The Ivy College of Business held a first-gen student celebration in the Gerdin Business building Thursday.
The celebration, which was a come-and-go style, was from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Kingland Hub and is part of the First-Generation College Celebration, an annual event that takes place nationally on or around Nov. 8.
First-generation college students are defined as students whose parents did not attend college, and according to the Office of the Registrar, more than 20% of fall 2025 undergraduates are first-generation students.
“Those students often have accomplished a lot to get here,” Suzanne Lyndon, event planner for the Ivy College of Business, said.
“This is a recognition and a celebration of those students,” Lyndon said. “A casual open house drop-in, come-and-go, stay-as-long-as-you-can event to recognize students.”
Madeline Nera, a senior in management information systems and a first-generation student, discussed her college experience.
“I think coming to college was lonely because I didn’t have anyone to look up to,” Nera said. “The people that you are expected to look up to had no experience, so coming to college felt like I had to build from the bottom up.”
Nera’s peers were a guiding factor as they offered a common ground. Nera also became involved in the Multicultural Business Network (MBN), which allowed her to connect with other minority students and professors.
“My professors, who were people of color, helped a lot because they always talked about their background, how they got here,” Nera said. “They felt a lot easier to trust because they have a lot of higher education.”
Valentina Salotti, Richard A. Carlson professor and senior associate dean for academic affairs, was a first-generation college student from Italy. Salotti described her college experience as “swim or sink.”
“If you understood the material, you advanced; otherwise, you were done,” Salotti said. “It was difficult feeling comfortable going to class and thinking about having a professional career.”
Salotti said that while she wished she could have received more support in college, over time, she found a community.
“Eventually, I found my people, and I did well enough in school, as you can probably tell, that things worked out,” Salotti said. “I just wish that there was more attention to making sure that people actually have a shot at being successful.”
Salotti, who has worked at the Ivy College of Business for nearly 20 years, said her college experience encourages her to work to make a big school feel smaller. The college monitors how students and professors are doing by limiting class sizes and creating informal opportunities for students to connect.
“We watch the student-to-faculty ratio and when we can accommodate smaller classes, we do that,” Salotti said. “We have several events that are meant for people to socialize and bring people together in a less formal setting.”
Nera advises other first-generation students to find community.
“I always tell people, ‘Just don’t be afraid to reach out,’” Nera said. “And on top of that, I would say, ‘Don’t think there is nobody else going through the same things as you. Iowa State has a big community, you just have to be willing to find it.’”
Salotti encourages students to step outside their comfort zones and be proactive in building connections, and to remember that acceptance to college means an invitation to get involved.
“It is really important to start to think from the very beginning that it is not just the student choosing the school, it is also the school choosing you,” Salotti said.
