Hi! My name is Erin and I am so thankful to be able to support first-gen students at the University of Iowa! I am a first-gen student myself and, while I teach school counselors now, part of the reason I went into school counseling originally was because I wanted to provide transition support to first-gen students. I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago around people who didn't attend college - and didn't know what it took to get in or stay in. From applications to graduation, I felt like I was living in a different world full of terms and unspoken rules. Now, after many years in higher education as a student and now professor, I hope to help students de-code some of the language and norms of college so that they can successfully navigate the higher education system.