Name:

Emery Gower

Position Title or Student Involvements:

Assistant Director for Investigations – Office of Student Standards and Conduct

What degrees have you obtained or are working on? 

A.A.S. in Intelligence Operations Studies- Cochise College B.A. in Psychology- Arkansas Tech University M.S. in Counseling- University of Arkansas

What does it mean to you to be a first-generation student/graduate?

For me it means you are willing to put yourself into a space that may be uncomfortable in an attempt to learn and grow.

Why is being a first-generation student/graduate important to you?

Being first-gen is important to me because I get a sense of pride from being the first in my family to experience college. It also set me up to be able to help other first-gen students, members of my family who are exploring higher education, and my own children in the future.

What piece of advice would you give to first-generation students?

Reach out to others! Being new to any organization is hard and you may feel even more overwhelmed if it seems like you are not on an even playing field with other students. Don’t feel like you can’t ask your friends, faculty, and staff with more experience questions. They will likely have questions you can answer as well! Always remember that there are people on this campus who are looking out for you and want to help you navigate this time in your life.