Iowa State First-Generation Students Turn Challenges into Opportunity

Many Iowa State alumni are proud to be able to trace their family’s Cyclone legacy back generations. But nearly 21% of Iowa State students have a different story, and are instead working to establish a new family legacy as first-generation students. These students often face financial, academic, and personal challenges in their pursuit, and yet they persist. Here, five recent graduates reflect on their journeys as first-generation students.

'I'm Confident' 

What power lies in a person’s name? For Confident Fandeh (’26), it was a challenging adjective she had to evolve into. 

“I was a very shy kid coming out of high school, but I’ve grown so much within my name while here at Iowa State,” she says. “Even moving away from Des Moines, alone, did so much for me as an individual and finding who I am as a person and truly walking in my name. Waking up every morning and literally telling myself: ‘you’re confident; I’m Confident.’ It’s something that I struggled with ever since I was young, and having that name felt like a pressure in a way. But being here as a first-gen and figuring things out has taught me so much about myself and what it means to be confident within.” 

While in high school, Fandeh worked as a certified nurse assistant; as graduation neared, she wasn’t sure nursing was a path she wanted to pursue further. A fan of HGTV, Fandeh instead set her sights on design. 

“I came into the architecture program blindly, which I’m glad that I did because if I knew what architecture really was, it probably would’ve put a little fear in me,” she says. “I always knew my life would be tailored toward helping people, which is why nursing was such a big thing to me, but then with architecture I realized this is something that can also help people. Putting a roof over somebody’s head, preserving a home, or building new spaces where people can come together as a community and feel welcome and have a space tailored toward them — it’s all about the people.” 

People and communities have been a large part of Fandeh’s journey at Iowa State. She was a part of the African Student Association and Black Student Association. She mentored younger students in the College of Design and volunteered with the ISU 4U Promise — a program that helped Fandeh prepare for and fund her education at Iowa State. 

“Shari [Miller] and Katie [Richardson Bruna], who are the two leads of ISU 4U, prepared me to come to Iowa State since I was in sixth grade and have been alongside me as I’m about to wrap up my journey,” she says. “It feels like a full-circle moment.”

'Just keep going'

When Beau Mohr (’26) reflects on advice she would give to her younger self, a simple but powerful mantra arises: It gets better; just keep going. 

In the years before Mohr arrived at Iowa State, her family unit faced disruption — her father had died and her mother was no longer in contact with Mohr or her two siblings. Extended family supported her while she finished high school, but once at Iowa State, Mohr was on her own to navigate new challenges like the housing portal, financial aid, finding friends and community groups, and adjusting to a population much larger than her 1,100-person hometown. 

“It’s been a long journey, but I’ve been on the dean’s list every semester,” she says. “My entire education has been funded through scholarships and grants, and I am on track to graduate debt-free.” 

Mohr approached her Iowa State journey with curiosity, never shying away from an opportunity to talk to new people or join new organizations. She was actively involved with TRIO programs, study abroad, Collegiate Women in Business and Cardinal Eats clubs, and worked for three years as a student assistant at Friley Windows. 

“My advice to other first-gen students is to try to seek out opportunities yourself; don’t let them come to you, and don’t be afraid to ask questions,” she says. 

Mohr’s tenacity combined with the university’s resources resulted in her signing a job offer with HNI, a global furniture manufacturing corporation, before she even crossed the graduation stage. 

“It’s a breath of fresh air knowing I’ll get to experience the things I learned in the classroom in a real‑world setting, especially as I begin my career in a field I’m genuinely passionate about,” she says. “And truly, the opportunities, decisions, and knowledge Iowa State University has given me have shaped who I am today. They’ve helped me grow into someone who feels confident in their ideas.”

'I don't give up'

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.” This is the quote that Prince Tut (’26) often returns to when he seeks inner support. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, to Sudanese refugees, Tut is the third of nine children. When Tut was a child, his family experienced housing insecurity and moved around nearly a dozen times until they settled in Des Moines when he was in fourth grade. 

In middle school, he joined the Science Bound program, which introduced him to academic paths at Iowa State, including kinesiology, biology, and engineering. It was the latter that he most connected with. Two autoimmune diagnoses his senior year of high school made the transition to Iowa State trickier, but Tut was determined. 

“I didn’t want it to stop me,” he says. “I don’t give up, but I don’t take on unnecessary pain. If I have to go through stress, blood, sweat, tears, I want something to come out of it. That’s how I viewed my whole major while dealing with my medical conditions and financial burdens I had along the way. I was able to go forward, deal with the adversity, and stay passionate for engineering.” 

