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For educators looking to connect, learn, and share knowledge about serving first-generation college and college-bound students.
FirstGenFM
Building Bridges for First-Gen Professionals: Insights from Brianna Logan, CEO of FirstGen Evolve
Brianna Logan's journey from her parents' Caribbean roots to becoming a successful CEO is inspiring. In our latest episode, Brianna, a first-generation college graduate, shares her personal story of overcoming challenges and finding her path in the professional world. Her experience navigating college and her career without a clear roadmap highlights the power of mentorship and career coaching.
As the founder and CEO of First Gen Evolve, Brianna is committed to supporting first-generation professionals in the workforce. During her time at an ed tech company, she discovered her passion for leading Employee Resource Groups and empowering others through professional development initiatives. Brianna discusses the importance of networking and shares practical advice from her mentors, which helped her overcome initial challenges and build valuable connections. Her insights emphasize the need for students to make the most of college resources to hone their networking skills and prepare for their future careers.
Brianna also delves into the crucial support systems and resources that can aid first-gen students in their transition into the workforce. Through First Gen Evolve, she collaborates with universities and employers to offer mentorship, workshops, and programs focusing on workplace diversity, leadership, and mental health. By spotlighting the unique strengths of first-generation graduates, such as their work ethic and eagerness to learn, Brianna underscores the importance of creating inclusive environments. Her message of dreaming big, taking risks, and effective networking provides invaluable guidance for both students and professionals on their career journeys.
Brianna Logan contact information and bio
https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannalogan/
On YouTube and Instagram as FirstGen Evolve
Brianna Logan is the Founder and CEO of FirstGen Evolve LLC, a B2B consulting company that provides professional development and mentorship services to first-generation employees to help them navigate the workforce and succeed in their careers.
As a first-generation college graduate, Brianna is passionate about creating initiatives to help people from underserved communities feel heard, seen, and valued. This passion started during her junior year at her Alma mater, Skidmore College where she co-founded a student club on campus for Caribbean students (many of whom were first-gen students) like her.
Through FirstGen Evolve, Brianna continues to fulfill that passion by supporting first-generation employees on their professional journeys. When Brianna is not running her business, you can find her mentoring college students in NYC with the City Tutors or leading a group of ninety-five Black Employees at Renaissance Learning where
she hosts professional development events for them on topics including but not limited to mental health, imposter syndrome, and personal branding.
Please help others find this podcast by rating and reviewing wherever you listen!
You can find me at https://www.firstgenfm.com/ and on LinkedIn. My email is jen@firstgenfm.com.
Welcome and welcome back to the First Gen FM podcast, where we high school and college educators strengthen, celebrate and support first-generation college and college-bound students. I'm Jennifer Schoen, your host. Please call me Jen. I'd love it if you could leave a review and a rating for this podcast to help other educators find us. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that.
Speaker 1:Now let's dive into this week's episode. Today I'm talking with Brianna Logan, who is a first-gen graduate of Skidmore College and who is the founder and CEO of First Gen Evolve, which is a B2B consulting company providing professional development and mentorship services to FirstGen employees to help them navigate the workforce and succeed in their careers. I'm so excited for you to hear about all the great things she's doing and how she is supporting FirstGen professionals as they enter their career. So let's get started and welcome Brianna. Welcome back to the First Gen FM podcast. I'm here today with Brianna Logan, who is with First Gen Evolve, and I am really excited to have her here today because we're going to talk about first-gen professionals. So, brianna, welcome and thanks for joining me.
Speaker 2:Good morning, Jen. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:I'm excited for our conversation today, me too, me too, and happy birthday.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1:I love that you're willing to record on your birthday and don't have a million other things planned, so thank you. I always like to ask the question you know, what was the spark that got you into working with first generation students? Like, tell me about that.
Speaker 2:Well, first off, I am a first generation college graduate myself. My parents emigrated to the United States from the Caribbean. My mom she's from Trinidad and Tobago, so that's where I grew up with my grandparents, and my dad he's from Trinidad and Tobago, so that's where I grew up with my grandparents, and my dad he's from Jamaica. My mom came to the US when she was 14 years old. My dad came when he was 19. And when they came they didn't go to college right. They didn't have the right documentation to apply for college in the US, so they immediately went straight into the workforce once they got here.
