No one can do this alone

“My first day on campus, standing on the Quad, I knew I was at home,” Fia Ewers ’25 (social work) said.

For a student who came to college without a roadmap, that feeling didn’t come automatically for Ewers. It took time, support and a community that helped her turn uncertainty into belonging.

First-generation students arrive at the University of Nevada, Reno with many different stories, but few have a clear sense of how college works or where to turn when challenges arise. For Ewers, navigating campus meant learning to ask for help, finding trusted support and slowly building confidence in a place that would become central to her life.

“I didn’t always know how to ask for help,” Ewers said. “Learning that it was OK and that there were people who wanted to help made all the difference.”

Ewers had learned to be self-reliant long before she arrived at Nevada. After aging out of the foster care system, she understood how quickly systems could feel overwhelming — and how easily people could fall through the cracks. College, she knew, would require more than academic preparation. It would require stability, connection and reliable support.

“You learn to figure things out on your own,” she said. “But college showed me that doing everything alone isn’t the same as doing it well.”

Building a support system

Early on, Ewers found her way to campus resources designed to support first-generation students. Through programs such as TRIO and Fostering the Pack, she began to build relationships with people who understood both her background and her goals. What started as practical support soon became something more enduring: a place she returned to, again and again, as she learned how to ask for help and trust that it would be there.

As Ewers became more rooted on campus, the support she received at the First-Generation Student Center began to shape how she saw her role — not just as an undergraduate navigating college, but as someone positioned to make change. Her path in social work reflected what had already become clear through experience: systems matter, and when they work well, they can alter lives. “Once I understood how these systems worked,” she said, “I wanted to be part of making them work better for other students.”

From student to advocate

Ewers also found herself returning to the First-Generation Student Center — the same spaces that had once supported her, this time as a mentor and guide. Whether through tutoring, outreach or simply being present, she became part of the network that helps newer students find their footing. “I remember how overwhelming it felt at first,” she said. “If I can help someone feel less alone, that matters.”

After completing her undergraduate degree in 2025, Ewers remained on campus to continue her studies and give back to the community that supported her. Now an Upward Bound literacy specialist in the First-Generation Student Center, Ewers works with students who are beginning the same journey she once navigated herself, while in the home stretch of her graduate studies in social work.

The work feels natural. Having once navigated college without a clear roadmap, Ewers understands the power of being seen, heard and supported — and the responsibility that comes with that understanding. She carries that sense of belonging with her. The campus that once felt unfamiliar has become a place of reflection and grounding — one that reminds her how far she has come.

The Quad, in particular, holds that meaning. It marks both an arrival and a becoming: a reminder that home is not always something you start with, but something you build through connection, persistence and care.

Ewers’ journey is one example of what can happen when students find the support they need to navigate college on their own terms.