The First-Generation and Limited-Income Services office, housed under the Division of Student Affairs, began ramping up its work after Takondwa Mwasi took over as director in August. The office was announced in July 2025 by then-Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin as part of a broader restructuring of the university's diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Last fall, UW-Madison enrolled more than 6,500 first-generation undergraduates — students whose parents did not earn a four-year college degree — and roughly 7,500 students receiving federal Pell Grants, according to university figures. Both numbers have climbed over the past decade.

Those students graduate within six years at slightly lower rates than the student body overall, and first-generation students are more likely to leave school during their first year, the latest university data show.

"Oftentimes there's maybe some assumptions that are made about who the typical college student is, and what they have access to, whether financially or otherwise," Mwasi said. "We like to consider ourselves as a starting point."

The office's staff work to answer questions and connect students with resources across a large campus — financial aid, basic needs like food and housing, and opportunities such as study abroad. Mwasi said the team wants students to know the office is available whether they are thriving or struggling.

"This focus is not new in higher education," Mwasi said, noting that the office builds on affordability programs such as Bucky's Tuition Promise and Bucky's Pell Pathway.

In early November, the office hosted its first "First-Gen Week," featuring a game night at the Red Gym on Nov. 5. Students competed in Mario Kart, played Lotería — a Mexican game similar to bingo — and wove colorful ribbons onto boards to represent parts of their identities while eating empanadas, wraps and rice.

Nia Bigby, a senior who arrived on campus in 2023, said she felt pressure to instinctively know how college worked because neither of her parents graduated and she had no siblings to guide her. She said she wishes the new office had existed during her first year, when she needed help building a class schedule and figuring out how to find an apartment.

Now a mentor through the office, Bigby chose a red ribbon to represent her status as a Badger and a star-patterned ribbon for her goal of becoming a math teacher.

"You don't have to go through things alone," Bigby said. "It's nice to have connections, but being able to know that you have friends and family back at home will also help you feel like when things are down, you still have people that are proud of you because they know who you are from before you came to college."

Talya Trim, a sophomore social work major from Utah who wants to become a therapist, also serves as a mentor. Neither of her parents finished college. She said she wants her two mentees to feel, "I can do this because she's doing it, too."

"Obviously stay safe, but you are only young once, and so start now. Start making connections. Start doing things that make you happy. Go do things that are scary," Trim said.

Mwasi said first-generation and limited-income students bring ambition and cultural experiences "from rural Wisconsin to urban Wisconsin to out of state — all of these pieces that add value to our learning community."