Speaker 1:All right, and so how did you figure out how to get to college then?
Speaker 2:With the help of mentors I went to high school in Brooklyn. That's where I was born and I had teachers and mentors. I was a part of this nonprofit organization called Bottom Line and I had a college counselor help me apply to colleges. I didn't even know which college I wanted to go into, I just knew that I was a part of musical theater in high school. So I said I think I want to major in theater. So that's when she encouraged me to apply to Skidmore, which is my alma mater, and I got in and I spent the last four years in college there.
Speaker 1:That's awesome, that's awesome. And did you major in musical theater?
Speaker 2:No, I did not. I took a different route. I majored in international affairs and I minored in business.
Speaker 1:All right, so, yeah, that is. That is quite a switch for musical theater, Do you? Do you find that you use musical theater as a hobby?
Speaker 2:No, I do not. I sing in the shower. I don't know if that counts All right, so you still sing.
Speaker 1:That's all that matters. That's very important. That's very important. All right, so you had mentors that helped you get to college. You had a successful college career. You're getting ready to go into the professional sphere. What was that transition like? Because I know that's a big transition from college to the first professional job, and if indeed, that was your first professional job?
Speaker 2:It was challenging, besides not knowing about retirement plans and the different types of retirement plans that workplaces offer. Let's take a step back for a bit because, to be honest with you, jen, I didn't even know what type of career I wanted to go into. Coming from being raised in a Caribbean household, I had some family members that said, hey, why don't you be a lawyer or a nurse? But I didn't want either of those things. So when I graduated from college, it was hard for me to find the career that I'm going to enjoy and that I'm going to love, because international affairs it was such a broad major so I could have done anything with my degree, but I wanted to make sure that it was something that I loved to do. So I liked writing. I always loved English class in high school.
Speaker 2:So I got on LinkedIn one day and I was just applying for jobs that had communications in them. I networked with a few Skidmore alumni that worked in public relations because I thought that's what I wanted to do, but turns out I wasn't sure. So the first job that I saw on LinkedIn, it was for a client success manager role at a social media company and I applied and I got in and that was my very first job post-college. I applied and I got in and that was my very first job post-college and that employer helped me transition into the workforce by setting me up with a career coach. And that was my first time actually having a career coach where I could sit down with them and say, hey, I like to do this, but how do I turn that into a career?
Speaker 2:And that was, you know, four or five years ago and I still get in contact with that college, that career coach, today. I actually emailed her a few months ago and I said, hey, I need help with my resume, my next career move. So I really appreciated my employer for providing me with that opportunity move. So I really appreciated my employer for providing me with that opportunity.
Speaker 1:That's amazing. And did you have to ask for that? Did they just say, hey, as a new person, you have this or was it part of a first gen professional program?
Speaker 2:No, so they already had a partnership with this career coach, so I didn't have to ask A lot of the employees at the time they were fresh out of college, so I think you know they put two and two together and they said, hey, how do we help these recent college graduates, you know, adapt to the workforce? So they, they provided us with that opportunity and we had check ins with that career coach and it was very helpful for me.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. You went from mentors to help you get into college to mentors once you got into your career. Correct, yes. So now I have to ask the question did you use the career center at all whatever they call it at Skidmore to kind of help you search for jobs and kind of think about that? Move to communication.
Speaker 2:Yes, I use the Career Center a lot, but I use it mostly for resume editing and also for interviewing skills. At the time communications didn't pop into my head yet. I mostly used the Career Center when I was applying for internships. In fact, I had one internship in college at Morgan Stanley. I was an internal communications intern and I got that internship based on luck, I guess, because my parents didn't have any connections in Morgan Stanley. So I just saw the role on LinkedIn one day.
