Project NextGen

In honor of the end of Season 5, Ana and Leri embark on a journey of reflection, celebration, and anticipation as we bid farewell to this season. Ana and Leri share personal reflections on the key takeaways, the most memorable conversations, and the impact of these discussions on their own journey. But the season finale isn't just about looking back; it's about looking forward. So, join us for this momentous season finale as we celebrate the past, embrace the present, and set our sights on a future filled with endless possibilities. Whether you're a longtime listener or just tuning in, this episode is a must-listen for anyone who believes in the power of vision and the journey toward a brighter tomorrow.

In this episode of Project NextGen, co-hosts Anna and Leri delve into the significance of celebrating wins as first-generation individuals. They tackle the challenges first-gen students face in acknowledging and appreciating their accomplishments. Sharing their personal experiences, they reflect on the prestigious Dr. Bobby Leadership Award and the Presidential Volunteer Award they received, their initial reactions, and the underlying reasons why celebrating can be a complex endeavor. Join them on this insightful journey as they explore the complexities of celebrating wins as first-gen individuals and offer valuable perspectives.

Executive Director Charbel returns to Project NextGen with a special interview into the world of visionary advertising with Tim Sok. This episode reveals Tim's journey as a first-generation entrepreneur and his unique approach to transforming bold ideas into highly profitable advertisements. Discover how Tim's innovative mindset, artistic intuition, and problem-solving skills have propelled him to advocate for first-generation individuals in the advertising industry successfully. Gain insights into his commitment to making a difference for clients and humanity. Don't miss this inspiring conversation that highlights the next generation of global leaders and forward thinkers as we learn from Tim Sok's experiences and expertise.

In this episode of Project NextGen, our hosts, Leri and Ana, sit down with Nury Lizeth Castro, Director of Diversity Education and Training at Agnes Scott College and a full-time doctoral student at the University of Dayton. Nury shares her story as a first-generation American and college graduate, growing up in Los Angeles, California, and Durham, North Carolina. She discusses her upbringing, the values instilled in her by her immigrant parents, and the guiding principle that drives her work as an educator: "Ubuntu: I am because you are; you are; therefore, I am." Nury talks about her experience as a university and college administrator and her current role in creating equitable and accessible education for people of minoritized identities and backgrounds. Tune in to hear about Nury's unique perspective as a first-generation advocate and how her passion for community building and social equity drives her work.

Staring our fifth season of Project NextGen with new hosts, Leri Argueta and Ana Maria Villegas -- both Board Members of the Georgia First Generation Foundation -- share their personal journeys as first-generation leaders. Leri discusses his role as Senior Assistant Director for Diversity Initiatives at Georgia Tech and his work advocating for underserved students. Ana shares her experience as a first-generation college graduate and her passion for economics and DEI. They both talk about the obstacles they've faced and the resources and mentoring they wish they had when starting out in their careers. Join them as they discuss their goals for the podcast and how they hope to inspire and empower other first-generation leaders.

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Trigger Warning: Discussion and/or mention of death and suicide in this episode.

Born in Colombia, Ana Maria Villegas is a first-generation college graduate and professional. She graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics, fully funded by merit scholarships. She finds great interest in analyzing the reasoning behind decisions and using data to predict and plan for a better future, which drew her to the study of economics. She has joined one of the world’s largest consulting firms, where she proudly represents Latinas in Business. Ana also advocates for first-generation students, aiming to provide the resources and mentoring they need to achieve their career aspirations. With her passion for DEI, she serves as a Georgia First Generation Foundation board member and actively volunteers and leads several DEI efforts. Ana enjoys training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in her free time, a martial art that challenges her physically and mentally. Many would describe Ana as a reliable, ambitious, and joyful young woman.

