My name is Veronica "Ronnie"
Venture. I'm a first generation
professional from Guyana and I'm
currently the Deputy Officer for
Civil Rights and Civil
Liberties. I'm the director of
EEO and diversity at the
Department of Homeland Security.
As with most parents but
especially immigrant parents
education and having a better
life and more opportunities then
they had was very important.
Although my parents wanted the
best for me, they're educated in
Guyana and didn't know how to
help me navigate through
college. I distinctly remember
how unprepared I was with
college. When I showed up to my
dorm room with only two
suitcases and none of the dorm
essentials like sheets.
College was difficult as I
battled the imposter syndrome,
had very little money and often
feeling out of place as I was
embarrassed to bring friends
home on break and could't afford
spring break vacations like most
of the other students. Some of
whom had Porches. Since then
I've learned to overcome the
shame associated with my humble
beginnings even though I still
live in fear that one day
someone will notice that I'm not
as smart or as capable as I
think I am. So Law school taught
and prepared me for a lot of
unwritten rules in my career
such as judges expectations,
etiquette, dress and appearance,
and communication skills. So
when I started my career as a
law clerk and became a trial
attorney, I was much better
prepared than had been for
college.
My mentors and social networks
were not only important in
showing me how things worked,
but also pushed me to my full
potential and provided necessary
encouragement.
I had a boss who took me under
his wing and pushed me to take
up a lot of leadership roles. He
guided me, had faith in me,
recognized my capabilities, and
gave me more responsibilities
when he thought I was ready and
taught me to be an effective
supervisor. Whether because of a
knowledge gap or feeling fear as
F. G. P. I still find it hard to
self advocate for myself in
these situations. But it's
important for FGPs to remember,
you are worthy, you are capable,
and you do have the
qualifications. I hope this
intiative will lead to programs
and workshops to give other FGPs
a similar experience that I had
in regards to my support system.
Whether that be a mentor,
colleague that will help FGPs
navigate right off the bat and
enable them to fully leverage
the qualifications they bring as
well as the grit and tenacity from
overcoming obstacles and challenges.
My name is Sahil Lauji and I am
a first generation, low income
college student from Atlanta
Georgia.
My mother worked in the real
estate industry until the market
crash in 2008 but without a
college education she had
challenges finding jobs
afterwards. My father worked at
a convenience store and was shot
and paralyzed in an armed
robbery during my sophomore year
of high school. When college
applications rolled around I was
left alone with deciding what
schools to apply to and how to
go about the application.
Luckily I came across programs
such as Quest Bridge that expose
low income students like myself to top
tier institutions across the country.
With the support of my father
and an assistant principal, I
applied to top tier universities
and was accepted to schools such
as Harvard, Princeton, and Duke.
And now I'm a junior at Harvard
studying government with a
secondary in comparative
religion and helping run
Harvard's first 1st generation
low income pre orientation
program.
Aside from often being one of
the only people of color in many
of my classes, I am also often
one of the few students from a
working class background.
In academic settings and extra
curriculars I am involved with,
it can be hard to relate to many
of my peers who have the
connections and networks that I
just don't have.
People from my background often
do not think about applying to
schools outside their state, so
without outreach programs and
the support of mentors I would
not be at Harvard today.
Coming from a first generation,
low income background I face
challenges with navigating
school resources, feeling
supported and adjusting to
social life on campus.
On the other hand, my wealthier
peers went to prep schools and
had parents that attended
college who could support them.
Despite this, I learned to not
have shame in asking for help or
support and instead am able to
take initiative in doing so.
Coming from humble beginnings I
knew early on that I needed to
be self motivated and
resourceful in order to succeed
and propel myself forward in this
challenging academic environment.
My name is David Ziaya and I am
currently the Chief
Administrative Officer of the US
Census Bureau. I'm a first
generation professional from a
small rural based community in
Michigan of roughly fourteen
hundred people.
My father worked at the local A
and P grocery store fifty miles
away as a Stocker/Checker in the
evening shift. My mother worked
as a medical transcriptionist at
the local hospital to help
supplement income once my
brother and I were old enough to
be home alone.
Going to college was always part
of the plan for me as my parents
wanted me to do better and more
with my life. I earned some
scholarships as the salutatorian
of my class and the scholarships
covered about half of my room
and board and tuition. So I
supplemented my financial aid
with a work study program.
Having to balance work and
school helped me develop a
strong work ethic and a
determination to succeed.
My first job in the federal
government was in the Chicago
office of public housing as a
housing management assistant GS7
with the promotion potential to
the GS12.
There are many ways in which I
was inadequately prepared for my
career but this example of
financial illiteracy is one I
will never forget. I found a
great high rise apartment
allowed me to walk to work and
get to know the city. Although I
had never paid rent before I did
the math based on my annual
salary and thought it was fine.
But I wasn't informed about
things like retirement, life
insurance, thrift savings plan,
and other deductions that
mysteriously appeared on my pay
stub. In the end my first
paycheck barely covered half of
my rent and I quickly realized this
was an unsustainable situation.
I wish there would have been
programs or classes to help
think about this and felt
foolish for not thinking about
it when deciding where to live.
My mentors and supervisors
helped me learn skills that
allowed me to be confident in my
new found abilities. I learned
how to be a part of a workplace
culture and how to successfully
navigate within that culture
through observation, commitment,
and being genuine to my
colleagues and the mission at
hand. I think that my parents
example of hard work to provide
for their family and sacrifices
were massive influencing factors
on who I am today.
