Professor shares First-Gen experience

Dr. Efren Velazquez was inspired by his father, who had only a sixth-grade education, and his mother. Both encouraged him to pursue higher education. He believes his academic career — bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees — will help students and those he mentors through UNG's First-Generation Initiative.

"I use my experience as a First-Generation college student to mentor students. And I've been very, very happy to see how some of my mentees are getting master's degrees, Ph.D.s, and getting jobs," he said.  "I recently had dinner with one of my former mentees, who graduated from UNG last year during the spring semester. I try to pass on my experience as a First-Gen to future generations so they can learn from my mistakes and also so they can thrive. And we can then sit down and have a meal and talk about that experience."

Now an associate professor of psychology at UNG, Velazquez shared some advice for potential First-Generation students.

"I always tell my students it's OK to make mistakes. Just learn from those mistakes. You're not going to be perfect," he said.  "It is very scary but learn and you will grow. Get out of your comfort zone."

His second piece of advice focused on the classroom.

"Talk to professors. We're human beings and we're here to help the students achieve their goals," he said. "You don't have to choose your degree or what you will be doing for the rest of your life that first year. Take some courses, see what you like. See what you don't like."

His final piece of advice? Enjoy the ride.

"College is all about growth. It's all about learning who you are, and it's also all about interacting with people who are similar and who are different than you," he said.

Velazquez shared he lived five hours from home for his undergraduate degree.

"I was five hours away from my parents. I learned the hard way. It was not easy," he said. "When I went to grad school, I applied across the country. So I kept on getting out of my comfort zone, and I felt like I kept on growing because of that."

The physical distance prevented him from going home until Thanksgiving his first semester as an undergrad, leaving him feeling overwhelmed and depressed.

"I started making friends, going out with them. I started doing things that I enjoyed: going to the movies, going to the sporting events. Almost on a daily basis. It's an experience," he said. "Find a mentor or mentors that will help you out, because I feel like that was very, very important for my journey as a First-Generation college student. I found mentors who were then my recommendation letter writers, and even today, those professors are still my mentors."