Welcome Back, FGLI Trailblazers!

Whether you’re returning to campus or joining us for the very first time, we are so glad you’re here! This new semester is an opportunity to reconnect, reset, and remind ourselves that being first-generation and/or low-income is a strength at Cornell. We look forward to seeing you at 200 Barnes Hall and at our events.

💚 For our returning trailblazers: welcome home! We can’t wait to hear about the experiences you’re bringing back with you and to continue building on the goals you’ve set.

💚 For our new trailblazers: congratulations and welcome to the First-Gen & Low-Income (FGLI) community here at Cornell! Nearly 20% of your cohort are also the first in your immediate family to earn a 4-year college degree. You’re part of a strong, supportive network of students, staff, and faculty who are here to cheer you on, share resources, and walk alongside you as you navigate your college experience.

What's new with us?

• This semester, we are dedicating our student lounge to social and study days, open to all! We've been redecorating our space into a student lounge, decked out with board games, coloring pages, free coffee, tea, and light snacks (for study days), and more!
• Our first-gen student staff, the Peer Navigators, will also host office hours to help you navigate resources to support your success both inside and outside the classroom.

• We will continue to host educational workshops throughout the year! They will start in September.
• We're continuing our community and social events! Stay tuned by following our Instagram.

Meet our Senior Associate Dean, Michelle Van-Ess Grant

Senior Associate Dean of Students, The Centers for Student Equity, Empowerment, and Belonging
mv482@cornell.edu

Michelle Van-Ess Grant, Ed.D. (she/her) serves as the Senior Associate Dean of Students for the Centers for Student Equity, Empowerment, and Belonging (The Centers) at Cornell University. In the role, she provides strategic leadership for the Centers’ team, which aims to cultivate co-curricular identity-based programs, resources, and community space. The Centers are comprised of the Asian and Asian-American, LGBT Resource Center, and Gender Equity Resource Centers, and Black Student Empowerment, First Generation & Low-Income Student Support, Latinx Student Empowerment, Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making, Undocumented & DACA Student Support Offices. Michelle also serves as the co-chair for the student Bias Assessment and Review Team (BART) 

Michelle holds a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Broadcasting from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck Campus. Michelle furthered her education by earning an M.A. in Higher Education Student Affairs with a concentration in Counseling at New York University, and she recently received her doctoral degree at Northeastern University. Her doctoral research focuses on exploring the lived experiences of black employees at Predominantly White Institutions.

Meet our Associate Director, Victor Cuicahua

Associate Director for Student Empowerment, Undocumented & DACA Student Support
vc356@cornell.edu
200 Barnes Hall

An Alabama native, he was a nationally-recognized immigrant rights organizer and appeared on the BBC, Univision, Time Magazine, and USA Today amongst others. Victor co-founded and led the first youth-led immigrant rights group in Alabama in 2011 into a network of chapters across the state involved in state and national campaigns. After earning a bachelor’s in history at Pomona College, he obtained a master’s degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania through the Boarding School Teaching Residency. He served as an independent school teacher, coach, advisor and dormitory head for five years. He enjoys traveling across the country, running and finding new books to read on a train.

Meet our Associate Director, Shannon Musgrove

As a member of the FGLI Student Empowerment team, Shannon will support the Kessler Scholars Program and will be the primary lead for Kessler Scholars student programming.

Meet our Assistant Director, Pa Nhia Yang

Assistant Director for Student Empowerment, First-Gen & Low-income Student Support
py229@cornell.edu
200 Barnes Hall

Pa Nhia Yang (she/her) is the Assistant Director of First-Generation & Low-Income Student Support. Hailing from South Sacramento, CA, she is a first-generation college graduate and queer Hmong American who is passionate about equitable access to quality education. She practices from a person-centered and strengths-based framework. In addition to supporting with current FGLI initiatives such as the Access Fund, Swipe Out Hunger, and the FGLI Workshop Series, Pa Nhia supervises the office's student staff, Peer Navigators, to provide peer-to-peer navigation of resources for our first-generation Cornellians.

Before this role, Pa Nhia worked in K-12, healthcare, and non-profit sectors. She earned a Bachelor’s in Social Work from California State University of Sacramento, and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan, specializing in school social work. When she's not playing Stardew Valley, she enjoys researching new evidence-based skin care and watching horror films.

OPPORTUNITY

2025 NYC Student Summit for Commercial Real Estate Career Exploration

	DUE Sept 30th
	APPLY HERE

Coffee Connectors, powered by Northbridge, is hosting its annual Student Summit in NYC! Receive a $300 stipend when you attend the entire event. 

• Career panels and industry roundtables
• Small-group networking with industry leaders
• Insights into diverse commercial real estate career paths

To learn more, sign up for a virtual information session and download FAQs.

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