First Gen Stories
Being the Future: New Course Welcomes First-Gen Students to the School of Humanities
Transitioning to life at UCI comes with a steep learning curve. This is especially true for first-gen students, who...
Introducing the New Director of the First Generation Faculty Initiative!
As we celebrate UCI First-Gen Day on November 8, 2021, we would like to highlight some of the incredible ways that...
UCI Alum Angel Lira on Discovering His Own Brand of Success
Angel Lira’s future is looking brighter than ever. After graduating in 2020, Angel participated in the Coro Southern...
Just Say Yes: UCI Alumna Emily Ha on Taking Risks and Pursuing Your Passion
For Emily Ha, who graduated in 2021 with a double major in Business Economics and Public Health Policy, UCI offered a...
Your Impact at UCI: Supporting SSI
Every year, Student Success Initiatives (SSI) offers programs, services, and resources that support UCI’s diverse...
Stepping up to the Challenge: What UCI is Doing to Serve First-Generation Students
Despite being one of the newer campuses in the illustrious University of California (UC) system, the University of...
Venturing Ahead: UCI Alumna Anh Tran Talks Entrepreneurship and Startup Success
The UCI Women in Leadership series is dedicated to amplifying the stories and voices that have historically been...
Paving the Way: UCI Alumna JuHee Kim on Diversity, Leadership and the First-Gen Experience
For UC Irvine (UCI) alumna JuHee Kim, her role as Managing Director of VaynerMedia LA is just the latest in her long...
From ball to ballet
With scholarship support, first-gen student pursues second passion: performing arts
California dreamin’
With fellowship support, Stacy Ann Suarez Cham is pursuing her goal of a Ph.D. in ecology & evolutionary biology
Helping first gen undergrads thrive, not just survive!
During her first year as a professor of Chicano/Latino Studies and History at UCI, Anita Casavantes Bradford published...
Bridging the Gap: How SSI Empowers Student Confidence
University of California, Irvine student Britanny Duong explains how programs offered by Student Success Initiatives have helped her recognize her potential, built her self-confidence, and empowered her to pursue success.
From Freshman Year to the Future: How SSI Programs Set Students Up for Success
For many incoming freshmen, the idea of completely transitioning to life at the University of California, Irvine (UCI)...
SSI: Helping Students Find Success Through Community and Support
In the summer of 2017, Nancy Duong was like many incoming freshmen who were looking for a way to prepare for life at...