Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Brandi Ferrera

Degrees: BS in Marketing, MAT, Business Education

Favorite Class an Undergraduate: Advertising Concepts

HWS First Generation College Students Are: Special and so very fortunate!

Favorite Experience as a College Student: Working as an Orientation Leader. Getting involved on campus opened so many more opportunities for me. The friendships I made during that program have lasted through the years, even as the distance between us continues to grow.

I’m Proud of Being a First Generation Student Because: I have been able to grow in my career in a way that would not have been possible without a college education. Additionally, the sense of pride my family had when I walked across that stage is something words will never truly capture. I am still moved to tears when I think about the cheering – even the President commented on it as he shook my hand and handed me my diploma. 

Most Influential Personal in Your Life: I was fortunate to have a great mentor as an undergrad; at the time she was my supervisor in the Orientation Program. Celeste took me under her wing during training, which lasted an entire semester. She was also the director of the career center on my campus and helped me apply to graduate school, where she then hired me as a graduate assistant in her office. That is when I fell in love with Higher Ed and decided I wanted to pursue a career in Career Services. I finished my teaching degree but knew long before it was over that I had found my passion.

Becca Barile

Degrees: B.A. in English (Keuka College), M.A. in Social Sciences, Student Affairs and Diversity (Binghamton), Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership Studies (Northeastern)

Favorite Class as an Undergraduate: Western History

I'm Proud of Being a First Generation College Student Because: I navigated the search, decision, and payment on my own. Although I had encouragement, I had to do the planning on my own.

Favorite Experience as a College Student: Serving as a Resident Assistant

HWS First Generation College Students Are: Empowered

Most Influential Person in Your Life: My daughter. She helps me stay true to my personality, honest and connected to my inner child!

Jamie Bodenlos

Degrees: B.S. Psychology University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, M.A. Clinical Psychology Western Carolina University, Ph.D. Clinical Psychology Louisiana State University

Favorite Class an Undergraduate: Learning, this course was all about the behavioral theories of learning and I found it fascinating. Through one of the projects in the class, I discovered the field of Psychoneuroimmunology which piqued my interest in the ways in which physical and emotional health were linked.

HWS First Generation College Students Are: Both of my parents worked very hard to give me the opportunity to go to college and graduate school. My father is a brick layer and my mom did office work. They didn't have the opportunity to go to college so I made sure to take full advantage of going. They instilled in me the "blue-collar" work mentality which is one of the reasons I have been so successful in my career.

Favorite Experience as a College Student: Going to my first psychology conference was by far my favorite experience. I traveled in a van with my college professor and 4 other students to Boston, MA for the annual Eastern Psychology Association conference. Although I didn't present anything at this conference, the opportunity to see new research presented and get a feel for how conferences worked had a huge impact on my career trajectory.

Most Influential Personal in Your Life: This is a tough question to answer. Both of my parents have been strong influences on me. They instilled in me at an early age the importance of hard work, independence, and being responsible. Through their encouragement, I started working at the age of 14 and haven't stopped since. As both of my parents worked full-time and shared household duties, I had good role models for the importance of equality at home and at work.

Jerry Buckley P'15

Degrees: B.A in Political Science & Communications. M.S in Journalism

Favorite Class as an Undergraduate: Political Reporting & Writing.

I'm Proud of Being a First Generation College Student Because: I honored my parents' commitment to higher education for their children.

Favorite Experience as a College Student: Being a resident advisor and working for Newsweek Magazine.

HWS Students Are: Inspiring

Most Influential Person in Your Life: My five siblings, I am the youngest of six.

Nan Crystal Arens

Degrees: B.S. at Penn State, M.S. at Penn State, PhD at Harvard

Favorite Class an Undergraduate: Structural Geology - I learned that math actually applied to the "real world"

HWS First Generation College Students Are: Hungry to Learn, Trailblazers, Courageous

Favorite Experience as a College Student: As a geology student, every time I took a new course, I would see something new in the world that I hadn't noticed before. I loved driving past this big road cut on I80 on my way home each semester and seeing the same old outcrop in some new way.

I'm Proud of Being a First Generation College Student Because: My graduating from college made my Dad proud.

Most Influential Personal in Your Life: Professor Alfred Traverse - he convinced me that I could be a scientist.

Shelle Basilio-Murray

Degrees: B.A. in French and Romance Languages and a M.A. in Education

Favorite Class as an Undergraduate: French Cinema

I'm Proud of Being a First Generation College Student Because: I'm the only person in my entire extended family to hold a master's degree.

Favorite Experience as a College Student: Being an RA!

HWS First Generation College Students Are: Driven to succeed

Most Influential Person in Your Life: My Grandmother

Tom D'Agostino

Degrees: BA in Political Science and Spanish; MA and Ph.D. in Political Science

Favorite Class as an Undergraduate: Latin American and Caribbean Politics

HWS First Generation Students Are: Not Alone! There are a lot of people here willing and able to help you, just don't be afraid to ask.

I'm Proud of Being a First Generation College Student Because: It takes a lot of hard work and perseverance to be successful in college, and that was particularly true coming from a family that didn't have the knowledge about what college was like. The lessons I learned about how and when it was appropriate to seek out help, how to advocate for myself, and how to earn opportunities have been invaluable to me.

Favorite Experience as a College Student: Studying Abroad in Saltillo, Mexico

Most Influential Person in Your Life: Aside from my parents it would be Dr. Richard Hillman, one of my professors at St. John Fisher College. For whatever reason, he saw some potential in me and has helped me along at every stage of my career. I would not be here without his mentorship and support.