Glitter, paper, glue, plastic flowers and gems covered tables at the graduation cap decorating event celebrating first-generation students on May 14. Around 20 students attended and reflected on their educational journey and challenges.
First-generation students decorated their graduation caps at the ONDAS student center. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
First-generation students are the first in their family to graduate from a four-year institution. According to the UC Santa Barbara First-Gen Community website, 37% of undergraduates and 15% of graduate students at UCSB are first-generation.
The Opening New Doors to Accelerating Success (ONDAS) Student Center hosted the event and promotes the success and retention of first-generation college students, according to its website. The center offers academic workshops, a study space, peer mentoring, College of Letters & Sciences advising and events centered around first-generation students.
The center provided attendees with various materials for decorating their caps as well as fries, chicken tenders and veggie burgers served with sauces from Kyle’s Kitchen.
While the ONDAS Student Center is focused on supporting first-generation students, they are also open to any students interested, according to sixth-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Education and ONDAS Assistant Director Diana Magaña.
“Although we’re focused on first-generation college students, we are open to the wider UCSB campus community as well,” Magaña said. “Some of the students here might be first-gen, some might not be, [it is] open to where anyone wants to come on by.”
Magaña also emphasized how important graduation is for first-generation students because of “certain challenges” they have faced. The average four-year graduation rate of first-generation students admitted to UCSB in 2020 was 63% compared to 78% among non-first-generation students, according to the UCSB Office of Budget and Planning.
“I think when you’re a first-gen student, specifically, or you’re a student who’s maybe faced certain challenges, celebrating achievement such as this, and being able to find community, and community with other students who maybe also have gone through certain challenges is such an exciting thing,” Magaña said.
ONDAS student center provided glitter, paper, glue, plastic flowers and gems for cap decorating. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
Fifth-year pharmacology major Janae Gayle decorated her cap with vibrant blue glitter, plastic pearls and golden butterflies. She said she faced obstacles such as a lack of mentorship and knowledge about college as a first-generation student, which has made her grateful for the ONDAS Student Center.
“I didn’t have a lot of the mentorship or background that students who aren’t first-gen have, so navigating college was really tough for me,” Gayle said. “Having a space like ONDAS and having spaces that cater towards first-gen students was really beneficial towards the opportunities that I’ve gotten to have and my growth here as a student.”
Third-year political science major and ONDAS programming peer mentor Sophia Camba also said that, as the first to graduate college in their family, it’s important for first-generation students to celebrate graduating.
“Especially being a first-gen student, [graduation is] such a big milestone that you sometimes take for granted or don’t really see how important [it is] and how far you’ve gotten,” Camba said. “We wanted to bring some sense of showing them that we’re proud of them, and that there are centers on campus that recognize their efforts and how far they’ve gotten.”
Magaña said she hoped the event gave attendees time to reflect on and celebrate their achievements.
“Hopefully today provides people an opportunity to sit and reflect and think about, ‘Yeah, I’ve done this great, amazing thing and I’m moving on to such an exciting stage of my life,’” Magaña said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 5 of the May 22, 2025 print edition of the Daily Nexus