Speaker 2:As you can tell, I use LinkedIn a lot, yes, that's good advice, yeah, and I saw the role and it involved writing it involved newsletters, things that I already enjoyed doing. So I took a risk, I applied and I got the job. I don't know how, but in the interview, when I had the interview with my employer at Morgan Stanley, I was just being myself. I didn't try to sound polished or anything. Of course I had to dress professional et cetera, but I told my story. I said my parents, I don't have any connections in Morgan Stanley, but here's why I'm interested in this role and this is the value that I can bring to your workplace. And I got the job.
Speaker 1:So obviously you prepared and you went in and you were ready. You were ready to go at that job. So it's not just luck. Yeah, I would say it's not just luck. You were, you were ready for that. So when you went into this job, what kind of skills from your college and your experiences in your internship did you take with you? Did you find were transferable skills?
Speaker 2:Communication skills because I was I was not just, you know, writing professional emails at that point, but I was also working in a team. I was working with colleagues that were much older than me, and that's something that you know studying business at Skidmore. I also gathered those skills there because I did a lot of business presentation. So I developed those skills at Skidmore through my mentorship, through my internship excuse me that I was able to pass down into other roles that I've had since then.
Speaker 1:Okay, now did you I don't know if you can answer this, but you know, looking back, did you do some of those things deliberately because you thought these are some skills I'm going to need when I get into the workforce, or did they just happen to be part of the curriculum and that you took advantage of those opportunities?
Speaker 2:They just happened to be a part of my curriculum. I can think back to my introduction to business course at Skidmore. The very first project that we work on involves analyzing a company's strategy. That's a huge project that all first year students have to complete as a business, major and minor. So in that project I worked in a team of four, I believe, and we had to present in front of executives and it was my very first time doing that. But it helped build me and it helped me gain those necessary skills that I needed in the workforce and that I still use in my role as a client success manager at. I'm now at an ed tech company that's my employer. I have two jobs, so when I'm not running first gen evolved, I am a customer success manager at an ed tech company. I'm also leading an employee resource group for Black employees.
Speaker 1:So I wear a lot of hats. You do wear a lot of hats, but that's awesome. You know, it's great that you're doing your job, but you're also lifting others up at the same time and you're creating this first gen evolve so that other people can A learn from your experiences, but also benefit from your knowledge. Is that why you decided to get started and tell me that story? How did you decide to do that?
Speaker 2:Yes. So when I started working at my ed tech employer, I started off in customer success. I should mention that I've always had a passion for education as well, but I didn't know. I didn't want to be a teacher, right? So, again, I used LinkedIn and I stumbled upon this customer success role at my ed tech employer, and while I enjoyed giving back to my community in New York City by visiting schools and talking about our products and services, it was just not fulfilling my everyday needs.
Speaker 2:In fact, when I voluntarily got into the Black Employee Resource Group at my ed tech company, that really drove my passion every day, because I was waking up feeling very happy on helping employees feel included and valued in the workplace, and I do that through hosting professional development events with them. I do research, I find external speakers to come in talk to them about imposter syndrome right. How do you navigate that in the workplace? How do you talk about mental health? And the nice thing about this voluntary position that I hold is that I'm supporting employees that are not just first gen right, a lot of them are older than me, they're not first gen, but they share similar experiences of not knowing how to navigate the workforce. So that drove me to start my own initiative with First Gen Evolve, and the reason why I focus on the first gen experience is because I can relate to that a lot more Right and I wanted to say, hey, I share those similar experiences and I can help you through my consulting company.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's great. That's great. And now you work directly with businesses, kind of like your career coach worked with your first employer. You work with the businesses to provide those services. Correct, yes, entered. You know that you got from mentors to adapt to the professional sphere and what is it that you now like to share that you think is really important to share with first-gen professionals making that transition? That's a big question.
Speaker 2:Yes, a piece of advice that I got from my mentors that helped me was keep networking right and, of course, sometimes that may sound very easy to some people, but for me it was a challenge because, like I said earlier, my parents didn't have connections in these corporate spaces and also networking was something that I was still learning how to do.
