{"id":3936,"date":"2026-04-23T15:27:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T19:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/?page_id=3936"},"modified":"2026-04-23T17:04:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T21:04:28","slug":"first-gen-mentors","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/first-gen-mentors\/","title":{"rendered":"First Generation Mentor Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Helping you navigate the college journey<\/h1>additional resources<\/a><\/div><\/div>
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Apply site-wide<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n
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What we do<\/h1>\n

The First Generation Mentor Program at the University of Rhode Island (URI) is designed to strengthen support for first-generation college students, who make up approximately one third of the university\u2019s student population.<\/p>\n

This initiative connects students with faculty and staff who were first-generation students themselves, creating meaningful opportunities for guidance, encouragement, and shared understanding. Through mentorship, events, and targeted programming, the program fosters a strong sense of belonging and helps students navigate the complexities of college life with confidence.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Our mission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Central to this effort is the development of a mentor network that reflects the diverse experiences of URI\u2019s first-generation community. Participating mentors engage at varying levels, from being available for occasional outreach to building ongoing mentorship relationships and participating in campus events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the program seeks to cultivate a supportive community where first-generation students feel seen, supported, and empowered throughout their college journey, while also celebrating the experiences and contributions of those who have successfully navigated similar paths.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Interested in becoming a mentor?<\/h1>\n\n

Now’s your chance to make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\nJoin our team<\/a>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Meet our team<\/h2>\n\n\n<\/p>\n
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Bobby Britto-Oliveira<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Assistant Director<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Multicultural Student Services Center<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Jennifer Burgess<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Director, Academic Enhancement Center <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Fannon Institute for Student Success <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Rosa Ciunci<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Admission Advisor <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Undergraduate Admissions<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Barbara Costello<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Chair, Professor <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Sociology and Anthropology<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Kate Durham<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Lecturer<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Department of Psychology<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Michelle Fontes<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Assistant Vice President<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Community, Equity, and Diversity<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Graham Forrester<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Chair, Professor<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Department of Natural Resources Science<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Ed Givens<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Assistant Director<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Talent Development<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Denise Gorenski<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Assistant Dean<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

College of Pharmacy<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Vianka Hiciano<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Admission Officer<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Undergraduate Admissions<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Carnell Jones<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Director<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Enrollment Services<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Shelby Kiley<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Academic Advisor <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Anthony Marchese<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Dean<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

College of Engineering<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Silvana Melo<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Academic Advisor <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Health Sciences, Fannon Institute for Student Success<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Markeisha Minor<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Vice President, Chief Diversity Officer <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Community, Equity, and Diversity <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Linda Moffat<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Assistant Dean, Director of Exploratory Studies<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Fannon Institute for Student Success <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Bhavik Patel<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Sr. Information Technologist<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Memorial Union<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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Ellen Reynolds<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Vice President<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Division of Student Affairs<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Carmen Rogers<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Assistant Dean<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

College of Business<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

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CJ Sanchez<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Career Education Specialist<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Center for Career & Experiential Education<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Keegan Scott<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Director<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Office of Fellowships<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Brandon Sousa<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Senior Career Education Specialist <\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Center for Career & Experiential Education<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Judy Van Wyk<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\t
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Professor<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Department of Sociology and Anthropology<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t

<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What we do The First Generation Mentor Program at the University of Rhode Island (URI) is designed to strengthen support for first-generation college students, who make up approximately one third of the university\u2019s student population. This initiative connects students with faculty and staff who were first-generation students themselves, creating meaningful opportunities for guidance, encouragement, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5297,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-3936","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5297"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3936"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4022,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3936\/revisions\/4022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/student-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}