First Generation Business Summit Offers Future College Students a Glimpse into Their Futures

Story by Allison Sylte / Photos by John Eisele

From real-life university lectures to visits with CEOs to even TikTok dance parties in Colorado State University’s residence halls, 43 young people had the opportunity to see firsthand what defines a great college experience … and a vast majority of them hadn’t even graduated high school yet.

It was all part of the inaugural First Generation Business Summit from July 25-29, which brought together high school students and recent graduates from Colorado and beyond. Many of them are from underserved or rural communities, and all of them will be the first person in their families to attend college.

“I’ve had multiple students tell me that they didn’t think college was in their fate, but after attending the Summit, they realized they really wanted to go,” said David Ferree, an undergraduate recruitment coordinator for the CSU College of Business who managed the event.

During the Summit, students were assigned teams and tasked with coming up with case studies for businesses they believe would create a better world. They presented their ideas to a panel of judges on the last day, and the winners received CSU scholarships of up to $2,500 funded by the Green and Gold Foundation and First Bank.

While the scholarships are contingent on whether students attend CSU, this wasn’t the entire mission of the Summit, which will become an annual event.

“We’re a land-grant institution, and if someone who wasn’t planning on it decides to attend college – wherever that is – we did our job this week,” Ferree said.

Here’s a photo story on CSU’s first ever First Generation Business Summit:

Meet some of the students

Gabriel First Gen Business Week — Gabriel Cordoba’s parents brought him and his siblings to the U.S., and he said they’ve been pushing him to get good grades and pursue higher education ever since. He said he’s enjoyed learning about business, and that he might even pursue marketing as a career. “College is the American dream,” he said.

Angel First Gen Business Week — Even though she’s only in her second year of high school, Angel Walters already has her eyes on the future. “I came to the First Generation Business Summit to see what it would be like to live on a college campus,” she said. “My mom is pretty excited.”

Dre First Gen Business Week — Dre Jackson sees college as an investment. He’s hoping to major in business and find a job either in marketing or selling real estate. “Coming to the First Generation Business Summit was a good experience to prepare me for my future career,” he said.

Andy First Gen Business Week — Andy Muchirahondo said her aunt has always been her mentor, and that she’s the one who told her to attend the First Generation Business Summit. She’s now considering everything from account to finance to real estate to IT. “It’s great to see what college life looks like,” she said.

Emmanuel First Gen Business Week — Emmanuel Nogueda says he’s inspired by his father, who runs a gas station and Mexican restaurant. Nogueda wants to double major in business and fashion design, and hopes to one day open his own studio. “I’m in a precollegiate program at my high school, but being here at CSU really showed me what to expect,” he said.

Kylie First Gen Business Week — Kyrie Yavala is a rugby player at her high school, but learned through DECA that she’d like to pursue marketing as a career and one day even start her own business. This is what led her to the First Generation Business Summit. “I like that it helps prepare you for the real world,” she said.

Yeabsira First Gen Business Week — Yeabsira Tsegaye wants to one day open her own business, and knew the Summit would help her learn what tools she needs to get there. “From the lectures to tutorial on financial aid to lessons about marketing, this has shown me what college will really look like,” she said.

Zhi First Gen Business Week — Zhi Ceteways has big plans to become an entrepreneur, either in fashion design or game development. He said he isn’t set on going to college, but the First Generation Business Summit has given him a nudge in that direction. “It’s making me think about it,” he said. “I like the scenery and all the programs we’ve had.”

Kris First Gen Business Week — Kris Medina has already chosen to go to CSU and his mom works on campus, but he wanted to come to the First Generation Business Summit to see what college life is all about. “I’m planning on majoring in sociology and potentially working in law enforcement,” he said. “I’m passionate about true crime, but also interested in helping solve the housing problem.”

Zacquirie First Gen Business Week — Zacquirie Jackson’s mom signed him up for the First Generation Business Summit, and he said he’s glad she did. “I hope to major in business and become an entrepreneur, and so far it’s been really cool to interact with all the mentors and adults in this program,” he said.

Lucero Correa, senior, Legacy HS — Cucero Correa says CSU is her “dream school,” and she came to the Summit to learn more – and to hopefully use her experience to educate her younger siblings about college. “One of the biggest reasons I’m here is to get out of my comfort zone,” she said.

