Who We Are
First-Gen Longhorns is a program that provides support to college students who are first-generation. First-generation (or first-gen, for short) college students are students whose parents or guardians have not had the opportunity to complete a bachelor's degree in the United States.
First-Gen Longhorns - including first-gen faculty and staff - are a fundamental part of our campus and a strong and proud part of the UT family. There are almost 10,000 first-gen undergraduates currently enrolled at UT Austin. That's one in four students!
First-Gen Longhorns hosts events throughout the year to provide students with the opportunity to meet fellow first-gen students, familiarize themselves with campus support systems, and prepare for success on the Forty Acres and beyond! Additionally, it creates a campus community for first-gen students through a comprehensive layering of academic, social and professional experiences, workshops, resources and events.
For more information, visit firstgeneration.utexas.edu or email firstgenlonghorns@austin.utexas.edu.
What We're Fundraising For
First-Gen Longhorns aspires to expand into a center, which will require our full-time staff to increase from one person to three.
By tripling its staff size, in addition to its current services, First-Gen Longhorns could:
- expand the size and scope of its first-year, First-Gen Transition & Success Coaching program beyond its current capacity.
- dedicate staff members to specifically oversee each of the following:
- university-wide development, communications and collaborations with faculty, staff and community partners.
- the expansion of programmatic offerings to include serving first-generation graduate students.
- all annual signature programming, including: First-Gen Camp, First-Gen Welcome, First-Gen Week and First-Gen Grad.
- develop a First-Gen Longhorn Alumni network within Texas Exes.
- establish a permanent student emergency fund within our center.
Your Impact
Your gift will help to expand a dynamic learning community where First-Gen Longhorns can continue to engage with a support network of current students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners who have navigated the first-gen college student experience before them, and who are passionate about sharing best-practices for academic, personal and professional success at UT.
First-Gen Longhorns would greatly benefit from donations of any size, and would appreciate you sharing our fundraising campaign with your networks on social media. Additionally, First-Gen Longhorns is also seeking recurring, large-scale funding contributions from individuals or entities interested in supporting our expansion.
Gratitude to Past 40 for Forty Campaign Donors
The continual expansion of First-Gen Longhorns would not have been possible without external and 40 for Forty donor support. In the last several 40 for Forty fundraising campaigns, the generosity of donors has allowed our program to:
- Increase the pay of our Transition & Success Coaching Staff from $10-15 per hour (2020-21).
- Double the size of our Transition & Success Coaching Staff from 10-20 members (2021-22).
- Establish a small student emergency fund to provide for students with atypical extra-curricular expenses (2022-23).
Contact Us
For more information or to contact us, visit firstgeneration.utexas.edu or email firstgenlonghorns@austin.utexas.edu.
