UW-Whitewater shines a light on first-generation Warhawks

October 28, 2025

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will join a national celebration of first-generation students in higher education to highlight the more than 4,300 students on its Whitewater and Rock County campuses who are the first in their families to earn a university degree. 

National First-Generation College Celebration Day on Nov. 8, 2025, shines a light on the unique strengths and needs of these students — who often lack the knowledge, support, and financial resources that students whose parents earned a degree can tap into — and the many faculty and staff who support them. More than half the students on college and university campuses across the United States face an added hurdle when navigating their academic path.

At UW-Whitewater, where 35% of the students on the Whitewater campus and 58% on the Rock County campus are first-generation, faculty and staff understand those challenges and celebrate those students — because many were first-gen themselves.

Some of those students, faculty, staff and alumni will mark the occasion at noon on Monday, Nov. 3, during an event featuring Chancellor Corey A. King and other first-gen Warhawks. The event will take place outside Roberta’s Art Gallery in the University Center on the Whitewater campus, amid a pop-up exhibit of portraits by photographer Craig Schreiner of first-generation Warhawks. Several of those featured in the exhibit, which will be up in the University Center through Friday morning, Nov. 7, will speak at the event. 

Alum Julie Anding, who earned a B.S. in psychology in 1990 and an M.S. in guidance and counseling in 1992, will discuss her experience as a first-gen student on campus.

“I learned (at Whitewater) how many people were like me — a first-generation student,” said Anding. “And the grit that comes with being a first-generation student helps you in so many things in life. I fundamentally believe that education — learning  — whether it’s formal or informal, is the key to future success. The core of who I am is about learning.”

Anding, who enjoyed a long career at Harley-Davidson, was a commencement speaker at UW-Whitewater in May 2025. 

Also speaking are first-gen students Kiara Rios, a psychology major from Kenosha who is a McNair Scholar, Beto Patino Luna, a geography and physics double major from Janesville, and Kim Clarksen, assistant director of Student Activities and Involvement.

Kiara Rios credits the McNair Scholars Program with giving her the opportunity to do undergraduate research under faculty mentorship and present her project in California, Texas and Washington, D.C.

“There is so much beauty in being a first-generation student, because you literally had no idea what you would be doing (in college) and now you are doing it and teaching other students what to do,” said Rios. 

“Why wouldn’t you want to tell everybody, ‘I was the first one to do it.’”

Beto Patino Luna, who was named a Goldwater Scholar in 2025, has participated in undergraduate 

research throughout his time on campus. Patino Luna, who studied welding at a technical college before enrolling at UW-Whitewater, had advice for other first-generation students.

“I want to encourage you to find what you’re passionate about — it’s never too late,” said Patino Luna. “Don’t be scared of transitioning into a different field you know little about — be excited for the opportunity to learn something new.” 

Kim Clarksen, a first-generation college graduate and alumna who earned a BSE in chemistry education in 2001, had her portrait taken with her adult child, Anders, who is a mathematics major on campus. Clarksen, who returned to UW-Whitewater after teaching, now serves as assistant director of Student Activities and Involvement at UW-Whitewater.

“I loved the idea of teaching and I loved teaching but (I realized) I didn’t have to do it in a classroom setting,” said Clarksen. “I taught middle school science for two years and, when there was an opening, I found my way back. This is where my heart belonged.

“I do see myself in a lot of students as they are trying to figure out where their path is. 

They’re here and they’ve crossed that big milestone of graduating and choosing a college. Their job is not to do everything while they’re here 

but to find some deeper experiences that will help them understand who they are and help them find how to use their time as they move toward graduation.”

Pictured, left: Kim Clarksen, right, an alumna who is associate director of student activities and involvement at UW-Whitewater, is shown with her adult child Anders, a mathematics major, on Oct. 2, 2025. Clarksen earned a BSE in chemistry education in 2001.  

Other first-generation participants in the exhibit include Courtney Powers, an assistant professor of communication, Lydia Hoffman, a first-year student from Milton who studies on the Rock County campus and lives in the resident halls on the Whitewater campus, Craig Koenigs, an occupational safety major from Sussex who is an Army veteran, Brianna Kaptur, a first-year student from Glendale Heights, Illinois, Juan Ojeda Garcia, an economics major from Burlington, Gloria Cornelius, an art major from Madison, and Ali Soumano, and international student from Ivory Coast.

UW-Whitewater has been named among the Colleges of Distinction, a national honor that recognizes campuses for exceptional teaching and dedication to student success, for nine years.