Hello and welcome to FuturesNW Student Speaker Series where we share stories by students, for students, from students. We believe that students are the experts at navigating tricky post-secondary systems and their stories have the power to dismantle secret handshakes that are barriers for first gen students succeeding in higher education. In this video, Johana interviews Cynthia Cruz who shares about the their experience in college and the new program they are starting!

The First-Gen Navigators program is a collaborative partnership between FuturesNW and Western Washington University to connect first-generation students of color with mentors to help guide them through their first year of college. Cynthia Cruz, a Western Washington University senior and FuturesNW team member has created this program to support incoming freshmen students in their first year. This mentorship program is led by current students of color who have navigated the same systems and are driven to support the next generation of leaders succeeding in higher education. Each mentee will be guided in a series of resource navigation workshops and community building activities to help them get the support they deserve in completing their degrees. To join this year’s cohort, click the link below to register and get paired with a mentor. Due to COVID-19 all workshops and activities will be through Zoom until it is safe to meet up in person.

Registration link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/J6HGRMW

Helpful GUR and class registration links:

Rate My Professor: https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/

GUR: https://www.wwu.edu/advising/doc/GURc...

Classfinder: https://admin.wwu.edu/pls/wwis/wwskti...

Tutorials on how to use the above-mentioned links:

Rate my Professor: https://youtu.be/9d8_svR-Mvs

GUR: https://youtu.be/T82pNfuHZpY

Classfinder: https://youtu.be/62KAniMug5M

More questions? Contact Ashley DeLatour at adelatour@futuresnw.org

For more resources, information and stories of first gen students check out our resources below.

Website: http://www.futuresnw.org