{"id":107,"date":"2020-11-11T18:29:15","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T18:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/?post_type=podcast&p=107"},"modified":"2021-01-11T17:07:38","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T17:07:38","slug":"episode-10-celebrating-first-gen-success-w-kayleigh-damphousse","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/podcast\/episode-10-celebrating-first-gen-success-w-kayleigh-damphousse\/","title":{"rendered":"Episode 10 – Celebrating First-Gen Success (w\/Kayleigh Damphousse)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To kickoff the First-Gen Celebration Week , Dr. Jones speaks with Kayleigh Damphousse (Transition Coordinator, New Student Services) about serving First-Generation students, celebrating their accomplishments, and helping to develop help seeking behaviors. To find out more about the First-Gen Celebration Week events, go to https:\/\/firstgeneration.utexas.edu\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To kickoff the First-Gen Celebration Week , Dr. Jones speaks with Kayleigh Damphousse (Transition Coordinator, New Student Services) about serving First-Generation students, celebrating their accomplishments, and helping to develop help seeking behaviors. To find out more about the First-Gen Celebration Week events, go to https:\/\/firstgeneration.utexas.edu\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"http:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2020\/11\/2020-11-10_L-I-V-E_Episode-10_Evan.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"91.41M","filesize_raw":"95851328","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":""},"tags":[589,588],"series":[2],"class_list":{"0":"post-107","1":"podcast","2":"type-podcast","3":"status-publish","5":"tag-celebrating-accomplishments","6":"tag-first-generation-students","7":"series-live","8":"entry"},"acf":{"related_episodes":[{"ID":107,"post_author":"13","post_date":"2020-11-11 18:29:15","post_date_gmt":"2020-11-11 18:29:15","post_content":"\n

To kickoff the First-Gen Celebration Week , Dr. Jones speaks with Kayleigh Damphousse (Transition Coordinator, New Student Services) about serving First-Generation students, celebrating their accomplishments, and helping to develop help seeking behaviors. To find out more about the First-Gen Celebration Week events, go to https:\/\/firstgeneration.utexas.edu\/<\/a><\/p>\n","post_title":"Episode 10 - Celebrating First-Gen Success (w\/Kayleigh Damphousse)","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"episode-10-celebrating-first-gen-success-w-kayleigh-damphousse","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2021-01-11 17:07:38","post_modified_gmt":"2021-01-11 17:07:38","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/?post_type=podcast&p=107","menu_order":0,"post_type":"podcast","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"hosts":[{"ID":68,"post_author":"39","post_date":"2020-07-20 20:29:28","post_date_gmt":"2020-07-20 20:29:28","post_content":"","post_title":"Dr. Brandon Jones","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"dr-brandon-jones","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-07-20 20:33:17","post_modified_gmt":"2020-07-20 20:33:17","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/?post_type=speaker&p=68","menu_order":0,"post_type":"speaker","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"guests":[{"ID":103,"post_author":"19","post_date":"2020-11-11 18:28:02","post_date_gmt":"2020-11-11 18:28:02","post_content":"","post_title":"Kayleigh Damphousse","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"kayleigh-damphousse","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-11-12 19:00:35","post_modified_gmt":"2020-11-12 19:00:35","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/?post_type=speaker&p=103","menu_order":0,"post_type":"speaker","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"Transcript":"

[0:00:04 Speaker 0] mhm. Welcome to live leadership, innovation, ventures and entrepreneurship. Ah, podcast that showcases the talents, skills and abilities of U. T faculty, staff and students. I’m your host. Brandon Jones, associate director for student learning and development in housing and dining. And we’re excited to have you listening to us. You right, Welcome, everybody to the leadership, Innovation ventures and Entrepreneurship podcast better known as Live I Am your host. Brandon Jones, associate director for student learning and development in university housing and dining at the University of Texas at Austin. And we have a great show for you today because we have my friend who I consider to be my friend. I don’t know if she feels the same way, but I consider her a friend. We have Caylee Deficit, who serves as the transition coordinator, uh, in new student services here at UT Austin. Everybody else on campus calls or Caylee. I call her Hollywood. I’m really, really, really excited. Toe have Caylee here today. Kaylie, how you doing?<\/p>\n

[0:01:16 Speaker 1] I’m doing good. I’m glad to be here for be here. I guess we can still say<\/p>\n

[0:01:20 Speaker 0] that we could say that it’s cool, right? We’ll make it work talking Thio. We’re glad to have you Listen, Uh, it’s It’s first Gen It’s celebration of first Gen Week one of my favorite times of the year. I really excited every year around this, this week in November when we take the time to celebrate our first generation students, faculty and staff. And so what I want to do is give you an opportunity first to tell people who you are and to talk about your role and also why this week is important.<\/p>\n

