First Gen Table Talks

Join the host, Oscar Perez, as he recaps what all has gone on since the beginning of the Spring Semester until now!

Join us, as we are joined by two very special guest, who will share some more comedic/humorous stories as their time here as students! This episode will wrap up the Fall 2025 Semester with laughter before finals begin!

Join the host, alongside a very special guest, in a fun episode of college expectations vs reality. What was an expectation they had coming into college that turned out to not be true, and even things such as stuff that did come true!

Today marks the start of First-Gen Week! Join us on First-Gen Table Talks as we invite three very special guest who talk us through their experiences as a First-Gen Student. From their success, their pride, and their struggles and battles of being a First-Generation Student. Get to know our guest a little more and possibly even take away something after hearing what they have to say about being First-Gen!

With finals creeping up on us, we understand how stressful that can be, but don't worry! Join us as we talk the importance of taking care of your mental health! And different ways to challenge stress during finals week!

Hello! Join us on this episode of First-Gen Table Talks as we are joined by two Tech Seniors as we look back on their past four years in college, the struggles they faced but the memories they made along the way as well! They also give their insights of being a graduating First-Generation college student and give advice to other first-generation college students from their own personal experiences! And congrats to all of the graduating Spring 2025 Seniors!

Join me the host, Oscar Perez, as we have two very special guest on today's episode which is all about graduate school! Two graduate students will both share their own personal experiences and opinions when it comes to anything graduate school related. Whether you are a first-year student, or a senior about the graduate from your undergrad, if you want to know more about graduate school this episode is for you!

Join in on our podcast as this week's episode is about Women's History Month, and to be more specific, Women's Week at ATU. Two very special guest join us as we converse about the theme of this year's Women's Week, experiences/challenges they have faced, and more. Make sure to check out the Women's Week schedule for more information!

Tis the season, but not of giving, but rather of getting, getting sick that is. Join us on our podcast today as we have two of the Health and Wellness Center's Peer Health Advocates come onto the podcast and discuss more about themselves and the services offered at the Health and Wellness Center. You may learn something new you didn't know before and could definitely benefit you, both physically and mentally, to utilize their resources!

This episode we invite three very special guest onto the podcast in honor of the upcoming month February. "Why February?" Well, it's Black History Month of course! Join us as dive into the perspective and opinions of three student leaders here on campus!

With Homecoming being this upcoming weekend, I thought we'd get into the spirit of things! In this episode we bring on current Homecoming king, Jae Thomas, and we get to know more about him, and a little inside look of what Homecoming week was like for him!

As Hispanic Heritage Month recently kicked off, I decided to highlight this month by bringing on a few of the recently charted SIA. SIA is a Latina-based sorority, the first on campus. This episode as we talk with them we get to know them a little more personally, and as well what SIA means to them, and how it will help them for years to come!

Hi everyone, this is your new host, Oscar Perez! As your new host for this podcast, this is going to be my first official podcast! In this episode I will be giving a self introduction, and I'll be sharing more about myself!

As a first gen student being set apart from our peers is already our normal. In this episode we speak with the President of Spectrum and fellow student leader Archie who tells us how he navigates college as a first gen while also celebrating his queer identity!

In this episode we highlight an important resource which is the HWC, this center focuses on both students mental and physical health! As a first-gen student make sure you stop by to get a check up sometime!

In this episode First- Gen Table Talks has the honor of hosting three women who have made history here on ATU Campus. Guests are Dr. T, Taylor Wilkerson, and Kate Manuel!

This week we get to know Megan Bell she is the Coordinator of Civic and Community Engagement and Leadership Development for the Department of Campus Life. This office has the honor of awarding Who's Who, The Service Excellence Award, Student Leader of the Month, and Student Leader of The Year! Feel free to explore this offices website and apply for these prestigious awards!

In this episode we celebrate Black History Month by inviting four of Arkansas Tech's Black Student Leaders Noah Sumler, Maddie Cook, Cynseree Ryan, Charles Moton. Many of who hold positions within Registered Student Orgs and are Student Workers.

In this episode we get to highlight a resource that is located in Rothwell Suite 107, featuring two guests from their office Kylia Stewart and Kristen Merritt Beck! In this episode we hear how Kylia has grown into her career as a First-Gen and now uses those experiences to help others as well as how Kristen has found meeting the needs of First-Gen students to be a rewarding experience. Both ladies walk us through how they help First- Gen students and what services and events their office offers!

In this episode we get to highlight a resource that is also located in Doc Bryan 171, featuring special guest Rhylie Gachot as she takes us though her own first- gen student experience and how she came to be the Assistant Dean of Campus Life at ATU and what that means for students!

