Registration now open for First-Gen Student Support Summit

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — All members of the Penn State community are invited to register now for the third annual First-Gen Student Support Summit on April 3. 

This year’s summit will focus on the experience and intersectionality — how intersecting social and political identities relate to systems of oppression and discrimination — of first-generation college students. Full details, including registration links, can be found at success.psu.edu/events.  

The keynote speaker for 2024 will be Alejandra Campoverdi, a nationally recognized women’s health advocate, author, founder, producer and former White House aide to President Barack Obama. Her award-winning novel, “First Gen: A Memoir,” focuses on the emotional toll of social mobility of first-generation students, which she refers to as “first and onlys.” 

Campoverdi served the Obama administration as the first White House deputy director of Hispanic media. She produced and appeared in the PBS documentary “Inheritance” and is a founder of the Latinos & BRCA, in reference to the gene that can give rise to breast cancer when mutated, awareness initiative in partnership with Penn Medicine’s Basser Center for BRCA. Campoverdi holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California.  

Campoverdi’s keynote, which kicks off the summit, will be hosted during an in-person breakfast at the University Park campus and livestreamed for virtual participants. For those attending in-person, breakfast will begin at 8:15 a.m. in the Founder’s Lounge, Bryce Jordan Center, with Campoverdi’s keynote starting at 8:30 a.m.  

Summit presentations, ranging from student panel discussions to data insights and best practices, will be hosted virtually through Zoom and streamed on Whova, a virtual conference platform. Space is limited, so register early to confirm a spot.  

Now in its third year, the First-Gen Student Support Summit brings together more than 400 Penn State faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and graduate and undergraduate students each spring who share a commitment to supporting first-generation student success.  

Penn State defines “first-generation student” as any student whose immediate parents or legal guardians have not completed a baccalaureate degree. Approximately one in four undergraduate students at Penn State identify as first-generation, according to demographic data from the Office of Planning, Assessment and Institutional Research.  

Questions about the summit can be directed to the Student Success Center at uestudentsuccess@psu.edu. 

The Student Success Center is part of Penn State Undergraduate Education.