This the group of people from across campus who are dedicated to improving the experience of first-generation college students at the University of Oregon by serving as the First-Generation Student Support Working Group! If you work with them around campus, please thank them for their hard work on this working group.
Name: Adrian Cruz (he, him, his)
Title: Duck Rides Assistant Program Manager
Bio: Adrian is a First-Generation graduate from the University of Oregon and received a bachelor’s degree in Family & Human Services with a minor in Special Education. Adrian has grown up in Eugene OR. Adrian enjoys staying busy and having a packed scheduled. He is passionate about helping others and ensuring that others are being supported. Outside of his busy schedule, he enjoys photography, the outdoors, and spending time with family and friends.
Name: Amy Hughes Giard (she/her/hers)
Title: Assistant Vice Provost for First-Year and Transition Student Experience
Bio: Amy’s responsibilities include building First-Year Interest Groups, Global Bridge International FIGs, and implementing first-year experience programming that include new UO Transfer Students, recruiting and training faculty instructors, and training/mentoring over sixty undergraduate peer mentors annually. She has worked in undergraduate support programs for over 20 years with 18 years dedicated to the first-year experience. Amy believes that every student admitted to a university or college has the ability to be successful and sees support and guidance in the first year as the most critical intervention point to assure success. Amy is a 1997 Ford Opportunity Scholar Recipient, non-traditional transfer student, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Oregon.
Name: Angela Rovak, Ph.D (she/her/hers)
Title: Director of First Year Experience, RD Clark Honors College
2021-2022 First-Generation Student Working Group Co-Chair
Bio: Angela finished her Ph.D. in Literature at the University of Oregon, researching the intersection of race, gender, and reproductive science in Black women’s writing. As a first-generation student herself, she is excited to help students navigate the unfamiliar terrain of higher education as an advisor, just as advisors did for her during her undergraduate degree.
Name: Christabelle L. Dragoo, MS (she/her/hers)
Title: Director of McNair Scholars Program
2021-2022 First-Generation Student Working Group Co-Chair
Bio: Christabelle is the Director and alumna of the UO McNair Scholars Program. As an undergrad, she was a first-gen, nontraditional transfer student and she wants to do all she can to help break down barriers for other first-gen students. Christabelle completed a Bachelors degree in psychology and Masters degree in special education, both from the University of Oregon. In Fall 2021, she will complete a PhD in prevention science with a specialization in community wellness and equity promotion. Her research and scholarship focus on health promotion and prevention of illness and premature mortality. She has published in Psychology in the Schools, Exceptionality Education International, and has presented her research at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, National Association of School Psychologists Annual Meeting, and Society for Prevention Research Annual Meeting. She aims to apply her training as a school psychologist and prevention scientist to her work with first-gen and under-represented student populations. Christabelle is a coffee-fanatic, meditation devotee, and digital art buff. She loves to spends time with her kids, dog, and cat, and watch anything on true crime or a Ducks sporting event.
Name: Corbett Upton, PhD (he/him/his)
Title: Associate Director of Undergraduate Students in the English Department; Senior Instructor 1
Bio: Corbett teaches in the Composition Program and English Department and advises English majors. He also works to enrich the undergraduate experience in the department and on campus by focusing on three interconnected areas of excellence: community, opportunity, and academic and artistic achievement. This includes sponsoring undergraduate groups like the English Undergraduate Organization, Unbound Journal, Art Ducko Magazine, Shakesqueer!, the UO Poetry Slam, and the Alpha Tau Phi Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, International English Honor Society. Because of his experience as a first-generation college student, he makes it a priority to work with undergraduates to help them navigate the many often unseen institutional obstacles that can affect students’ access to, and success in, higher education, especially first-generation students. Corbett received his BA from Arizona State University and an MA and PhD from the University of Oregon.