[0:01:50 Speaker 1] Yeah, absolutely. So I work on campus. I’m actually not a first generation college student, but I like to think that I tried to represent a lot of our faculty and staff, but our first shit in on our campus. But I get a really full chance to just get tau work and know our Christian students really well. Because I work get to work with you brand, and that’s how we begin Friends, Um, housing is I run the living learning community on campus, and it started off as 22 students. Now it’s 42 students this year, so a lot of fun expanding it. But there’s been a lot of fun getting to know the students on the individual level rather than just like immersion students in the ether. Like I get to know individual students. And I think it’s important. I think when I came in and I knew I was gonna working with first and students and ah, lot of the things that we, you know, I’m just told, like we’re gonna make these programs. We’re gonna do all these things And I was like, Oh, we’re gonna make sure that they, like, know how to do finances and resource is all these like they were going to give them all this information and I had to be really taught and slow down like, No, it’s a a huge part of it is celebrating what they’ve already done because ah, lot of their parents are very supportive and very excited and very proud of them. I think it can be challenging toe, understand the grandness off, like everything they do every single day to get to November 8, and I work in new student services. So I think through students through like the first year role, but it’s like, you know, they’ve done so much from like high school to apply and then tow like Goto orientation and then to come to campus or to go through school. And then now it’s November, and they’ve already done so much. And so I think it’s a really cool time to just be like you’ve actually done two months of school successfully. You are still here and well, that we haven’t finished even this first semester. For a lot of our for our first year students, um, that our first in we still get to, like, hang out with you and say, You’ve got a awesome job So it is fun It it has that buzz in the air. You know, people are like, excited to be around because like, they understand school and they’ve already been a part of it. And I think that’s a huge reason why we call it a celebration week is that it’s about celebrating the accomplishments that they’ve already done, not really about focusing on what they lack, but like what they have already accomplished. So I think that’s why it’s exciting and why, like our full campus really comes together to make it like and a giant week, a week of celebration.<\/p>\n

[0:04:17 Speaker 0] So earlier you were talking about not being first gen and getting this immense responsibility to oversee this first Gen living learning community and then, uh, this first gen student experience and myself not being first gen but also doing so much work with first generation students. Talk to me. Talk to the folks out there that are listening that are thinking about, especially in student affairs, going into these roles, where they create programming and learning opportunities and engagement moments for students. But they themselves are not first in kind of talk about what that’s been like for you. And what are some of the things that you’ve learned?<\/p>\n

[0:04:55 Speaker 1] Yeah, I think for me it was it. Almost at first, I don’t wanna make this sound like bigger than it. Waas felt like, Oh, no, I don’t want to feel like an impostor in this. Like, I don’t want to feel like I’m doing all these things, but I can’t relate to them. And for me, like being able to understand it empathize like and I think that’s so important for our students. And so I try to set up a lot of those relationships interactions with with my students there first, then with first gin faculty and staff so that they can see people accomplish that. But I think for me personally, and I’ve told you this before, but I consider myself, like almost the opposite of a first in student. I went to school that my dad worked at. So, like my dad clearly achieved his degree. He was actually first in student, but But he was there. But I always think about the times that I needed help. And I knew exactly who to go to Andi. It was my dad, and I still go to my dad a lot. Thank thankfully just a phone call away. But I remember going to, like, take a math test and I, like silly, forgot a calculator. And so I was like, going there and I got a calculator and I was like, Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m about to take a test and I don’t have an essential tool. And so I called my dad and that his office was right next door and I walked in and got a calculator and went to the test. But I think about that all the time, where it’s like I’m sure students make mistakes like I made a mistake that time and I had a backup and I had a huge backup. And not for that, and for many, many other reasons for, like, suggestions to like these really cool internships and study abroad and also just telling people like Oh, like telling me like you can do it and like, this is something that is expected. I want you to experience all of college eso. I think it took me going through that process and in an odd way, thinking about all the time that my dad was able to help me on a very special way and something that I’m so appreciative of, um, to appreciate, like, kind of the grit of our students that like they still have a first call. They may still call their mom or their dad, and I hope they dio. But their parents may not have that, like instant answer that, just like just go talk to Professor like it’ll be fine. Just, you know, they’re people. It’s gonna be okay, like they may not have that context. And so it’s just it’s not really that they’re lacking anything. It’s just that they don’t have the experience to kind of speak to that first hand knowledge. So for me, it was kind of thinking about not underestimating how special my college experience was because I was ableto have that support Onda like assistance mostly and just like knowledge, passing down on beer and thinking that our students like they have to rely on themselves in a major way. And I think that’s why we try to celebrate our students is that they’re They’re just making and carving grown path eso. I think my advice for faculty, staff and First Gen. Has become I’m so glad it’s become more and more popular like it’s always at the conference is that I’m at um now it It was only made 1st 10 day like three or four years ago like this is kind of a young holiday. You needed a week, you know, So it’s not like First Gen. Has been like in the conversation. It’s been in the conversation for a long time, but I think it’s like gaining steam, which is awesome, and I think people are wanting to know, like how to get involved or how to help students like whenever they’re in their classrooms or whatever. But I think just thinking through their experience, like how their family members help them and, like how challenging it might have been not to have that bond. Just, of course, like listening. I a lot of if you asked students and if their first, then they will tell you pretty quickly, like, How was your first year going like, Well, I’m first in and it’s been kind of hard because, like, I can’t have this Like, I think people know that it z kind of challenging to not have an instant form of like Google for college, you know, and love people and their families. I’m sure you had something like that where you’re just like, Oh, I can just call my parents who, like, kind of understand what credit hours are, you know, because it’s kind of confusing or just know, like not even just the vocabulary. But just know, like even though you’re only in, like, 12 or 15 hours a week, that, like that means that so much extra work outside of the classroom to just understanding, like what your days in your weeks kind of look like, you know<\/p>\n

