Celebrating and Supporting the First-Generation and Low-Income Experiences
Kevin Mejia ’25, a leader of the First-Generation, Low-Income Club at SOM, reflects on a day trip to New York City, where club members heard from alums with similar backgrounds.
Earlier this fall, members of Yale SOM’s First-Generation, Low-Income (FLI) Club traveled to New York City to celebrate National First-Generation College Student Day, an annual event that marks the success and contributions of first-gen students. The FLI Club, which I lead alongside my classmates and friends Luisa Locatelli ’25 and Ash Duong ’25, is a community dedicated to supporting students who are the first in their families to attend college and/or come from low-income backgrounds.
Founded this spring, the FLI Club is one of SOM’s youngest student organizations. Nevertheless, more than 20 MBA students joined us to journey from New Haven to Manhattan. It was a beautiful fall day, and we enjoyed a delicious taco lunch before meeting up with SOM alumni who shared their experiences as first-generation students. Featured speakers included Jordon Rose ’21 a DEI specialist at the refurbished tech marketplace Back Market; Lei Bely-Chang ’13, a wealth advisor who has worked with several major banks; Lise Chapman ’81, the founder of 1stGenYale; and Man Ip ’24, a product manager at Capital One.
The panelists delved into their diverse backgrounds, highlighting that no two journeys are the same. They discussed how they maximized their MBA experiences by proactively seeking out opportunities they might not have previously known existed given the circumstances of their backgrounds. The conversation then shifted to career insights, where the alumni emphasized the importance of building a strong network, embracing one’s background, finding mentors who will act as champions, and becoming comfortable with success.
As first-year leaders in the last academic year, Luisa, Ash, and I focused on raising awareness for our group and laying the groundwork for a strong community before the club became official. This year, our aim is to deepen the sense of community among students while expanding opportunities to connect with SOM alumni. By fostering these connections, we aspire to empower current students with inspiring examples of success and create meaningful ways for alumni to actively engage with the club. Together, we coordinated internal logistics among students, managed external arrangements to secure a venue (thank you, Back Market!), and recruited alumni speakers.
The event was a resounding success! We were thrilled to receive positive feedback from the attendees. First-year student Tayeb Awan said that meeting with alumni was an “amazing” experience.
“Meeting with alumni in NYC was amazing. Being surrounded by so many bright individuals who share this identity with me makes me prouder of my background,” he added.
Fellow first-year Sivagami Lakshmanan concurred. “In the MBA journey, it's easy to feel the pressure and think you have to do it all by yourself,” she said. “The FLI day in New York helped alleviate that stress and reassured me of the wonderful community I have.”
FLI extends sincere thanks to the alumni, the Yale SOM Office of Inclusion and Diversity, and Yale SOM Alumni Affairs for making the event possible. Stay tuned for Yale SOM’s first ever Social Economic Inclusivity Week in the spring!
