Finding Communities of Belonging as a First-Generation Student Written and conducted by – Siya Sithamparanathan Edited by – Kevin Willems Welcome to a new format where we conduct interviews about pioneers, by pioneers. Siya has been kind to lend us her writing skills to present you with our first blog in the series. She sat…

Manal El-Bied, one of our Pioneers, has shared her path to higher education in an interview for the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Magazine of Utrecht University. Her story shows the perseverance and guts that often accompany a first-generation student. They have multiple and different hurdles to overcome to get to a University. Manal exemplifies why…

First-generation students are pioneers. On their own, they bridge gaps and bring worlds together in the process. Yet the typical first-generation student does not actually exist. We have highlighted some personal stories here to show that this is a diverse group of students. Want to know more? You can find the stories of our ambassadors…

Last year, UP Community was nominated for UU’s Diversity and Inclusion Award. UP unfortunately fell just outside the boat, but no worries; the award went to another initiative supporting first-generation students: the First Generation Fund. Charisma Hehakaya, PhD student at the Imaging & Oncology division of UMC Utrecht, is the founder of the fund. The…

Do you have a head that definitely needs to be captured? The Skills Lab is looking for you! Here some brief and practical information: We are looking for a diverse group of students representing Utrecht University. Shooting will take place on Thursday 22 June between 12.30 and 16.30 (USP) and Thursday 29 June between 12.30…

Traces of slavery: join the conversation and show your thoughts on 5 July 9:00 – 13:00, Janskerkhof 3, Utrecht   On 5 July, four days after Keti Koti, representatives of the Surinamese-Caribbean community, staff and students will discuss the research on slavery at UU, the University’s own part and the contemporary effects of the slavery…

Milio van de Kamp (he/him): “When I got my master’s, the first thing I did when I ran away is I said to my friend, ‘OK we have to make sure they can’t take this away. We have to run away from college and never look back. They can’t physically take this out of my…

Are you a first-generation student? During our last meeting some students talked about also being enrolled in honors education. We also talked about how this might seem unobtainable. UP is organizing a session on the 10th of May (13:30-15:00) on the inclusivity or is it exclusivity of honors education. The session will be attended by teachers…

As part of the second edition of the This is UU Week, an Iftar meal was held at the Parnassos cultural centre on 18 April 2023. Everyone was welcome to dine after sunset. An Iftar is the fasting meal in Ramadan. The evening was opened on a personal note by UP’s project leader Chahida Bouhamou….

Do you sometimes feel like a fraud? Do you experience a nagging voice in the back of your head that tells you that you can be exposed at any moment and that people around you have an exaggerated view of your abilities? Are you constantly downplaying your achievements? Welcome to the Imposter Syndrome. Some good…