‘Write Your Own Playbook’: UTampa Celebrates Its First-Generation Students

Edesa Scarborough knows the bewilderment of being at a crossroads no one would ever want to encounter.  

She was just starting college in Miami, the first person in her family to pursue a degree. After graduating as valedictorian of her high school class and earning a full college scholarship, her path seemed clear. 

Then, about three months into her first semester, her mother died suddenly. 

“I had no one to turn to. I had a father who was in shock, a family who was in grief, and I had no brothers or sisters,” said Scarborough. “At that time, 40 years ago in college, nobody existed to help me. Not one person. No office of support.” 

As she weighed whether to stay in school, Scarborough began meeting with her professors. One of them, a psychology professor who didn’t know Scarborough and had no particular reason to care whether she stayed or left, offered to meet weekly. Office hours were every Wednesday at 3 p.m., and the professor expected Scarborough to come.  

“For the next four years, this woman was my therapist for free. She talked to me every week for an hour. She helped me get through the financial aid mess,” Scarborough told a room of other first-generation college students, staff and faculty on Tuesday. 

Her relationship with that professor led to a major in psychology, subsequent degrees, an early stint in the legal field working with former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and a trajectory Scarborough could not have foreseen. After pivoting into higher education, she developed and now leads the First Year Studies program at the University of Tampa, where she has been on staff for nearly 30 years.  

While the unexpected kindness of a stranger and the benefits that can arise from adversity don’t always erase the pain of it, those challenges can become new growth. Scarborough shared her college story at a luncheon Tuesday to cap off the University’s First-Generation Celebration Week, part of a national celebration to commemorate students who are the first in their family to attend college. 

“Being first-generation means you didn't get the playbook for college,” Scarborough said. “But growth is not wishing you had one; it's having the will to write your own playbook as you move forward.” 

To set intentions for their next year, students and staff in attendance were invited to write a letter to their future selves. Communications major Jaylan Codio ’28 shared her letter, affirming her post-college plan to pour back into Tampa’s younger generation. 

“It's finally time to spread your wings and launch your nonprofit that pours into middle and high school students in the Tampa Bay area. Make sure you become that motivational speaker that you've always wanted to be, despite what people have told you,” she wrote to herself. 

Interim President Harris Pastides cheered Codio’s plan to give back and encouraged all students to find ways to do so now. Pastides, himself a first-generation college student, said he’s benefited from several mentors throughout his life. 

While being on the receiving end of that support is a gift, he said, he encouraged students to reflect on how far they’ve come so that they can help others come along, too. 

“You are already enrolled at the University of Tampa. You are on your way. Find someone younger than you. Find a 14-year-old, you know, who might not know a thing about college because they don't have somebody above them,” Pastides said. “It's so rewarding. When you're a mentor, it's as beneficial for you, really, as it is for them.”

Tuesday’s luncheon was one of several events the University held for first-generation students over the past week, including workshops, a networking panel, and community-building events. The events were hosted by the Office of Access and Community Programs and the Success Scholars Program. 

At a networking panel on Monday, first-generation alumni offered advice on finding mentors. Jake Schmidt ’16, M.S. ’17, owner of CapStar Real Estate and co-founder of Cousin Vinny’s Sandwich Co., said that he regretted not asking faculty and staff for support earlier when he was a student. 

“Closed mouths don’t get fed,” he said. “Everyone at the University of Tampa has been more than willing to help. If you don’t know how to do something, just go ask.”

Vinny Andriotti ’14, namesake of Cousin Vinny’s, agreed. “The smartest thing I ever got was partners,” he said. “You don’t know what you do not know, and the power of the collective is more than just one.”

Senior Writer Eric Brosch contributed to this story.