The First Gen Madrina

At the Diary, we decided to take a deeper dive into imposter phenomenon with Dr. Nicole Pulliam, our previous guest turned co-host! She shares with us about her identity and how it can often times affect our lives through this imposter phenomenon. She shares with us different tips for how to shut down this phenomenon and live lives on your terms! Join us for this powerful conversation!

Medina is an entrepreneur with not one but two amazing businesses! Medina Citi is a multi-media design haus and Equal Space is a co-working space that offers support to multi-cultural, LGBTQA, and women-own startups and ventures. Medina shares a powerful testimony with us of his struggles with his intersecting identities and how he works hard every day to be his authentic self. We get into a power...

Dear First Gens, identity is a loaded and complicated topic, but hey, we have to talk about it! In this episode, Sara is joined by previous guest turned co-host, Anyelina Diaz to exchange stories of identities. They discuss the challenges, how they have navigated the ups and downs, and how they manage the anxiety that comes up. They get real about being bullied, outcasted and shamed for our identi...

Dear First Gens, You ever go back and read a page in your diary and realize there's more to say? Or perhaps your perspective on that reflection has changed? We started Season 5 with some deeply vulnerable 2022 reflections. But as the season went on and our lives continued to evolve we wanted to share some additional after thoughts. Listen in as we explore the themes of self-discovery, forgive...

Dear First Gens, From her personal milestones to navigating the challenges of being a first-gen student, Alondra shares her journey with honesty and resilience. 🌟 Join us as we dive into Alondra's inspiring story on this week's episode. This incredible woman broke barriers by becoming the first in her family to graduate college and earn a master's degree. 🎓💪She will captivate you...

Dear First Gens, We're thrilled to introduce you to another phenomenal first-gen trailblazer who has navigated a juicy journey throughout her career in higher education. Meet Anyelina, better known as Angie Diaz, a warm and welcoming force of nature. Her story will captivate you from start to finish!  Join us as we delve into her remarkable milestones, rooted in her Dominican immigrant backgr...

Dear First Gens, As first gens, we often feel like the pressure of making our family's sacrifices worthwhile.  That can sometimes lead to pursuing life and career paths to fulfill their dreams, not ours.  In this episode, Christina Singh shares her journey of cultivating the COURAGE to her own path.  From leaving her home town of Florida to the BIG APPLE to pivoting out of the healthcare into...

Dear First Gens, If you've ever experienced "Imposter Syndrome" you DO NOT want to miss this episode! Dr. Nicole Pulliam offers a mind blowing reframe that will change how you experience that feeling of "not enough" based on extensive research that she's done AND her own experiences being the first in her family to earn a bachelor's, master's, phD as well as...

Dear First Gens, We are so excited to share with you all the story of Sara's first supervisor in Social Work and now dear friend. Michelle shares with us how after almost 20 years in Social Work, she decided to pursue her passion and become a professional organizer! Listen in to hear how Michelle navigates this new transition in her life and help her create a catchy name for her business. Sen...

Dear First Gens, What do you do when you've checked all the boxes to make your parents proud, reached high levels of achievement early into your dream career, and yet find yourself wanting something different? Our first guest of this season (and dear friend), Andres "Andy" Acebo shares how he made an unthinkable pivot that led to becoming the newly appointed interim-President of New...

Dear First Gens, For most of our lives, we make life choices with direction, guidance and approval of our family. So what happens when you decide to start living for YOU? Find out what led Sara to take a leap and how she's navigating her family's reactions along with these big life transitions at once. If you've been your family's keeper, the glue, the go to person, you will re...

Dear First Gens, Welcome to Season 5! In the spirit of vulnerability and sharing from a place of healing, this season we're bringing you reflections of a point in time. Think of it as opening up a diary to a previous entry and you get to share the wisdom that came from that experience. In this episode, co-host Anyelis shares how 2022 started off as a really hard year for her, dealt with three...

Dear First Gens, All season we've talked to current college students about their experience and in this final episode of the season, we bring you Juliana, who graduated this year with her Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling! Julian openly shares a journey that not many speak about which is the first gen graduate school journey and shares the jarring difference from undergrad, what no...