Name: DJ Kelly-Quattrocchi (he/him/his)
Title: Coordinator of Multicultural Education, Engagement, and Student Success
Bio: DJ has worked at the University of Oregon since 2017 and has enjoyed not only supporting students color and first-generation college students. He lives in Eugene with his husband and their two cats, Topsy & Turvy. Besides his work at UO, DJ served on the Lane County Equity & Access Advisory Board, and teaches in Oregon State University’s College Student Services Administration. When he’s not supporting people with marginalized identities, DJ enjoys reading, playing board games with friends, and watching a good cooking reality show.
Name: Gilbert Rogers, Ed.D, AFC® (he/him/his)
Title: Assistant Director of Financial Wellness
Bio: Gilbert has spent majority of his career leading financial education efforts in various capacities. He has worked with students (at all grade levels), non-profit organizations, and community groups providing financial education. As a 1st generation college student who had to “figure out” a lot on his own, he enjoys working with students to help them avoid the pitfalls. In his free time, he enjoys both participating in and watching sports.
Name: Kevin D. Hatfield, PhD (he/him/his)
Titles: Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Research and Distinguished Scholarships; Director of Academic Residential & Research Initiatives (AARI); Director of Center for Undergraduate Research and Engagement (CURE); Director of Office of Distinguished Scholarships (ODS); Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History
Bio: Kevin services as the Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Research and Distinguished Scholarships – a joint position with the Division of Undergraduate Education and Student Success and University Housing. He is also an affiliated faculty member with the Department of History and Robert D. Clark Honors College in the history of the American West, environment, and immigration, with a particular emphasis on the intersections of race/ethnicity, property, and community in the Northern Great Basin. His research and scholarship focuses on the Bizkaian Basque community of eastern Oregon, Western Idaho, and northern Nevada; and the Northern Paiute communities of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Spring and Burns Paiute Tribe, with publications in the Nevada Historical Society Quarterly, The Journal of the Society of Basque Studies in America, and American Historical Association. In collaboration with Jennifer O’Neal, Assistant Professor, Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies, he has developed an undergraduate curriculum engaging students in decolonizing pedagogy and community-engaged research with indigenous and ethnic community course partners. Their article, “Northern Paiute History Project: Engaging Undergraduates in Decolonizing Research with Tribal Communities” was recently published in the Western Humanities Review.
Name: Nora C. Fandino (she/her/hers/ella)
Title: TRIO SSS Academic Advisor
Bio: Nora has the gift of working as an academic advisor for TRIO Student Support Services. She loves being a TRIO advisor and connecting with intelligent, resilient students who, like herself, are first-generation. Outside of work, Nora enjoys the outdoors, dancing, and spending time with her familia.
Name: Shari Schoohs (she/her/hers)
Title: Career Advisor, TRIO Support Services
Bio: Shari is a first-generation college student with two degrees, one in psychology and one in student affairs. She is a midwestern transplant and moved to Eugene from Wisconsin. During college, she changed her major FIVE times and has lots of random experiences she loves to share with students. As an advisor, she most enjoys hearing students’ stories and getting to build holistic connections with them. She thinks college is the best opportunity to evolve (or re-evolve) yourself into whatever you want to be; and is always excited to help students bust college myths, gain exposure and experience, and explore to find their best path forward. In her free time, Shari loves to hike, eat cheese, take photos, and do yoga. She currently has a list of 22 waterfalls to see in Oregon and is always looking for more to add to the list!
Name: Tara Parillo, J.D. (she/her/hers)
Title: Director, TRIO Support Services
Bio: If Tara could have created her dream job, it would be what she is doing now – working with first-generation students through the UO TRIO SSS program. Her days are happily spent connecting students to resources that will help them earn a college degree. She has met and gotten to know so many strong and capable students and she is humbled that she has the opportunity to support them and cheer them on in reaching their goals! When she is not working, Tara spends time with her partner and three children (two who are already college students). Tara also likes to bake, watch sporting events (basketball is her favorite), and run with her “mom” friends very early in the morning before her work day starts.