Don't call it a comeback. Sam and LT look back on a year of school visits, book chats, and pop-up events that turned a memoir into a community project, where first-gen stories, fandoms, and everyday art met in classrooms, clinics, and even a 24...

What if campus events felt less like ceremonies and more like sanctuary? We sit down with Doctora Alexia Fernanda Pineda Soto to rethink how universities design gatherings for first-generation students—from the invitation to the furniture to th...

In this episode, LT and Sam are joined by two students from the fall Smart Girl roadshow: Liz Hardy (UCSF) and Maliah Siyoum (SMC). Together, they unpack what happens when Smart Girl moves from the page into real college and grad schoo...

It's a Bruin reunion!  This week we welcome fellow Smart Girl and self-published author, Melanie Ho, as we discuss the hidden curriculum of self-publishing.  We get into the nuts and bolts: hiring a developmental editor ...

We trace how Black feminist networks form, sustain, and transform lives, from a painful academic slight to a thriving community rooted in mentorship, writing, and everyday care. Prof. Sharon Harley (University of Maryland) joins us to unpack bi...

In this episode, LT reconnects with longtime friend and colleague Professor Jim Lee (Asian American Studies, UC Irvine), who played a pivotal role in her transition from undergrad to graduate school. Together they reflect on their shared...

It all started with a routine self-exam.In this episode, LT and Sam get specific in all the ways search results rarely do. We talk costs in plain numbers, coordination with surgeons and oncologists, and the difference it makes when a Bla...

In What is a Graduate Student: Learning the Higher Ed Hidden Curriculum on the Fly, LT and Sam welcome special guest Dr. Tracy Buenavista—professor of Asian American Studies at Cal State Northridge and the very person who first named L...

In Episode Four—aka The English Major Episode—LT and Sam welcome self-proclaimed “Honorary Smart Girl,” Phuc Tran, author of ...

What does it mean to be Black and first-gen? In this heartfelt and freewheeling episode, LT is joined by her former student—and now lifelong friend—Hon. George A. Turner, Jr. for a deeply personal conversation on style, selfhood, and s...

In Episode Two, LT and Sam sit down with Dr. Claire Brady—President of Glass Half Full Consulting, former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, and proud first-gen grad—to flip the script on how we talk about school choice and student success. Dr...

In the debut episode of the Smart Girl podcast, hosts La'Tonya “LT” Rease Miles—pioneering founder of first-gen college studies and tireless changemaker—and her best friend Sam Pinto, professor at UT Austin, go behind the scenes of LT’...