Dear First Gens, This episode with Ralph, a first gen college student in his junior year at Saint Peter's University will pull at your heartstrings. Ralph shares his journey of being born in Haiti, migrating to the USA as a 7yr old & adapting to a new culture. With an incredible sense of self, maturity & vulnerability Ralph opens up about how the loss of his mother keeps him grounded...

Dear First Gens, Most of our episodes are from first gens who share their college experience in retrospect. In this special episode, we hear from Nicholas Marshalls who started his first year at NJIT this Fall 2022! Tune into to hear Nick share the influence of his parents, the experiences of the NJIT EOP Summer Program and the impact college has had in his life thus far. Cheering On All First Gen...

Dear First Gens, This Season we're highlighting the stories of current first generation college students.  In this episode, we hear from Rachel Perez, a Cuban immigrant and the 2020 Cuban American Alliance for Leadership Education Scholar.  Though Rachel almost didn't go to college, getting accepted into Rutgers made her feel like she someone saw her potential and sparked a fire to be th...

Dear First Gens, Welcome to Season 4 of Diary of the First Gen Journey! November 8th is National First Generation College Celebration Day, honor the anniversary of the signing of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The Higher Education Act (“HEA”) emerged out of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty. On this day colleges and universities celebrate the success of first-generation college...

Dear First Gens, In this final episode of Season 3, Sara interviews her co-host Anyelis & her life partner, Jose! This episode is full of wisdom, vulnerability & banter from two immigrant kids, products of single mothers &  the Hudson County, NJ community.  Throughout 25yrs, Anyelis & Jose have been classmates, friends, romantic partners & divine mirrors who have been an integr...

Dear First Gens,  If you've ever wondered how people work full-time jobs AND manage businesses & projects, you'll want to tune into this episode with Choua & Dana, two of the three co-founders of CaliNDana!  Choua & Dana are first-gen, Asian women from Michigan, who followed the corporate career path which led them to the Big Apple and eventually down the path of pursuing ent...

Dear First Gens, You see the 10K+ Instagram account, filled with beautiful, award-winning photography and think - wow this a successful business! And then you see their personal accounts filled with heart-warming family moments (parents of 3 including twin girls!) & breathtaking travel landscapes and think - they are living the dream! Well, Richard & Andrea are definitely a power couple wh...

Dear First Gens, Welcome to Season 3 of the Diary of the First Gen Journey! We decided to make this season a little more interesting by speaking with 2 guests at a time AND focusing on first-gen entrepreneurs! In this first episode, Anyelis & Sara share their respective journeys & how they've intertwined. Anyelis, talks about how her mom's entrepreneurial journey made her conscio...

Dear First-Gens, When you come from a marginalized community, you don't realize that many of the challenges we face as first-gens come from the lack of resources, access & opportunity.  Charles Williamson , a classically trained Opera singer who has performed in Grammy Award winning shows like the MET's Porgy & Bess, shares how his rise to this point of his success feels almost l...

Dear First-Gens, When you're the first in your family in this country to go to college, you recognize the challenges that come along with being first, and then realize being first-gen means a lifetime of FIRSTS. In this episode, Viviana Zambrano , a leader in higher education programs for first-gen college students , walks us through some of her firsts from navigating college to career relate...

Dear First-Gens, You are in for a fabulous treat with this conversation about intersectional identities with Eduardo Placer, the Story Doula who empowers women to share their stories & amplify their voice with authentic power! Eduardo isn't just a public speaking coach and founder of Fearless Communicators , he's an incredible story teller!   Listen in how his imposter syndrome is ti...

Dear First Gens, Welcome to Season 2, where we talk about how first-gens experience scarcity mindset & imposter syndrome in different ways, and more importantly how shift to growth mindset and courageously navigate the journey!   In this episode, your hosts, Anyelis & Sara, share stories of how Scarcity Mindset has shown up for them in their career & finances . Anyelis shares how once...