Simon Pitonyak said his parents have always encouraged him to be the first in his family to go to college, and since he doesn’t know what he wants to do yet, he said he thought the First Generation Business Summit would start giving him some ideas. “It’s so cool how massive this campus is,” he said.

College in a week

What does it mean to be a first generation student?

It’s hard to quantify, but students tried to describe it in one word on the back of their t-shirts on the first day of the Summit, when they were introduced to the dozens of other fellow teenagers from across the state who would also be taking part in this week-long event.

It’s the same day they also learned they could receive a scholarship for their case study presentations, with the winners receiving $2,500 to attend CSU.

“The first day was a little bit scary for the students and their parents,” said Laura Renn, an undergraduate administrative coordinator for the College of Business. “When we read their applications, we had already fallen in love with the students and their stories, and it was inspiring to hear about their hopes, and know all the barriers they’ve been able to overcome.”

Multiple CSU professors gave the students actual first-year business lectures, showing them what academic life would look like in college.

One of them was Marketing Professor Kelly Martin, who grew up in rural Montana and was able to share her own experiences as a first generation college student.

“In my town, I thought there were more cows than people,” she said. “My college campus was bigger than my hometown by the thousands. That’s kind of why I became a professor: I couldn’t get enough of that college experience.”

Throughout the week, the students worked together in their respective teams to prepare their case study presentations. They chose topics ranging from using trash collected from beaches to make art to sustainable makeup to solutions for affordable housing.

Like college itself, these projects meant hours huddled together over laptops in CSU’s Morgan Library (with vending machine snacks, obviously).

First Gen students study in Morgan Library — High School students participate in the First Generation Business Summit in Colorado State University’s College of Business. July 26, 2022

Snacks for studying in the Morgan Library — High School students participate in the First Generation Business Summit in Colorado State University’s College of Business. July 26, 2022

But also like college, the First Generation Business Summit wasn’t just studying and lectures. Case in point? The nighttime TikTok dance parties in the students’ residence hall, night of games on the Oval and activities in the Campus Recreation Center.

Engaging with the Fort Collins business community

The First Generation Business Summit didn’t just give students a look at college. It also showed them what was waiting for them after graduation, when they’ll embark on their future careers.

In addition to networking events with local leaders on campus, the students got to go to the Fort Collins community and spend time at four local businesses: the Northern Colorado Latino Chamber of Commerce, New Belgium, Morning Fresh Dairy and Otterbox.

At Otterbox, CEO Jim Parke outlined his experiences as a first generation college student, and how it gave him a future he never dreamed of.

“Don’t let the inner voice that says ‘you can’t do it’ talk you out of being great.”

– Jim Parke, Otterbox CEO

Scenes from the New Belgium and Morning Fresh Dairy tours

Photos by Allison Sylte and Laura Renn

The grand finale

Presenting an idea to a group is hard enough, regardless of where you are in your professional career. Presenting to a group of professionals – including College of Business Dean Beth Walker – with a scholarship on the line? That’s even harder, but the students came out in a big way.

“They could’ve been college students the way they presented, not high school juniors,” said Palmer, one of the judges.

The winning team’s presentation pitched an app to help people with mental health. The second place team’s idea was a sustainable makeup brand, and the third place team came up with a concept involving art displays using trash that had been cleaned up from beaches.

The Summit finished off with a farewell luncheon and announcement of the awards. Ferree said students have already been asking him if they can come back again next year.

The goal is for the First Generation Business Summit to get bigger and bigger every summer, giving more high school students at glimpse at what college can be.

“You are it,” Palmer told the students. “You can do this.”

About CSU’s College of Business

The College of Business at Colorado State University is focused on using business to create a better world.

As an AACSB-accredited business school, the College is among the top five percent of business colleges worldwide, providing programs and career support services to more than 2,500 undergraduate and 1,300 graduate students. Faculty help students across our top-ranked on-campus and online programs develop the knowledge, skills and values to navigate a rapidly evolving business world and address global challenges with sustainable business solutions. Our students are known for their creativity, work ethic and resilience—resulting in an undergraduate job offer and placement rate of over 90% within 90 days of graduation.

The College’s highly ranked programs include its Online MBA, which has been ranked the No. 1 program in Colorado by U.S. News and World Report for five years running and achieved No. 16 for employability worldwide from QS Quacquarelli Symonds. The College’s Impact MBA is also ranked by Corporate Knights as a Top 20 “Better World MBA” worldwide.