First Generation Programming Services

La’Tonya Rease Miles

Last week, we started talking about this month’s theme, Culture as a First Gen. This week, we welcome Dr. La’Tonya (LT) Rease Miles, a powerhouse in first-generation education and advocacy, to discuss this month’s theme. As a first-gen college graduate herself, LT has been a force in higher education. She’s led groundbreaking programs for first-gen students at UCLA and Loyola Marymount University, and now serves as a Partnership Development Representative at ReUp Education, where she advises institutions on the first-gen experience. In addition to her many leadership roles, LT is also a co-founder of My Tribe Media, championing initiatives that uplift non-traditional adult learners and advance the visibility of first-gen students.

Culture as a First Gen

In this episode, LT also talks about the power of seeing ourselves represented in pop culture and how first gen characters, like Peter Parker and Miles Morales’s Spider-Man, can become symbols of resilience and inspiration for students going through something new that their families may not be familiar with. She does explain that while Peter isn’t explicitly labeled as “first gen,” his working-class background and journey through college reflect the core struggles many first gens face: balancing family expectations, adapting to new environments, and finding their voice. Characters like these give us something we can relate to and resonate with. They make us feel like we’re not alone in what we’re going through and are more important than we might realize.

The First Gen Madrina