I love about PIVOT is the sense of family. Since joining the program I have felt a sense of home,” said Kirby Dolliole, a junior accounting major from Dallas who is a PIVOT mentee.
First-generation students on campus come from different cities but have similar stories to share.
Aimee Almanza is a senior psychology major at UTSA from Weslaco and says she loves PIVOT because it has allowed her to network and get work experience.
“My faculty mentor is amazing. Dr. Harriett Romo helped me find an internship that fits my needs,” said Almanza.
First to Go and Gaduate is one of four programs included in the PIVOT initiative in place at UTSA to prepare, inspire and help first-generation students complete their undergraduate degrees.
PIVOT for Academic Success is supported by a $3.25 million Hispanic Serving Institution Title V Collaborative Grant awarded to UTSA last October.
UTSA, a designated Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI), draws 98 percent of its students from Texas, with the majority coming from Bexar County, Harris County and the Rio Grande Valley region. More than half of UTSA students are Hispanic, and nearly half are first-generation college students.
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