[0:09:13 Speaker 0] what is that the vocabulary? Because when you think about the experience of a first gen college students, I mean every there’s no one size fits all experience because they’re coming from everywhere, with a plethora of experiences from various backgrounds and identities, etcetera and so. But that vocabulary is fairly consistent. You know, credit hours registration, a resident’s hall, a meal plan, all of those things. And this is this is a new language. And so can you talk to everyone listening about what that’s like, especially our faculty who may be listening to this. You know what that’s like for a student and why some of their students may be experiencing academic difficulty in their respective classes. Because this is this is a new language for those students and just to give a number, you know, in the residence halls alone. And this is just from students who chose to let us know. I think in our last data collections in our survey in the previous year, 27% of the people that lived just in the residence halls that’s not including 2400 new aces and our graduate and family housing. But in the residence halls alone, 27% of the people that lived with us identified as first Gen. That’s a lot. That’s a lot of almost 7500 people. That’s a lot of folks. So why is the vocabulary so important toe help our students get more familiar with?<\/p>\n

[0:10:39 Speaker 1] Yeah, I think it’s like anything. And when I think about our 1st 10 students, I have to think about like, What is it that they’re lacking, like they’re clearly very intelligent, like they’re quick and bright. The thing that they’re lacking is that cultural capital and part of culture is language. And so understanding how you and I communicate to each other as people that have been through college and have work out of college and and we can say all sorts of things like yield. And even when we say resilience and we understand what that means to us as a scholar, leagues that work in higher education, I think thankfully, our students who are I think they have a lot of great help from maybe even media or from, you know, their college counselors, you know, through, you know, in high school and things to kind of get them a little bit familiar, but unfortunately I work in orientation. So if anyone should know about how toe Orient Students Thio College, it should be me. But I think that’s something that we have to keep reminding ourselves and keep thinking like, Okay, if I’m saying an acronym even like UT specific language like we say And this was new to me, like we say accounts receivable here, where to? Like everywhere else it’s bursts are, you know, like and bursts are is a confusing term, too, so we don’t know the difference between and thankfully, we’ve made it a lot more centralized with the Texas one stop. But it is<\/p>\n

[0:11:59 Speaker 0] shout out to Texas one stop.<\/p>\n

[0:12:00 Speaker 1] Absolutely. I mean, they’re incredible. E used to be financial aid and then accounts receivable. And then you have you have all these systems in place that you have to interpret and understand how it applies to you right now, but also how it’s going to apply to you in like, two months when you’re actually doing school. So it’s just a lot. It’s a huge process, So trying to really break it down into, like, this is what you need to know, right now, and this is what you need to know in a couple of months. So, like, let’s let’s slow it down a little bit. But I think being thoughtful about our language is absolutely important. That’s for you know, a lot of different populations, but definitely for our first in<\/p>\n

