The First-Gen Lounge

I couldn't wait to tell you about my experience with the peanut butter, fried banana, and bacon burger the other week. Like... I can't wait to try it again because it's become one of my favorite. If you know me, then you know that I looooove a good burger. And, I'll say, it's crazy how life sends us messages in some of the least expected ways. Mine... A burger! Join The First-Gen Lounge Family: ww...

How do you go from homeless to being a Gates Millenium Scholar? What do you do to pull yourself out of poverty to create a better life for yourself? How do you face the world as a bi-racial woman? In our conversation with Kayla, we learn that the key is you believe in something greater, deeper, and more powerful than you. Kayla Storrs is a Gates Millennium Scholar, higher education professional, f...

How has the way you were born and raised shaped you? Have you ever found yourself wanting to stretch your wings, try something new, but not really knowing how to go about doing it? Jay Hayes, a native of Mississippi, talk with us about what it means to decide you who want to be, pursue that person, and taking care of yourself (mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) in the process. Jay is a biling...

I'm trying something a little new this week. In this week's episode, I'll be answering a question submitted by first-gen family member, Mike. Book Dr. Eve: www.thepurposeprofessor.com/passthemic . Join The Purpose Professor Family: www.thepurposeprofessor.com/family . Submit A Question for the Show: www.thepurposeprofessor.com/ask . Track by The Boy: https://theboy.beatstars.com/music/tracks . Hos...

How do you find your voice in a world that's constantly telling you who and what to be? How do you recognize when your voice has evolved? Even more, when you recognize the change, what do you do about it? Rapper turned podcaster, Quay (also known as Kain), knows a thing or two about discovering, rediscovering, and owning one's voice. Quay is an artist that creates community through education, art,...

Happy 7-0-4! As a Charlotte, North Carolina native, this is one of my favorite days of the year... because it's 704. Anywho... Life can be a winding road; however, no matter how the path may be, one of the things that we have to come to understand is that we are responsible for ourselves. Sabian, in spite of the circumstances that life presented him, learned this lesson at an early age and since h...

How does a Black woman with a successful career in tech end up becoming a full-time entrepreneur in interior design? Here's the answer: She found an outlet! It's important for all of us, no matter what we do, to find something that we truly enjoy doing... something that excites and fulfills us. So, here's to exploration and creating balance! Connect with Ebony: www.thevogueroom.co , www.instagram....

What do you do when you’re stuck? How long do you stay stuck? The trouble with being stuck is that, more often than not, we find ourselves in a negative head space that can put a damper on our overall well-being. In today’s session, you’ll walk through a process for getting unstuck so that you don’t have to stay in your head (or feelings) too long. Guest Blog Post for First-Gen Rise: https://www.f...

Have you ever had an idea that you just set on because you didn't know what to do with it? Is that idea still something that you roll around in your mind? Can you imagine what your life would be if you challenged yourself to bring that idea to life? Our friend, Kymone, decided to do just that... he left ministry to make his ideas come to life. For him, the ideas lead him to entrepreneurship, podca...

For-profit or non-profit? Business suit or business casual? What is a mentor? How is a mentor different from a sponsor? Natural hair or relaxed? How can I express my individuality in the workplace? Is your head spinning yet because... the questions don't stop there. Ayi yi yi! So many things to consider as a first-generation college graduate turn professional; however, Dr. Tasha Gardner is here to...

Have you ever heard that saying that failure is not final? While there will be times in life when circumstances may not turn out as planned, that does not me it is the end for us. As a matter of fact, our guest, Dr. Mia D. Johnson, is proof that you can bounce back. Although she flunked out of her first year of college, she'd go on to become a first-generation college graduate, Ph. D., Vice Chance...

What happens when organizations (like Students Rising Above--an organization committed to helping first-generation, low-income students thrive) invests in its youth? The doors of opportunity open, lives are impacted, and generations are changed... this is what happens when students rise above! Hailing from San Pablo, California born but born in Michoacan, Mexico, we have with us Brenda Valadez--a...