Caroline Twum is a first-generation Ghanaian American and an alumna of the University of Georgia where she studied biological sciences. She is currently a third-year medical student at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. She plans to specialize in primary care or emergency but still remains very open to the many opportunities and possibilities that medicine provides. Caroline hopes to one day open a clinic in her father's hometown of Wenchi in the West African country of Ghana. This episode looks into her journey thus far and how she managed to persevere despite the current state of the world.

Leri Argueta, MPA, serves as the inaugural Senior Assistant Director for Diversity Initiatives for the Georgia Institute of Technology. His role oversees the support, expansion, and advocacy for a growingly diverse and underserved student population across all academic divisions and majors. Argueta has served in several fellowship programs, including the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education Policy Fellowship Program, the GALEO Institute for Leadership, and the North-American Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute. Argueta has been recognized with several accolades for his work in Diversity and Inclusion including the 2020 Lillian Williams Champion of Diversity Award, the 2021 Myron G. Burney Award for Inclusion and Access from the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling, and the 2021 Dr. Bobby Gueh Leadership Award from the Georgia First Generation Foundation.

Valyn Lyric Turner is a spoken word artist, actor, and singer-songwriter from Buford, Georgia. She is a 2019 graduate of Lanier High School and currently attends Boston University as a Posse scholar. In 2018, Valyn's passion for poetry took her to the national stage as representative for the state of Georgia in Poetry Out Loud, a poetry recitation contest sponsored by the NEA. She is now proud to have collaborated with numerous schools, businesses, and nonprofits across the country, including in her home county of Gwinnett, sharing her love of language in hopes of inspiring, empowering, and serving others through her craft. She is also the recipient of Georgia First's 2019 Dr. Bobby Gueh Leadership Award, recognizing community members for their outstanding achievements and ongoing contributions to first-generation students and the community.

It has been one year since we interviewed Chris Parra, now a rising senior and Civil Engineering Student at Kennesaw State University. It has also been one year since the world responded to the Coronavirus pandemic with a shift in how we handle our routine. This special episode will look at how much has changed in one year for Chris, and how his aspirations have only gotten stronger since then.

Gerardo Perez is the son of two Mexican immigrants from Cuamio, Michoacan, Mexico. He is a first-generation college graduate and the first one to venture into the corporate world. Gerardo grew up in Dalton, Georgia and upon finishing high school attended Georgia State University, where he graduated with degrees in Finance and Real Estate. He is now an investment banking analyst in the leveraged finance group at Bank of America, based out of New York.

Octavio Jesus Aguado is an alumnus of the University of North Georgia where he studied Biology. He currently works at Valdosta State University as a Residence Hall Director. He is in a master’s program of Higher Education Leadership. He also volunteers as a graduation coach for high school students with the Hispanic Organization Promoting Education. He hopes to work with the Board of Regents of the University of Georgia because he wants to instil changes within undocumented student policies. 

Jonathan Vázquez García is a Mexican, First Generation, DACA, and 4th-year student at Georgia State University. Jonathan majors in Public Health with a concentration in Pre-Med. He is very passionate about medicine and public health and how it can help the Latinx community in many ways. Jonathan aspires to become a Cardiothoracic Surgeon and help the Latinx community by creating access to medical resources and services that impede undocumented and end medical disparities found in his community. He hopes to obtain my MPH from John Hopkins and later get his MD from NYU.

Kelly Nguyen is the proud daughter of two first-generation Vietnamese-Americans. As the first college graduate in my family, she considers herself both an Atlanta and Charlotte native. Kelly is pursuing her Juris Doctorate at Emory Law, class of 2023. When she is not studying, she spends her time weightlifting and planning my next travel trip!

Fortune is a Georgia State University and Kennesaw State University graduate. He found himself interested in helping healthcare and mission-driven organizations improve their cybersecurity challenges and overall security posture. Fortune currently works at Protiviti as a Senior Technology Consultant under the Security & Privacy department. Fortune wants to ensure that the right information is getting to the right people, to make the right decision at the right time for the patients we serve.