[0:12:37 Speaker 0] students. And I want to tie that into something else that you said earlier when you brought up trying to approach things from a achievement perspective and not a deficit perspective. And I think the folks that have listened to this, this podcast enough know that I’m a fan of the anti deficit framework. I focus on what worked rather than what didn’t work right when I did my dissertation. That’s what I chose to focus on. I wanted to come from an anti deficit achievement framework. And so why is it important in the language that we use this faculty, the language that we use a staff, the brochures that we send out the direct mailers, all of that stuff? Why is it important that we weigh approach our students as we’re recruiting them and helping them from orientation to graduation? Why is why is it important that we come at it from a achievement perspective and not a deficit perspective.<\/p>\n

[0:13:29 Speaker 1] I think the simplest answer is that it’s true, like our students are clearly very. The fact that they have gone through with the same education system and gotten good grades and worked hard and been able to be accepted into UT is a huge accomplished for any student. Um, but the fact that students that first and students also had to understand, like, how to apply that there’s fees involved, that their scholarships, that all these things like there’s so much that goes into it, that they probably had to do a lot of that research on their own or at least seek help. And and that’s a huge part for our person students. That it’s it’s challenging to see is for anybody. It’s challenging to seek help, you know, because that kind of signals that you don’t know something. Andi kind of puts you in a vulnerable spot, So I think it’s a huge lesson for a lot of people, and this is for once again any population that you have like these are students that are first chin, and so they have done the path that everybody else’s have, but they had to do a lot of work ahead of that, too, so that that’s huge for them. And it’s in. One of my students said. It’s like a huge milestone in my life that I’m able to go to college and something that I, um yeah, to go to u T absolutely.<\/p>\n

[0:14:48 Speaker 0] So I think that when you’re talking, when you were talking about that deficit earlier, I think that a lot of the times unintentionally the language we use comes can, can come across so negative to those students because we’re think we always associate first Gen with struggle rather than achieve right, we always associate. Sometimes we associate first gen with some form of a deficit. Oh, they’re coming in not knowing how to do their coming in, not able to do. Sometimes some people even almost ventured toe toe the line. Not that I’ve seen this here at UT, but I’ve heard language out there in the research and in conferences where sometimes it’s almost like a lowering of<\/p>\n

[0:15:29 Speaker 1] the<\/p>\n

[0:15:29 Speaker 0] bar, and I’m like, Well, those aren’t the first gen students that I’m encountering. I’m like these air. These are some very impressively cerebral. As my colleague Doug Reynolds used to say, a group of students and to get into a place like this, it’s like they had to know something. So why are we focusing on the struggles and not the strengths or the things that that they are good at? And so what I’ve always appreciated about your style is that you take this positive approach. You take this approach toe, meet them at their strength, and you help them cultivate that. And that’s something. As your colleague, I’ve always appreciated about working with you and seeing your energy and how you pour into students. I just wanted to say I really do appreciate that.<\/p>\n

[0:16:13 Speaker 1] Well, I I think the same clearly can be said about you. You clearly care a lot about celebrating the student’s strengths, but I think that’s where we sore. And if you it’s like you’re just taking something that you’re already good at and like, you can already be like, Hey, you’re doing great and you’ve already done this like you could doom or like that is like so motivating. And for me, like I feel like a soon as I’m told, like Oh, like I didn’t do as well. This one or I did poorly. It’s like it makes me. It makes it more challenging to, like, push past that. Those stories should be celebrated to like, You know, we always like the Rudy Story where, like he gets rejected a million times and like and then you finally gets in. But it’s those stories are, you know, impactful because I feel like it’s rare, You know, like, if you’re told 14 times that like, you’re not gonna be playing for Notre Dame. I’m sorry here, they’re going to choose a different path. But if you say like, Hey, Rudy, you’re such a hard worker. Here’s how you can improve like That’s really I mean, maybe that’s maybe Rudy would have gone pro. I don’t know. I’m not here, toe, Not here to judge what you could have done, But But, yeah, I think using their accomplishments because it’s true. Andi in the hard work that they’ve already done and celebrating that is. First of all, it’s fun because it’s going to be like, Look what you already done. Let’s reflect on this. Let’s think about what everything that you’ve already thought about and completed and how we can continue and continue toe like, feel strong and feel supported<\/p>\n

[0:17:41 Speaker 0] in this. I love that I love that. And you also mentioned that our students and I think we see this a lot A schools, especially like UT, where you’ve got students that were top of their classes and just about everybody waas you know, valedictorian, salutatorian or somewhere in that top 10%. And as a result, you come to a place where everybody else is like that. Seeking help can be seen as a sign of weakness. Or it could be seen as, oh, you don’t have it all together or see that imposter syndrome kicks in and you’re like, See, told you didn’t belong here. How do you work with your students on or what advice would you have? Four students both end Rather, uh, what advice do you have for developing help seeking behavior?<\/p>\n