Speaker 2:Public speaking was not my strongest skill all throughout high school or even in college, but I developed that over time through leading the employee resource group at my EdTech employer, through speaking with clients in my role as a customer success manager, right. So it's something that I developed over time and I'm passing down to mentees. I'm actually a mentor with a nonprofit organization in New York City called the City Tutors and I help my mentees learn how to network in the works, in the workforce. We also talk about things like, you know, an elevator pitch, right. Again, those might sound easy to some people, but for others, like myself and other first gen, it's hard right, because we don't know how to, how to. We're still learning, so to speak, on how to put ourselves out there professionally in the workforce because we don't have, you know, our parents, don't have connections or we don't have someone else in our family to share those experiences with.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that part about connections is so important. I mean, I work at Northeastern and our students need to do experiential learning, so typically they'll do a co-op, which they'll do a six-month experience in a professional setting, and I think, especially for first-gen students, that's such a good time to connect and begin building relationships and starting to build their own network that if you don't do something like you did an internship, even if you didn't build your network within that within Morgan Stanley, because that's not where you wanted to stay, you still had the opportunity to network and learn from different professionals in that field. Do you feel that same way, then?
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, I do, Because while I was interning there, I actually took it upon myself to reach out to colleagues in different departments and I set aside a 15, 20-minute coffee chat and I just asked them questions about their role how did you get there, et cetera. I also assisted them with projects, and this was something that, of course, I had to ask my manager first, right, because obviously my responsibilities were for her team. But I said, hey, if we don't have any additional projects on our team that I can work on, can I reach out to a colleague in this department and offer to help them? And I did that, and that also helped me learn more about different departments in the company.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it sounded like you asked a lot of questions and you took advantage of that and having a good relationship with your supervisor to say you know, can I also look at some of these other places within the company to see if I can work with them and learn from them too?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And you had another question. It was about what type of advice would I give to students. Yes, to students.
Speaker 2:So I would tell students to network, but also take advantage of the events that your colleges may have on campus the Career Development Center.
Speaker 2:If they have panel discussions where they talk about the first-gen experience and what it's like to navigate the workforce, attend those sessions, ask as many questions as you can. Or if you're more introverted and you know you haven't yet developed that skill of speaking up and speaking out, just write down your questions. And I would also say to that hey, this company actually wants to support first gen. I would also say that employees should also consider partnering with colleges and universities to allow first gen students to shadow at their jobs. I think having more exposure as early on as possible for these first-gen students would help them develop more clarity on the type of careers that they wanted. Like I said, I was fortunate enough where I had an internship in college. I also had an internship in high school with the help of my mentors. But the more workplace explorer that first-gen students can get now, they're better prepared they will be to navigate the workforce with first-gen Evolve's help and also the help of employers. Starting those partnerships with the universities as soon as possible.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree 100%. And it seems like and you can tell me if this is true it seems like when you did your internship and you asked to speak to other people, people weren't like, oh no, I don't have time for that. People were really willing and excited to talk to you, to share their own experiences, maybe even going beyond that 15 minute time that you had set, you know, to help you.
Speaker 2:Exactly, and the thing is a lot of the ones. Once you get into the workforce and you ask questions, you raise your hand. Like you said, these employers, they want to talk to you, right? They love when people come up with questions because they were once in your shoes and you never know. Sometimes they are also first gen too and they want to help you develop the necessary skills and knowledge that you need to succeed in your careers.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I agree, I mean I'm. I mean for me, I'm always happy to talk to students about sort of my own path, if they're interested in that, to students about sort of my own path, if they're interested in that. So I really like that. I think that's so important to ask questions and put yourself out there.
Speaker 1:And so I had one student who was just at a panel. She heard from this one of the panelists and she was like I really need to connect with him, but I'm nervous, I have no idea what to say. So she came up with what I think is a brilliant plan. She went up to him and she said I really have to run to a meeting so I can't talk to you right now. Do you have a card that I can contact you later? And so he gave her his card and then she could think about what she wanted to ask. And then she emailed him questions and it turned out she ended up having a co-op with that company and he did become a mentor. But I thought, oh my gosh, that is so smart, so smart. Get your card, it's, you can talk later and you can really think about what it is you want to ask and what you want to say.