Three years. Threeeeee years. The Purpose Professor Limited Liability Company turned THREE today. Wow! Super excited and reflective, I decided to share with you the nine (9) lessons that I've learned as an entrepreneur thus far. Join The First-Gen Lounge Family: www.thefirstgenlounge.com/family . Track by The Boy: https://youtu.be/_CWl6ybtHyE . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...

Celebrating TEN years of being a first-generation graduate--an alumnus of Shaw University. So, in this episode, it's no script or plan... I'm purely reflecting and sharing my honest thoughts and feelings about the past ten years of my life to commemorate this day. I don't doubt that I could have talked muuuuuuuch longer and said many more things; however, I thought I'd share what's on my heart......

Where are my first-gen Mamas? Heeeey, Girl! I am super PROUD of you... and I see you, literally because... With us this week is a native of Southern California, Janet Reyes who is a Mexican-American first-gen Speech Pathologist Graduate Student, who proves that it's NEVER too late to go back to school. For those of you first-gen Mamas out there who need a little push, Janet's story is guaranteed t...

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. So, I ask… What are you doing to take care of yourself? What are your self-care practices? Are you getting the help that you need to be emotionally well? Dr. Danica Harris delivers a much-needed reminder to that you must not only empower yourself, but… you be proactive in taking care of YOU! Dr. Danica Harris is a therapist and co-owner of a private practice i...

When you realize that something needs to change, do you sit back do nothing or dare to do something? One part of being a first-gen is learning to navigate the world AND realizing when to take action. In this session, Diarra Clarke chats with us about her experiences through education and yoga led her to want to make a difference in her community through both education and spiritually. Diarra Clark...

Life is filled with so many transitions... so much change and all of the time. While we can expect for the changes to happen, we don’t always realize what those changes will mean to us once things settle—we don’t actually “feel it” until things settle. So, during the many changes and transitions of your own life, I’d like to offer you five quick tips for navigating new chapters. Keep pressing forw...

What do you do when you've worked hard all of your life just to get to your dream and realize you don't want it? Leander D. Williams, Jr. always wanted to be a lawyer. In his mind, it was the thing to do--a way out of poverty and path to financial freedom. However, he'd made it to law school (a dream realized) just to find it was no longer the dream. While he went on to finish the journey he start...

True or False: Just because your parents didn’t go to college means they can’t inspire you to go. Answer: False. While Dr. Kamshia Child’s parents never went to college, bringing home the newspaper and encouraging her to read fed into her love for learning which turned into her quest for higher education—a journey that would lead her down a path to make great strides and impact in BOTH K-12 and po...

As we are bringing Women’s History Month to a close on a Thursday, I’d like throw it back to exactly ONE year ago to our session with Tekita Bankhead, Founder and Chief-Editor for The Pedestal Project, who was also the FIRST person to agree to be a part of the show’s transition (back then The Purpose University Podcast) to what it has become today. Looking back over the past year in particular, th...

Rejection really, really, really sucks! Even more than it sucking… it is not something that we can avoid no matter how hard we try. However, what if it didn’t have to suck so badly? What if you could change your mind about rejection to see it as an opportunity for growth rather than a dead end? Let’s challenge our thoughts today about dealing with rejection! Join The First-Gen Lounge Family: www.t...

On the quest for success, how important is it for us to see people who look like us in places that we want to go? So often, our ideas of thriving in our lives and careers can be contingent on seeing, and meeting, people are where we want to be. As we're celebrating Women's History Month, I had the pleasure of speaking with Danielle Beale about what it means to do away with societal norms (gender,...

One thing that continues to stick out to me about this chat is that... We all want more for our lives, but... to get more we can't sit around and wait for others to give us more--we must choose to not be victims of our circumstances and learn to show up for ourselves (even in hardship). In this conversation with Dr. Shameka N. Stanford, the power of people believing in you, pursuing higher educati...

It's the last day of Black History Month! While you've probably been celebrating all month, the pride of being Black shouldn't stop today. Speaking of being proud about being Black... Have you ever heard someone say that Black people are like crabs in a barrel? Ouuuch! Well, Dr. Rodney Smith has come today to help us re-think it was means for Black folk to be able to come together for the greater...