[0:18:32 Speaker 1] I think we’re already trying to do that, and I think our students are feeling that, too, because we’re trying to develop pride around being first gen that it’s not a deficit like you talked about, and I think the very like probably the most interesting thing about being first gen is that it’s an identity that you don’t have to tell anybody about. And that’s kind of dangerous in a way because I think especially in orientation. And we started doing ah, welcome sessions specifically for first and students in making it like, Hey, this is a space toe and ask any question that you’ve had over the past day and a half because if you’ve been through orientation, any orientation, it’s a lot of information and it’s overwhelming. And also this year it was virtual. So it was like so many emails, so many calls, so many like things to read and like canvas and all like there’s like almost an outpouring of resource is, which is what we’re supposed to do, what we want our students toe have. But then it’s like it can be feel really easy to get lost in that. But I think that’s a huge way that students call out. Their identity is by asking questions and by saying it like, you know, and so they feel like, Okay, I don’t wanna ask a question because then they’ll know you know where you wouldn’t have to tell them like I For the most part, I show up in a room and people know that I’m a woman and so, like that might have some different biases or something that leads against me or for me. They might feel like they can talk to me, um, or whatever, but like my other identities, like pretty on display for the most part. But, um, for this one, like our first Shins air so incredibly diverse and they come from all different backgrounds that it’s hard to know who our students are. And I think that’s where our staff in our faculty have a hard time to, especially in the classrooms, because it’s like they look in the room and they know vaguely that 25% of the students are first Gen. But they don’t know who they are, so they don’t know how to help. Um, so all that leads me. Thio say that we want to generate pride around being for Shin and that it’s a good thing that they’ve done, and also that their families have helped them feel empowered enough to be part of two on. And I don’t want to leave, you know, I don’t want to make it a deficit against the family. And that’s something that I’m passionate about because I don’t wanna leave our family members out of the loop because they they have also worked really hard to help him make our students feel supportive as well. On Dare not, And they are bright and smart people a swell, um, but, uh, but encouraging our students to be like happy for their families experiences and for their own experience and saying like It’s OK but to ask for help and that once again, all students continue generation First generation students all asked for help, and you shouldn’t feel out of in any way if you need to clarify what languages or what. The difference between these different offices are because U T is a system and it’s a confusing system at times. And for me, who works within the system, I’m sure for you, too. It’s like, Wait, where do I go to for this? And I work here and I have colleagues who work here, and it’s still confusing. So you gotta ask for help. Sometimes you got to call your people<\/p>\n

[0:21:44 Speaker 0] Well, Speaking of that, I think that another thing that I really I’ve often found myself whenever I do updates about our living learning communities. And when the first Gin LLC comes up, One of the things that I found that I really respected you form a lot was how you would go to dinner like I would see you at dinner with your clients all the time. I just remember when you because, you know, for those that don’t know if you’re a partner within our living learning communities, one of things that we try to do is within the dining facilities. We try to create a way for our partners to be able to eat with their students. And you were the first partner in years to run out of money. Yeah, Chelsea and I were looking at the budget and we were like, Wait a second. We’ve never had this happen before. Like, it wasn’t a bad thing. It was just the fact that nobody ever runs out. And so that’s what caused me. One day I was in the dining hall and I saw you there at, like 5 45 having dinner with students and I’m going. That is what it’s all about. I mean, I’m not saying that people who don’t have dinner with their students are bad people. That’s not what I’m saying at all, but to see the look and the interaction and to see the energy that the students were giving because they were having dinner with a staff member, that’s a different experience. And I feel and I really feel like, um, that’s probably one of the most effective things I think you all did in your first year. Talk to us about what inspired you to be present in that way. Like out of all the ways that you could be present lunch, programming, office hours. You chose a dinner. Talk to us about why that was the way that you chose toe engage with your students. And what were the results of that if you don’t wanna find sharing?<\/p>\n

[0:23:34 Speaker 1] Oh, thank you. I think that was very kind of you to say. And I think I want to thank you for providing me dinner every other week, so I didn’t realize that I went through. It is more quickly than I probably should have, so I probably shouldn’t<\/p>\n

[0:23:49 Speaker 0] use it. That’s why we give it to you it was just that no one had ever done it. And so we were just like, Wait, what are we missing? Like what’s going on? When we saw that you were doing that, it was like, Well, heck yeah, let’s make sure that they’re able to do this. It’s a successful program for them.<\/p>\n