Speaker 2:I love that so much. And that story just shows, you know, for first gen students, while some of us might be, you know, afraid to network and to take that first step and raise our hands, you know, don't be afraid, right, the worst they can say is, no, I can't help you. But you never know until you try. And it all starts with developing that confidence and knowing that, hey, I can do this right, even though my parents was not able to do this, I can. And it's all about taking risks sometimes, and you never know what you can achieve unless you take that risk and take that first step.
Speaker 1:Right, and I find that oftentimes people, even when they say no there are very few people who just flat out are like no, I can't help you, right, but a lot of people say like no, I can't, but I know someone who can or would be happy to talk to you, and so just by putting yourself out there that little bit, even if it's just to ask for a card, I think is really powerful, exactly. Yeah, I love that. How do you support the transition for first gen students? You've talked about in your work a little bit, but also with first gen evolve, what kinds of things do you do and and how can we you know, all of us who are listening to you as educators kind of help with that?
Speaker 2:So, although first gen evolve we primarily focus on employers right, because they're the ones that are going to be paying for their first gen employee services. We are not closed off to working with universities, as I mentioned earlier. If universities have career panel discussions and they would like to tap into my network at First Gen Evolve to have first-gen professionals come in and talk to students about their transition into the workforce, we can do that. Or if universities would like their students to participate in our mentorship services, we can do that as well, because the nice thing about our services for our professional development workshops, panel discussions and also mentorship we go beyond just the interviewing skills and editing resumes, but we actually talk about the things that you'll experience in the workplace.
Speaker 2:So we talk about what is it like to work in a diverse team? Because, as I mentioned earlier, once you get into the workforce, you're not just working with 20-something-year-olds, you're working with 30-something-years, 40-something-years, et cetera. Right, we also talk about how do I become a leader in my career. As I mentioned, I'm leading a group of 95-plus employees in the Black Employee Resource Group at my EdTech employer. How do I do that? Right, because I didn't have experience leading a group that large right. I didn't know how to, but I kind of fell into that role with the help of mentors.
Speaker 2:Again, at my ed tech company, we also talk about imposter syndrome and also mental health. Mental health is a topic that a lot, a lot of students are talking about nowadays and we want to make sure that we continue having those conversations to help them understand that. What does that look like in the workforce? Right, and we help them think about the type of role that they're in and how do you discover your passion, because sometimes the first job that you have out of college may not be the job that you advance in or that you stay in for a long time. All right, so we talk about how do you move from one career role to another. We also provide resources books that are written by other first gen professionals who understand the experiences of being first-gen and they've now taken their knowledge and transformed that into best-selling author books, and we also provide those books through our mentorship programs. So, long story short, we can work with universities, but if we do, universities would have to pay for our services, for the students.
Speaker 1:If we do, universities would have to pay for our services for the students. Okay, okay, I love that. I love that. I think that would probably be really beneficial to smaller colleges that may not have as robust of a career center but would love to have some extra help, especially for first gen students. That's a really cool idea. That's a really cool idea. Why is it just important overall for employers to support first-generation employees? I mean, we talk about, you know, students being career-ready, but it's also important, I think, for the employers to be ready for their first-gen professionals. So tell me more about your thoughts on why that's important, on why that's important.
Speaker 2:I'll answer it from two different perspectives, Personally. First, gens, we have a strong work ethic right. We want to learn the fact that our parents did not have the same experiences that we have now.
Speaker 2:We have a hunger and excitement to raise our hand at the table, to ask questions, to ask to be a part of opportunities and initiatives in the workforce. From a professional standpoint, employers have started to see the benefits of DEI in the workplace right. So the more opportunities that employers can provide for first-gen employees, they will continue to see the value add of supporting first-gen, supporting that group of employees that really wants to be at the forefront of opportunities. Because we want to excel, we want to achieve our goals, we want to be role models in our families for our younger siblings, for our future kids, to say, hey, even though your grandparents did not achieve these things, your parents did and they're changing that cycle in the family household.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do you think that adds extra pressure to be successful for first gen students in their very first position out of college?
