From left to right: Luis Maya, Ayushi Patel, and Melanie Castillo—three first-generation students serving in Associated Student Government.
For many first-generation college students navigating campus life, learning the ropes of academics, and finding a supportive community can be overwhelming.
At the University of Arkansas, the Associated Student Government provides leadership opportunities and a strong network of leaders who understand the unique challenges of being the first in your family to pursue higher education. Through ASG, first-generation students are finding their voices, shaping policy, and giving back to the campus community.
First-generation student leaders in ASG — sophomore senators Luis Maya and Ayushi Patel, and junior board member of the Office of Financial Affairs, Melanie Castillo, are leading ASG’s progress in policy development and student organization success. They also credit ASG with helping them build confidence, form lasting connections, and channel their unique perspectives into meaningful change on campus.
Maya, from Nashville, Arkansas, is a political science, economics and finance triple major with a hometown of just four thousand people, he said ASG gave him his first opportunity to participate in student-run government and civic engagement — opportunities that weren’t available to him before coming to the university.
Castillo, from Fordyce, Arkansas, is one of the first students from her town in nearly four years to attend the university. She is pursuing supply chain management and marketing majors with minors in data analytics and Spanish.
Patel, from Little Rock, Arkansas, is majoring in biology with minors in psychology and general business. Her experience in ASG has introduced her to new friends in the organization and across campus, sparking new ideas and strengthening her sense of belonging.
Throughout the beginning of the fall term, ASG sponsored events like Coffee with ASG during A-Week and the Welcome Back Cookout, which gave students the chance to hear about the five branches of ASG: Cabinet, Senate, Office of Financial Affairs (OFA), Freshman Leadership Forum (FLF), and Judicial. Maya and Patel both were encouraged to run in the 2024 Fall Senate Vacancy Election after hearing how they could make an impact on their campus community.
“I went to [Coffee with ASG], and all those folks created a community that invited me to explore everything within ASG, beyond ASG, [and] the opportunities within each branch,” Maya said.
Maya and Patel were both re–elected to the Senate in the spring, and both currently serve as Fulbright senators.
In Senate, students are elected to represent every academic college on campus, and each senator is encouraged to serve the student body under the pillars of Legislate, Advocate, and Serve; Maya remarked that the pillar of legislation “is my sort of forte.”
Maya pursues his career in legislation with the primary goal of serving Arkansans. He has produced legislation regarding the creation of a university Election Day holiday and an initiative to replace invasive plants on campus with plants native to Arkansas. Last semester, Maya created a food insecurity bill.
“Food insecurity in Arkansas is a grave concern. The university struggles with it, and it’s not an isolated problem,” Maya said.
His bill allocated five thousand dollars to the creation of a campus community garden that the Full Circle Food Pantry will care for in collaboration with the Office of Sustainability. The bill also created hygiene and food kits for on-campus students and improved Cooking Matters education — a program that will educate students on how to cook better and on a budget.
One of Patel’s main goals for her time in Senate is also in the spirit of giving back to the University of Arkansas community, as many in the community helped Patel feel supported while navigating college as a first-generation student.
“I’ve been able to make so many connections; I’ve met over hundreds of people in the ASG branches;,” Patel said. “You meet new people with new ideas, and those new ideas help you spark your own new ideas.”
ASG encourages students of all backgrounds to join. Joining ASG after freshman year, as Castillo did, brings fresh perspectives and many more connections to the ASG environment. During the spring semester of her sophomore year, Castillo applied to the AMC and later applied and was appointed to be a proxy member of OFA, and as a Walton Honors student., Castillo looks forward to the real-world knowledge and experience OFA will equip her with.
In addition to ASG, Castillo served as a mentor for the Walton Honors Program so that she could support other first-generation students.
“I didn’t know anything about the college application process, scholarships, none of that. [My parents] had zero knowledge,” Castillo said. “I wanted to be a resource that I didn’t have coming to college.”
As well as being a guiding hand for others, Castillo has found that ASG returns the support in many of the same ways.
“I know if I ever were to need anything, ASG has my back, and me being a first-gen student, I obviously don’t have a lot of resources already up here, so having that support system is a weight off my shoulders,” Castillo said.
Patel, Castillo, and Maya are each forging paths to success and effecting tangible impacts on the University of Arkansas campus while navigating college life as first-generation college students. However, Maya believes that the simple feat of being accepted into college, especially without the guidance of relatives, is an achievement worthy of celebration — and that achievement is not made with just luck, but with dedication, diligence, and hard work.
“It’s not something that’s just me. This could be everyone. These sort of opportunities, and the good that you can do with them, is not inherent to a single individual,” Maya said. “I believe that everyone can be a good leader. It’s just up to them to be proactive and do it.”
For these first-generation students, ASG is more than a title or job; it is a community that understands their challenges and unique perspectives. ASG gives them the opportunity to grow into exceptional leaders who carry forward the momentum of progress at the University of Arkansas.
Ava McGuire // Associate Secretary // Instagram @ava.mcguire_