In this episode we are joined by a very special person to me, Lindsey Reidmueller who is the Assistant Dean of TRIO SSS here at ATU. In this episode she helps us get to know the valuable resource that SSS is and can be for First-Generation Students

As we highlight resources on campus, maybe one of the most important ones is The Tech Learning Center (TLC), represented by William Scott Tomlin in this weeks episode. While we learn to navigate college as first-generation students it is also important to learn skills to keep our grades up, and in honor of making it though midterms... lets see what our tutoring services have to offer!

On this episode, we get to know the Associate Dean for Multicultural Student Services, Malik McBride, as he tells us a bit about his First-Gen college experience and what kind of Resource he aims to become for our First-Gen Students!

In this episode, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with two of Arkansas Tech's Latina student leaders Sofia Guerrero and Litzi Baltazar. They are the current presidents of 3 out of 4 of the Hispanic/Latinx Student Organizations here on campus!

An introduction of who the new host is and what the podcast will be about! As well as a few tips that will help First- Generation students.

The ending of one era and the beginning of a new one, Lesly and Aileen take on this episode and run through Lesly's experience as the founding student worker of the First Gen Table Talks podcast.

On this episode, we talked to Kylia Stewart and Yushia Thao, who work in the Norman Career Services Office. It's important to talk about all the resources Arkansas Tech has to provide, especially to our First-Generation students.

As Women's History Month comes to an end, two First-Gen student leaders talk about the adversities they have faced as being young women of color. Star Douangchanh and Kristin Hardy are both Seniors at Arkansas Tech.

March is Women's History Month and as we continue to celebrate and honor women all around us, we took a moment to sit and chat with Natasha Golden. Natasha is a graduate assistant for Student Transition and the Campus Life Department.

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, we asked our Black student leaders to share with us on how they have made an impact on campus. Morgan Smith, Jaelun Thomas, and Kenneth Wade give us an insight on their journey as leaders.

This episode is all about highlighting the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Arkansas Tech. Caylin Allen, the graduate assistant for DDI talks about their resources and upcoming events.

As we dive into a new year and a new semester, reflecting upon one's actions is important. It's a new year with new beginnings and we talk all about it. This episode is a casual conversation with Paris Thompson, a freshman at Arkansas Tech.

The month of November is a special month for First Generation because we celebrate National First Generation Week from November 7-11. This episode is a casual conversation with Sierra Smith, a graduate student at Arkansas Tech.

Arkansas Tech's Homecoming was celebrated on October 10-15th. Paula Gonzalez and Marquis Vasquez are the newly selected homecoming queen and king for the 2022 school year. They both share their experiences as they went through the process of being nominated to selected.

As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, this episode is about different Latino/a students sharing their struggles as first-gen students: Litzi Baltazar, Aidin Lopez, Cristi Mena, and Rodrigo Reyes all share their personal experiences.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, this episode is about learning the different terms/labels that people are identifying themselves as. Daniel Gonzalez and Mario Mendez both share their thoughts on the terms: Hispanic, Latino/a, Latinx, and Latine.

On this episode, we have three first-gen students who are members of Greek Life here at ATU. Tendai Chiutare from Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, Aileen Rivera from Delta Zeta, and Noah Sumler from Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity. They share their experiences as first-gen students who are affiliated with Greek Life.

It's a new semester and that means SEASON 2 of First Gen Table Talks is here! This episode is about tips and tricks for studying and the importance of getting involved on campus.

As we continue to move forward with the transition to college, we continued speaking with Alyson Caldwell, Sofia Guerrero, and Yeymi Rosales. This episode consists of giving tips and advice to make the transition to college easier to both students and families.

This bonus episode speaks directly to the incoming class of '26, where we have freshman students talk about their transition coming to college. Angel Hernandez, Alyson Caldwell, Sofia Guerrero, and Yeymi Rosales all speak about their freshman experience.

Our last episode of this season is about mental health. Hunter Bramlitt is one of Arkansas Tech's counselors, who shared tips on how to take care of our mental health state.

Natasha Golden and Tia Brown are two Arkansas Tech graduate students who share their stories of what it's like to be in graduate school.

On this episode, Deidra Dillard, First-Generation Student Experience Coordinator was invited to discuss the checklist of the things students should do before heading home for the summer.

In honor of celebrating Women's History Month, we had two young women Noelia Lopez and Olivia Rowe share their stories as First-Generation women attending Arkansas Tech.

In honor of Black History Month, we had four students share their experiences attending Arkansas Tech University as POC.

Arkansas Tech students Taylor Wilkerson, Daniel Gonzalez, and Nigel Lewis share their stories detailing their experiences of being a minority at a predominantly white institution.

Arkansas Tech has a student led organization dedicated for First Generation Students. Elli White and Dakota Bridges, who are freshman at Tech share their stories as they are part of this organization.

This episode is an interview with Arkansas Tech Alumni, Brent Garrett, who graduated in 1988 with a business degree. He now owns a successful business, Sirius Plumbing & Air-Conditioning.

In this episode, Evelin Leon and Justin Fuentes stop by and discuss their experiences being first generation students at Arkansas Tech University.