Show Notes

First-generation students bring determination, resilience, and ambition to higher education. Yet many also face challenges that institutions may not fully understand, including navigating unfamiliar systems, finding a sense of belonging, and learning how to advocate for themselves.

In this episode, Julio Abreu, author of the new book First-Generation Voices of Success, discusses the experiences of first-generation students and what colleges and universities can do to better support them.

Through stories of perseverance, achievement, and personal growth, Julio shares lessons that can help enrollment, marketing, and student success professionals create more welcoming and supportive environments for the students they serve.

What You'll Learn

• Why personal stories can help institutions better understand the first-generation student experience
• Common challenges first-generation students face before and during college
• How belonging influences student confidence, engagement, and success
• Why self-advocacy is a critical skill for navigating higher education
• Ways colleges can encourage students to seek help and access support services
• Areas where institutions still have opportunities to improve support for first-generation students
• Key lessons from First-Generation Voices of Success for enrollment, marketing, and student success leaders
• What higher education professionals need to better understand first-generation students today

Digital recruitment dominates today’s enrollment landscape. But Weston Noyes of 13th Year believes institutions should not replace digital strategy. They should expand it.

Through interactive kiosks placed inside high schools, 13th Year helps colleges create measurable, real-time engagement in the environments where students are already thinking about their future.

In this conversation, Weston shares how 65-inch interactive kiosks create simple pathways to connection. Students can scan QR-enabled video content, explore institutional profile pages, or opt in for outreach through a $1,000 scholarship program.

With nearly 70% of scholarship applicants requesting direct contact from partner institutions, one insight stands out. Students do not just want information. They want connection.

What you will learn

Presence builds trust. Consistent visibility inside a student’s school day creates familiarity that digital impressions alone cannot.

Connection drives action. High opt-in rates signal a desire for genuine connction, not just brochures.

Digital and physical work together. In school engagement can move students from awareness to action.

Prospective students can decide quickly whether a campus feels right for them.
Frank Delaney and Lien Do of Paskill join Douglas Benedict of Academic Image to explore how authentic, emotionally grounded photography shapes that first impression, builds trust, and helps institutions stand out in a crowded enrollment landscape.

Together, they discuss what authenticity really means in enrollment marketing and how campuses can move beyond staged visuals to tell honest stories about place, people, and culture. From planning smarter photo shoots to understanding student visual literacy, this conversation breaks down what works now and what truly resonates with prospective students.

What you’ll learn

• Authenticity matters more than ever. Students can spot staged or misleading imagery instantly.
• Sense of place drives connection. Campus photography should feel unmistakably unique to your institution.
• Emotion builds belonging. Images that capture real moments help students see themselves on campus.
• Plan with intention. Start with enrollment and program priorities before the camera ever comes out.
• Quality over quantity. A focused set of meaningful images outperforms large libraries of generic shots.
• Respect and consent are essential. Trust and comfort lead to more genuine student engagement.
• Leave room for the unexpected. Some of the strongest images come from unplanned moments.
• Minimal editing wins. Overuse of Photoshop or AI can erode credibility with today’s visually savvy students.
• Collaboration fuels success. Enrollment teams, creatives, photographers, and students all shape the story.