At Iowa State he was involved with the National Society of Black Engineers, STEM Scholars, and the Multicultural Business Network. After his first year at Iowa State, he worked at the Biorenewables Research Laboratory; the following summer he worked as a research engineer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As he plans for his post-grad life, Tut says a similar engineering career in the agriculture industry may be in his future. 

For now, Tut is ready to celebrate his successes at Iowa State with his siblings, parents, and the wider Sudanese community who have supported him. 

“I don’t want them to go through the same experiences that I did. Growing up shouldn’t be that hard and I want to make it easier on them,” he says. “Every time I think about the situation of how my mom and dad had to escape war and go to America and all the struggles they had. ... There are a lot of people that I wanted to prove wrong.”

'I belong here'

Carly Lawler (’26) grew up in Eastern Iowa, cheering for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes; she has fond memories of her grandparents’ sixth-generation — now hobby — farm but otherwise wasn’t raised in a hands-on agriculture environment. And yet when she graduated high school, it was Iowa State University, and agriculture studies that called to her. 

“I did one tour here,” Lawler says. “I originally had a couple of tours scheduled at other universities, but after meeting with professors and touring campus more, I canceled my other tours. I knew that Iowa State was the place for me.”

As the first in her immediate and extended family to attend a university, she learned to navigate the new environment and immediately began seizing experiences. 

“Opportunity is the word to describe my experience at Iowa State,” she says, “I participated in a short-term travel course and a semester abroad, I’ve worked multiple jobs on campus, I’ve been in numerous leadership positions throughout different organizations on campus. I’ve had so many amazing opportunities that, honestly, it still feels surreal to this day.” 

Those opportunities also helped Lawler overcome feelings of doubt and reinforced her sense of belonging. 

“I did have an identity crisis, especially not growing up directly in agriculture,” she says. “The majority of my peers in my major either grew up on a farm, worked on a farm, or were in 4-H or FFA. ... None of my professors or anyone I interacted with at Iowa State ever made me feel like I was out of place. If anything, they reminded me that I belong here, and that being a first-generation student who didn’t grow up in agriculture doesn’t diminish my ability or my place in this industry.” 

Lawler’s classes offered hands-on experiences, including learning how to wire circuits and breaker boxes, operate a feed mill, and tackle a real-world grain handling systems project. She landed internships with Land O’Lakes, Sukup Manufacturing Company, and CNH Industrial, and after graduation, Lawler will work full time with CNH in its sales and marketing rotational development program. 

“I feel so blessed that Iowa State has set me up for success in my future career by exposing me to all these real-world experiences,” Lawler says. “I feel so confident going into this new chapter of my life.”

'My family is very proud'

Danielle Nagaito (’26) spent her early years in a small town in Illinois, surrounded by immigrants from African and Spanish-speaking countries. It was there that she saw firsthand how social determinants and lack of access to quality health care can affect families. 

Her passion for science and languages took hold early and continued as her family moved to Ottumwa, Iowa, and through her time at Iowa State University. 

Iowa State was one of seven universities she was considering; knowing that her goal was ultimately to pursue medical school, Nagaito opted for the most cost-effective school. 

“I thought I was just going to cruise through and do my thing and graduate and be done,” Nagaito says. “But I’m really, really glad that I came here and didn’t go anywhere else. I’ve met some amazing people, some of my best friends. The support that you get from faculty, mentors, and your peers is invaluable.” 

At Iowa State, Nagaito quickly jumped into research, joining a lab her second semester of her first year. Each summer, Nagaito furthered her hands-on learning through a variety of research programs — most recently at George Washington University, where she researched the effects of non-nutritive sweeteners on pregnant women. She was also a part of the 2022 President Leadership Class, LAS PULSE, NCORE-ISCORE, and biological science advisory board. Outside of the classroom, Nagaito worked at Homestead Adult Care and UnityPoint. 

Before Nagaito begins her next phase of academics, she is ready to celebrate her successes with her family. 

“My family is very proud, they’re very happy,” she says. “Especially because we’re immigrants and I feel like that’s not a narrative that is shown a lot in this country — that there are people who come here and we do want go to school, we do want to get good jobs, we do want to contribute to society, and we do want to make an impact. It has been very important to me and very empowering being able to be at a university where there are people from different walks of life who are doing the thing, even though the odds may be against them.”