[0:24:04 Speaker 1] Yeah, I mean, I mean multiple benefits, first of all, like they live in just or West in my offices and student services building, which is about 15 minutes away. Um, and out of the way, Student services building. I wish I worked, like at the union or a Gregory Gym or a W, C. P or whatever, which is right next door to just or West. Or but it’s out of the way. And so I would have my check ins with my students and I would be at my office and ah, lot of them were very kind and came to my office. And so they walked all the way over. But, you know, and we met by weekly for meetings and a lot of times during our meetings, once again it was about giving information about being with each other and making sure that students felt like Okay, I have something more to add to my tool built. I wanted that interaction with students with each other really, if anything, and just, like, encourage people to be able to, like, share a meal with one another. I think that’s very important and and for it to feel like family. And I think one of the best things and that housing has done I’m so like eager about this is that I was like, very passion. I didn’t realize that this was a thing until I was like having dinner with you and and other folks is that students could go into one of the dining halls for free, like they could swipe their card. But they didn’t have to like it was unlimited like they could just swipe as one. Not just they wanted. And so it was like a way to just like, Let’s share something and it’s it’s accessible for everybody. And so we’d have students that just came and they’re like, already eight or I’m not really hungry right now, and they just come and sit and talk with, you know, us for an hour before our meetings. I think That was a really awesome thing, that housing decided to dio to make that free for our students. Our call it<\/p>\n

[0:25:46 Speaker 0] it was part of the Unlimited Plan<\/p>\n

[0:25:48 Speaker 1] Unlimited plan<\/p>\n

[0:25:49 Speaker 0] way, because I don’t want my catering and dining director calling me like we’re giving away meal plan way unless you have the unlimited plan just meant that they could come back as many times as they wanted. And you’re advantage, which we appreciate because that’s<\/p>\n

[0:26:06 Speaker 1] why that’s the reason we created it<\/p>\n

[0:26:08 Speaker 0] because we don’t want any one. We didn’t want any food. Insecurity happen on our watch and then to we never wanted the opportunity for a student to miss an opportunity to interact with the faculty member or a staff member because they ate at two and now they can’t like we never wanted that to be a barrier. And so that unlimited plan. Open that door and I’m just glad again, I It’s one of the first things that I noted was that students in your LLC we’re taking advantage of that in a good way, and I’m like, Go eat, please dime give us feedback because that’s how we get better. And so I just appreciated seeing what you all have done, Uh, in that space with that.<\/p>\n

[0:26:50 Speaker 1] Yeah, No, it was fun. You know, it was a good time for it to feel very relaxed with with one another and hopefully with me. And I think it’s kind of funny. I feel like I’m reaping this like my seeds or so in my seeds Now more than I did last year, even like it takes about. And maybe I’m just because I’m like, 10 years older than are your students. Now I feel like I reached that point where I’m like, slightly less relatable, and that’s okay. That’s fine. That’s natural.<\/p>\n

[0:27:20 Speaker 0] Get your jokes. You’re still related.<\/p>\n

[0:27:22 Speaker 1] I could still try to get in with the lingo, but I’m not quite like I don’t think I’m seen as appear anymore, which is kind of sad turning for me to be like, Oh, man, they don’t see me as this person just like hang out with. But I think now I still have great interaction with a lot of the students because I spent it takes hours to get to that comfort level. It takes like maybe like 100 hours or something or 50 hours with students. And so that’s counting, like presentations and dinners and check ins and group me even and like Texas, like just getting that comfort level on that trust. And so that’s That’s a huge part. And thankfully, I had, like, last year was my first year doing the LLC. So was 20 students, basically. So it was like I would love to have dinner for with folks for, you know, with about 10 or whoever wants to come on, do just hang out with you all. It felt very like intimate in a in a way, like very just like casual. And, um and it got to the point where it was just something to look forward to for on my side, too, hopefully on their side to I didn’t force them. It was very<\/p>\n

[0:28:30 Speaker 0] optional. It looked like they were. Every time I saw it, it looked like you were having fun. So I appreciate the work that you’re doing with those students. I know that you’ve got a meeting with the student coming up, and so I wanna make sure under your time there, um, how’s it been? Virtually because I know that given there because there are struggles for every student on died. Imagine that there would be some mawr with our first generation students, especially those who have never been in the college environment yet. And now they’re experiencing working with you all virtually. Can you talk to us about what that’s been like?<\/p>\n