Speaker 2:In some cases it does. Speaking from personal experience in my household, I make the most right and you know I support my family financially and while I do love doing that, it's also helpful to have a balance between you know, taking care of yourself and your goals as a professional, but also wanting to give back and help your family as a way of you know thanks for their support along that journey would say look at the end goal at the light of the tunnel and say, hey, if I invest in my career development as early on in the workforce, even in college too, when you start to think about those things and you receive the support, it can help you along the way and help take some of that pressure off of you. That's why our services are designed by first-gen professionals with years of experience under their belt who are willing to pass that knowledge and skills down to you to help you navigate through some of those pressures.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's so important because I see that in the college students that drive to, I'm going to make a big difference with my family, and sometimes the difficulty in, oh I need to send them kind of everything now, but I also need to succeed here and how do I balance that and having that and having mental health as part of your discussion and your services, those two things, that working through that pressure and and it's it can be a good pressure but it can also be a little too stressful too at times. So walking that fine line I think is so important and I love that you're talking about that just right up front.
Speaker 2:And that that's what my parents did when they immigrated to the US. Even though they did not go to college, they went into the workforce, so they had jobs and they were focused on when they had made their money, they were focused on sending it back home to their respective islands to help families right, to help their families. So oftentimes they could not save or they could not budget right and they didn't have the financial education on how to do those things. So, coming into now that I've come into this position and I've started my own company, I want to have conversations with first-gen students around that as well. We actually have financial literacy topics where we talk about how to budget, how to save and how to manage our money overall Because, to your point, sometimes, first-gen, we want to help family, we want to make sure that they're okay financially, but it's all about a balance between that and what that looks like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. So how do you work with the first gen employers to get them ready? So maybe, let me put it this way You're meeting with the first gen employer for the first time, like what's one of the things that you're going to do right off the bat?
Speaker 2:One of the things that I do right off the bat. I help them understand why first-gen right, because we can talk about supporting all of their employees, but the real focus here is the first gen right. So I help them see the value that first gen employees bring to the workforce. Speaking from my own personal experiences and I've also been targeting people in the workforce that are first gen as well so employers that identify as being first gen in my marketing I reach out to those people because they understand the experiences of being first gen and it helps make those conversations easier when I meet with them because they're like hey, I can relate to that and I want person evolved to be a part of my workforce so we can continue supporting them together. So in my marketing I look for people that have first-gen advocates in their bios and headlines and I reach out to them and we strike up a conversation and that's how I help them see the value of first-gen employees and what they bring to the workplace.
Speaker 1:That is such good marketing to really focus on that group and to find those people who get it Like right off the bat. Like I was first gen, I understand that. Or even I was a first gen ally, I very much understand that. I really think that's important. When you look back, you know it's interesting to tell your story. So musical, theater, business, administration, you know in international affairs and business. Then you go into, you know you have an internship in Morgan Stanley and then communication and now you know running your own business. In addition to the leadership at the work that you're doing, what advice would you give to yourself, like as a freshman or sophomore in college, that that you maybe wish you had known?
Speaker 2:now that you see the path you've taken, An advice that I would have given myself is to never stop dreaming, never stop taking risks. Because, like I said, I would have never thought that I would be sitting here today with you, because public speaking was not my strongest skill. But I would have told myself continue to take as much, take advantage of as many opportunities as you can. Even if you think that you cannot achieve that position, apply for it and and network. Keep networking right. Even if you do apply for a position at a company, find out who the talent acquisition person is, or someone in HR, and reach out to them and offer to schedule a meeting. And if they respond and they want to meet with you, that's great. But to your point earlier, sometimes these professionals are busy, so sometimes they may not be able to meet with you. But these professionals are busy, so sometimes they may not be able to meet with you, but they can point you into the direction of someone who can.
Speaker 2:And the nice thing about First Gen Evolved is that, through our mentorship, our mentors can point their mentees into the direction. If they don't know who to help their mentees reach out to, to strike up a conversation, to network, they can point them into the direction. If they don't know who to help their mentees reach out to to strike up a conversation, to network, they can point them into the direction of someone who can, and that's more than anything. First Gen Evolve is a community for First Gen students and also First Gen employees. That's the main thing. If I want you to leave this podcast here today with Jen, I want you to know that First Gen Evolve creates a strong community for other first gens to be able to tap into, strike up conversations and learn more about how they can network, how they can advance in their careers and what that looks like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. I applaud you for the risk-taking that you did, you know, by putting yourself out there, by saying I can help other people, other first gens, by creating this business that I have an idea for, because I think that does take, you know, a lot of guts and gumption to do that. I'm dating myself with words like gumption, right, but I think it's such a good word. So what would be your final words of advice for folks like me who are in higher ed to help students prepare to transition into the workplace?
