My name is Cari Anderson and I am so proud to be part of the First Gen Mentor Network at UIowa! I currently serve as the Senior Training & Development Specialist for Design & Construction, a departmental unit within UI Facilities Management. I also am a part time adjunct instructor at the school of social work which brings me a lot of joy and consistent interactions with our greatest resource here at Iowa – our students!

I grew up in a blue collar, middle-class family that held great pride in their work ethic and efforts and was the first female in my family to ever attend college and also the first person overall in my family to ever complete a master's program and obtain professional licensure. My educational path included earning a BA in Psychology and a BA in Family Services from the University of Northern Iowa; moving to Iowa City with 2 young children to earn my Masters of Social Work from the University of Iowa and ultimately completely the requirements to be an independently licensed clinical social worker and adult ADHD treatment specialist. NONE of this came easy, is why I am so very committed to this project.

Although supportive, my family struggled to understand my experiences in both my undergraduate and graduate programs and thus were unable to help overcome some of the barriers I faced. I also was unaware of scholarship opportunities, financial supports and programs designed to help non-traditional students and this has impacted my financial picture to this day given the amount of loans I took out to make it to my goals. I remember feeling very alone at times and worried on many occasions if I would be able to finish what I had started when I returned to college as nontraditional student in 2012.

Because of my own experiences, I am deeply committed to supporting our first-generation students. I understand that many experience barriers due to identity intersectionalities or other environmental barriers that often result in increased risk to overall wellbeing, higher incidence of reported mental health concerns, greater experiences of isolation and decreased sense of belonging/engagement. If I can be of support in your journey as a First Gen here at Iowa, please do not hesitate to reach out and say Hi! We are all in this together.