[0:29:08 Speaker 1] I think it to me. This has been a very clear distinction from this year to other years, which is we have a lot of students that are, even though our living, learning community living. I’m air quoting for our podcasters living learning community. Um, typically our students, you know, on a normal year they graduate, they goto orientation, they go home, they pack up their stuff, their pack up their lives and they end. They cut off a lot of ties, and then they move into the residence halls, and then they live in the same hall with people that are also first in. And that’s what the living learning community is. And that’s, you know, and even without a living learning community, there is that kind of cut off of, like, this was my home life in my high school life then, now I’m about to start over and one sense or another. Um, at UT Austin, However, I think with our students that have chosen for numerous reasons for various reasons to stay at home and for good reasons for a lot of part times and for our first in students. That cut off is not clear of packing up my life and starting at college on board and once again to the families who are supportive. But the context maybe isn’t as clear. It’s hard to understand why a student may not be able Thio watch their sibling and make sure that they’re going to other classes because they were able to do that in high school. You know, in May. Why can’t they do that in August or September? What has changed when it’s like So it’s just understanding, like the responsibility of our students, or or work. A lot of students would have quit their hometown jobs and basically started unemployed for a month or two until they found a job in October, Um, or whenever they decided to get a job either at UT Austin or like around Austin. But now they’re keeping their high school jobs, and once again, that’s confusing, potentially to employers that are like you used to be able to work all day Saturday and all day, Sunday and in the evenings and like, Why is that different now that you’re a college? Andi, I think for a lot of people they may work up to that caliber of, like being being a full time college student and studying and doing organizations and having another job. But I think for our college students, it’s really in for our first into college students is really a struggle because college is hard to understand and it’s hard to get into. It takes time to get into the rhythm of it, of knowing, like, Okay, I’m going to be present during the zoom call, which is we all know it can be kind of challenging. This is fun, but like it can be like, hard to just listen for a while. But then I also have to study and do homework after that, and I have to put in like, two extra hours into every zoom call that I’m in Andi, knowing that is really hard for our for our students that are on campus. You know, I can’t imagine and I’ve been able to talk to students that are off campus, and it it is hard because they live in a their childhood bedrooms that they might share with a sibling. And, uh, and the roles air just different. But sometimes it’s hard for family members and even for students to understand that it’s that it is different and there’s just not a natural cut off anymore. I think that’s the main thing is that typically there was just like a bow, you know, leaving, leaving your hometown life. And even if you live in Austin, leaving like your home life on being able to start over and to decide what your semester looks like. And I think that’s really challenging, um, for our students and and even for our on campus students. I’ve heard a lot of hesitancy, ease, of getting involved, like they’re just gonna wait until it’s back to normal, which I would encourage like and I have encouraged, like start when you can, you know. But I think a lot of people feel a little bit hesitant to potentially start like that college experience, even if they’re on campus. And so I think that’s something that’s facing all of our students, but especially our first, and students whose families potentially aren’t like encouraging them to get involved. Like I think my I think once again back to my dad experience like he was like, You need to do all these things that are outside of the classroom because that’s what makes you a better learner in general, but potentially for families and you know, not just first and families, but also for families like Just focus on your studies and that will make it. That will make you the best student when in fact it’s kind of inverse than what you think. And if you don’t have that experience, that could be kind of confusing.<\/p>\n

[0:33:35 Speaker 0] I want I wish I could ask you the other question I wanted to ask because you<\/p>\n

[0:33:40 Speaker 1] were Let me just text my student real faster,<\/p>\n

[0:33:42 Speaker 0] please, while you’re while you’re typing. So one of the questions that I wanted to ask was out of everything you have just named or do you feel like so a lot of students aren’t getting involved, not just first Gen. But do you feel like that’s the reason why a lot of students aren’t getting involved because they’re like, Well, I’m just gonna wait till life gets back to normal because I don’t want to emotionally invest in this organization now and then we get another restriction, and then we can’t come back for another year or something like that. Do you feel like that’s what that the students are just kind of withholding hope a little bit there?<\/p>\n