A servant leader, Fortune is the co-founder of a not for profit organization, The Just Focus Foundation. We are millennial philanthropists with a passion for serving and empowering others. Each year we create multiple large service projects that will help those who are disfranchised. Fortune is also a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated.

Daniela Uribe is a first-generation sophomore at Stanford University, where she plans to major in Engineering Physics with a minor in Italian. She strives to become an engineer or academic who can inspire others with similar upbringings. Daniela recounts her experiences growing up as a Chicana and as the proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, and how this and other influential people in her life motivated her to become a first-gen college student.

Bryson Henriott is a first-generation college student from Vidalia, Georgia. Currently, he is attending the University of Georgia majoring in Political Science, Public Relations, and Communication Studies with the hopes of attending law school and working within politics and advocacy. Coming from a very rural area of South Georgia where he graduated with fourteen students to now attending the University of Georgia with 35k students was a huge transition but has afforded him many opportunities. He has worked on several congressional campaigns, in the office of his state senator, and for his county manager looking at local government on the inside. Bryson is currently a Senator for the Student Government Association at the University of Georgia, the treasurer for RISE (Rural Students Igniting Success in Education), serves on University Council, and is an Involvement Ambassador at the University of Georgia. Bryson to use my background to continue to develop my leadership skills and foster change in this country.

Noel Salaices is a first-generation student who graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing and a minor in Film/Videos studies. He is the son of Mexican immigrant parents who moved to the big city to pursue a college degree. Throughout his time at Georgia State, he interned for various companies in the entertainment and sports industries and currently works as a distribution coordinator for WarnerMedia. This episode looks into his journey as a first-generation Mexican-American college student and how he learned ways to navigate life as a Latino in corporate America. 

Sebastian Puerta is an alumnus of the University of Georgia where he studied economics. He currently works at Opportunity Insights, an economics research lab at Harvard University, where he works with Professor Raj Chetty to study upward mobility in the United States. Sebastian hopes to get his Ph.D. in economics and become a professor. He plans to use the insights obtained from his research to advocate for better and smarter policies to tackle poverty, inequality, and the lack of upward mobility in America.

Jeremiah de Sesto is a first-generation Filipino-American and a current honors student at the University of Georgia pursuing degrees in International Affairs and Management Information Systems with an emphasis in International Business. Jeremiah has served as the National President of National Beta, the largest independent educational youth organization in the United States, co-founded Cover to Cover, a state-wide youth non-profit initiative, and has worked as a senior and junior intern for three major national campaigns, and more currently as a Staff Assistant at the Georgia General Assembly and House of Representatives. This episode will look into how Jeremiah uses his experiences to instill a passion for servant leadership, youth empowerment, and public service, and how he wants to pursue a career in advocating for the common rights of all people while positively effecting socio-economic factors.

Laura Blanco is a freshman Business Management student at the University of Georgia, and also minors in Spanish. Laura wants to work for a major company in the future and today's episode will look at the ways in which she will use her management degree to get involved and help the Hispanic Community.

Luz Maria Arroyave is a first-generation student attending Georgia State University who will be graduating early, this fall, from their Accelerated Nursing Program. She is a proud daughter of Colombian immigrants and also works at Georgia First as our Programs Director. This episode looks into her journey of applying to Nursing School, competing with non-first gen students, her passion for helping the Latinx community, and how she went from a 2.6 GPA in high school to a 4.18 GPA her freshman year of college.

Chris Parra is a first-generation sophomore studying Civil Engineering with a Construction Management minor at Kennesaw State University. Along with his studies, he interns at Tensar International Corporation, a civil engineering construction material manufacturer. In this episode, we talk about how he manages to overcome obstacles that come with being a first-generation student, the work he does, and what his plans are for becoming a professional engineer. 

Allison Smith is a first-generation student from Southeast Georgia and our current Chief Marketing Officer at Georgia First. This episode looks at her journey to medical school and how her experiences from a small town to a large SEC university and her volunteer work, including her work with Georgia First, have shaped her to the advocate she is today.