Speaker 2:My advice to you and other people in higher ed would be continue to be that support system for first-gen students right and have a conversation with them.
Speaker 2:Ask them what type of career roles are you interested in, right as early as freshman year and help them create sort of a map on what that looks like. And then, once you've had that conversation, you can also tap into your networks, right your professional networks and help them create, strike up that first initial conversation so they can start to network and I think not just you or anyone else in higher ed, but people who are allies to your point right students. Have those conversations with them. Tap into your own networks, make those introductions on their behalf and help them see that, hey, I'm here to help support you. Even though I was not a French M myself, I see your drive, I see your dedication, you really wanted to succeed and I want to help you. And that can make things a little bit easier too for first-gen students or first-gen employees that are not used to speaking up or they don't feel comfortable speaking up and putting themselves out there. So it helps to have someone in their corner who's willing to take those actions on their behalf to help them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, thank you so much. I agree wholeheartedly with that. How can people reach you if they have questions, or maybe they want to get involved or they just want to know more? How can they find you?
Speaker 2:You can find me on LinkedIn at Brianna Logan. You can also follow First Gen Evolve on Instagram at First Gen Evolve, on YouTube First Gen Evolve, tiktok, first Gen Evolve and also on LinkedIn. Our business page is called First Gen Evolve LLC.
Speaker 1:I will put all of that in the show notes for folks who want to reach out to you. I just smiled because you said LinkedIn first, because I know that's your go-to. Smiled because you said LinkedIn first because I know that's your go-to.
Speaker 1:Definitely. I mean, I think sometimes students overlook LinkedIn as a great way to make connections, especially as you said. You know you went to Skidmore alums and I think a lot of colleges have specific alumni groups set up on LinkedIn and there's one thing you have in common right from the start, so that's a great way to reach out to those folks and have at least an in to the beginning of the conversation.
Speaker 2:Yes, and here's the thing about LinkedIn. What I've discovered is that some students just don't know how to use it. Like, as I mentioned, I'm a mentor with the city tutors, so a lot of the times I'm helping my mentees learn how to use the platform and I'm helping them figure out how can they grow their followers. So I think that's what might be keeping students from using it. But also, if your college has a specific career center, which Skidmore did we had a whole website where alumni could connect with students.
Speaker 2:But I use both, but I use LinkedIn a little bit more because that's where most professionals live. But also, linkedin is kind of changing in terms of the types of posts that you see nowadays. But that's OK, right, as long as you know the goal that you have in mind and how you want to use the platform, you can still reach out to people. And you know, by LinkedIn changing, I don't mean it in a bad way, because change can be good, right, I've just seen a lot of people reposting their TikTok videos on LinkedIn et cetera, which is okay. It's still a business platform and I would recommend students look into it and learn more about how you can use it to your advantage and it really helps.
Speaker 1:Yeah, awesome. Well, I have really enjoyed our conversation today. Brianna, thank you so much for joining me on your birthday. Hopefully it's a good start to your day and I so appreciate you being here, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, jen. I enjoyed our conversation as well and, yes you. Thank you so much, Jen. I enjoyed our conversation as well and, yes, it was a great start to my birthday. Thank you so much and I look forward to continuing this conversation with anyone that's interested in being a part of First Gen Evolve, and I look forward to seeing this recording out soon.
Speaker 1:Oh, fantastic, fantastic, Thanks. If you want to get in touch with me, you can find me at Jen, that's J-E-N, at firstgenfmcom and at my website is firstgenfmcom. I look forward to talking with you again next week and, as always, I love to hear a rating and review and helps other people find the podcast. Thanks so much for today and we'll talk to you next week.