[0:34:17 Speaker 1] I got it off just in time. I think the pandemic makes life feel like it’s on pause, and that’s in multiple ways. Um, but we can, you know, you can talk about all sorts of things, and there’s been a lot of plans that are held on hold, you know, vacations and weddings and baby showers. And, you know, life continues to happen. It’s not like life has paused in any sense, like I am still going to die on the same day in the future like I don’t get this time back, but it still feels like this past. This whole year, we’re calling for a lot of people, feels like I’m just waiting for it to start. Andi, I wonder if that’s how a lot of our students feel like I’m going to do what I have to dio, and that is a very good survival mode. Like I’m gonna do what I have to do right now to, like, get through. But then, whenever life starts again, then I’m going to do everything that I hoped for. And I think that is potentially a lost opportunity. And it’s really hard to encourage our students to just say, you know, just hop on another zoom call like a promise you will make your life so much better And, you know, and whenever things you get to become in person, then you have all these friends and all these things, and you may be familiar with this, like there’s typically like a sophomore slump, like it gets a little bit harder to like. You know, like you’re kind of familiar, but like you’re not fully acquainted with your college experience yet. You’re doing a lot of exploring and, you know, like the expletive phase feels a little bit over in your freshman year and and so it’s kind of hard to get plugged harder to get feel plugged in your sophomore year, sometimes s O. That makes me sad for our students because I could totally relate. And I think our whole the whole world can relate that. It does feel like our world is on pause right now, but our classes are still continuing and your life is still continuing. So we have to make the best of it and take take these opportunities as well as they’re being provided right now. But that’s really but I honestly, I honestly empathize because it’s not easy. Thio like it just sign up for something extra. You know, we’re already trying to encourage your students like get out of your comfort zone. But now it’s like you have to really try really hard to make friends in this time like there is no more like friends of convenience right now, like it is people that you have to specifically reach out to and be like, You seem cool. I seem cool, let’s hang out and that Z are for students. It’s hard for people to dio, but especially, you know, it’s It’s a hard skill to learn At 18 years old.<\/p>\n

[0:36:45 Speaker 0] Yeah, well, Kayleigh, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today. I told you before we started the show I said, the time goes by when she started talking just It just really flows and I really, really, really appreciated having you on the show today. Are there any other things you want folks to know, Or especially with this week? We got a Siris of events out there. We’ll make sure we get the link posted in the liner notes, but is there anything else you want folks to know about? You t about? I can’t believe you didn’t talk about being a Oklahoma girl. I was gonna show up. So<\/p>\n

[0:37:19 Speaker 1] that’s something I don’t like to share with people I don’t want. It’s getting, um, no, I think the main thing is that first and weak is happening this week. There’s a lot of events happening on Thursday, typically, traditionally, Thursday’s air like our week to really celebrate. So you and I will be together, probably for Longhorn Harvest coming on Thursday. So I’m excited about that. We also have an interview. Actually, it’s not an interview with Dr Hartzell. It’s Dr Hartzell interviewing 1st 10 students. So it’s like kind of a cool thing to like he’s interested in the first and students and their experience so it’s kind of like this, but he gets to talk a little bit about you know what he thinks about first in, um, in that experience as well. Um, that’s happening on Thursday, but there’s a lot going on. There’s events every day this week, so you could go toe first generation that. Utexas edu, you I’ll be there high now that I’m podcast famous.<\/p>\n

[0:38:14 Speaker 0] Okay, listen, you’re UT podcast<\/p>\n

[0:38:16 Speaker 1] famous. That’s right. This But this has been a pleasure. This is fun. I wish we could have had, like, two more hours.<\/p>\n

[0:38:23 Speaker 0] Man, listen, that e I don’t know if the people would have wanted to hear both of us just chatting on for two hours, But we’ll definitely have you back. We’ll definitely gotta have you back in the future to talk about you know, how these things are progressing, especially as you all continue to grow. That living learning community is definitely dynamic. And it’s a wonderful experience. And if your undergraduate student listening and you’re considering the University of Texas at Austin and you happen to be first Gen and want toe get an on campus residential experience, I strongly recommend our LLCs, but I definitely recommend our first gin LLC. You get to me, Kaley firsthand. So thanks.<\/p>\n

[0:39:04 Speaker 1] I ain’t bad. We’re not bad people. But thank you so much, Brandon. This is fun. I’ve never done anything like this before, but it was nice just to be able to chat about this and everything that you’re doing too. I know we don’t. You don’t get to talk very much about all the work that you’re doing, but I really appreciate it. And you very much inspire me in your leadership. Honestly, I really consider you like a mentor and like, But don’t get too big headed about it,<\/p>\n

[0:39:29 Speaker 0] See? And on that note Thank you, Kaylie Way. Hope you enjoyed today’s episode to catch the next installment. Be sure to follow us on Spotify apple podcasts, Google podcasts and stitcher. We’ll see you next<\/p>\n"},"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2022\/03\/LIVE-logo-TPN.png","download_link":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/podcast-download\/107\/episode-10-celebrating-first-gen-success-w-kayleigh-damphousse.mp3","player_link":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/podcast-player\/107\/episode-10-celebrating-first-gen-success-w-kayleigh-damphousse.mp3","audio_player":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/podcast-player\/107\/episode-10-celebrating-first-gen-success-w-kayleigh-damphousse.mp3<\/a><\/audio>","episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":[],"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/live\/feed\/podcast\/live","embedCode":"

Episode 10 – Celebrating First-Gen Success (w\/Kayleigh Damphousse)<\/a><\/blockquote>