February 28, 2025 • 28 mins
In this episode, host Miguel Sanchez chats with Anthony Reda about his inspiring journey from community college to his current role as a library technician and adjunct librarian at SUNY Westchester. Anthony shares the challenges he faced as a first-generation student, the importance of grit and determination, and practical advice for navigating higher education. They also discuss the role of institutional support in easing the transition for first-gen and underrepresented students. Anthony's story highlights the significance of persistence, community support, and the impact of dedicated educators.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Miguel Sanchez (00:10):
Welcome to first gen 1 0 1.
The podcast or first-generationgraduates share their stories
and career tips.
I am your host Miguel Sanchez.
In this episode, Anthony Redashares his inspiring journey
from community college toacademic success.
I say first-generation student.
(00:31):
He talks about the challenges hefaced and overcame with grit and
determination.
If you're looking for practicalinsights.
On navigating higher education.
Anthony said advice is a must.
Listen.
Hello everyone, and welcome backto another episode of the 1st
(00:51):
Gen 101 podcast.
I am your host, Miguel Sanchez.
Today, I'm very excited.
I have a good friend who I'vemet a few years ago while
volunteering in a not for profitthat helps first generation
students.
Anthony, welcome.
Anthony Reda (01:08):
Miguel, thank you for having me.
My name is Anthony Reda.
So firstly, I've worked at SUNYWestchester community college
for the past 11 years thisJanuary.
Prior to that, I worked atseveral other higher education
institutions, marking almost my17th year in higher education,
which I can't believe it.
Currently, I'm a librarytechnician and an adjunct
(01:29):
librarian.
So I wear both a staff hat and afaculty hat at SUNY Westchester.
I'm also an adult serviceslibrarian at the Mammaroneck
Public Library.
I'm a deputy title ninecoordinator for SUNY
Westchester, our Valhallacampus.
So I oversee cases dealing withsexual harassment, stalking,
bullying, I handle all thosecases.
(01:49):
It's very important ensuringequity, safety, accountability,
and investigations.
So I wear a couple of differenthats at the college.
It is my passion and I'mprimarily serving first
generation, traditionallyunderrepresented groups at the
college.
SUNY Westchester was one of thefirst Hispanic serving
institutions in New York state.
(02:11):
That has been my passion, bothhere and at previous
institutions I've worked atwhere the institutions were
majority minority populationsand mostly at risk student
populations.
So that's where I've excelled.
And that's where my passion is.
Miguel Sanchez (02:27):
Thank you, Anthony.
I want to go back to yourexperiences as a college
student.
I know now you're in a rolewhere you're empowering and
helping students.
can you tell me about yourbackground and how was it like
growing up as a first genstudent?
Anthony Reda (02:43):
I would say, as a first generation student, at the
time, I didn't realize I was afirst generation student
because, to be honest, in the2005 6 world, that terminology
wasn't around, at least for me,I didn't hear that terminology.
I didn't think there wasanything unique with my
experience, and it's not untilmany years later I realized
(03:05):
that.
Me, along with millions andmillions of other students in
this country, faced the samething that I was facing and
people were facing way moredifficult academic journeys
prior to me.
But at that time, in that era,that kind of pre social media
era, where things were just muchsmaller and all you really had
was a MySpace at that point, youdid feel like you were in a
(03:28):
silo.
My parents had grown up inimmigrant households.
Where they were the translators,the mediators for my
grandparents and the outsideworld.
They were expected to go toschool, but they weren't
expected to go to college.
They were expected to pick up atrade.
A skill and just going to theworkforce.
So now, by time I had comearound, my parents had impressed
(03:50):
on me and my brother thateducation was something that we
had to pursue post high school.
But there wasn't money for afour year.
You would have to go to thelocal community college, which
is still, I look at as ablessing because how many
parents can't even provide that.
But, it was a two parenthousehold of both of them
working multiple jobs.
(04:11):
In order to ensure that me andmy brother could go to the local
community college.
And then from there, maybe thepossibility of two years at a
four year school to finish upand get an undergraduate degree.
So at that time, I didn'trealize that was unique.
I just realized that my parentshad pressed upon me.
You both were going to go tocollege.
(04:31):
There was no with, and they hadregretted that they both had
taken some college courses, buthad never finished.
My father was able to get enoughcredits and became a certified
electrician and has done verywell, thank God for himself, and
now retired.
And my mother was a teacher'saide, but they both had
(04:52):
regretted not finishing theireducation, but they didn't have
that backing at home becausetheir, my grandparents
perspective was that wasn'treally a necessity.
So it was different timescompletely.
And I think going forward now.
I look back at experience and Irealized how unique it was.
And I know we'll get into itlater, the nuts and bolts, but I
have so many situations thathappened during my first gen
(05:14):
experience, navigating collegelandscapes, but I don't want to
get too ahead of myself yet.
Miguel Sanchez (05:20):
At what point.
During your college experience,you realized I'm different.
What, can you give me an exampleor an anecdote of a time in
college when you realized, Hmm,there's some things that I don't
know, or there are certainthings that I didn't understand
because of my circumstances.
Anthony Reda (05:40):
Absolutely.
So many things.
Post high school, I realized Iwasn't prepped enough for higher
education, period.
I had, graduated from a publicschool system that was adequate,
but it wasn't exceptional by anymeans.
The school district I was in,they were known for sports more
than academics.
And the guidance counselors,while were good, I had one in
(06:03):
particular, she was a wonderfulwoman.
But at the time, because Ididn't know my direction, the
advice was just go to communitycollege and, you know, get an
associates.
And then from there, you'llprobably get a good job.
You don't need anything morethan associates.
This was in 2004, five and six.
This is what they're tellingyou.
And associates is good enough.
A bachelor's is fantastic.
(06:24):
If you get that.
Having said that, I went to thelocal community college and I
realized that I didn't knowanything about navigating the
higher ed landscape because myparents didn't know the
terminology that so many of myclassmates who weren't first
generation knew because somehowthis was foreign to me.
(06:44):
Their parents went to school andgot bachelor's, some even got
master's degrees.
And I thought that was strangewhen I was growing up.
My family just kind of got herein the sixties and the late
fifties.
So both sides of my family onlygot to this country within the
last 50 years.
So they hadn't been here forgenerations where classmates of
mine, their families, They hadgrandparents that went to
(07:06):
college, which I thought was themost bizarre thing to me.
Now, seeing it, it was so naiveof me to think that way, but at
the time, all of my cousins andpeople I grew up around me, not
my classmates, but friends,childhood friends, none of our
parents went to college and noneof our grandparents certainly
went to college.
So it was weird to me.
(07:27):
That my classmates werenavigating these spaces better
than me.
So fast forward, I get tocommunity college.
I'm sitting down with acounselor to get advised and
scheduled for classes.
I said, I had interest incriminal justice.
I said, I was probably going tolook into law enforcement.
The counselor assigned me abunch of classes.
It turns out that weren'trelated to that program map.
(07:48):
On top of that, I had anentrance exam in there where I
failed the math portion.
I passed the English portion, soI had to be placed in a non
credit math.
I didn't understand what thatmeant other than the counselor
told me, you're probably goingto be delayed now because you're
taking a non credit math.
So you're taking a class yourfirst semester that's not
(08:08):
working towards your degree thatyou wanted to get.
So I was miscounseled, and a noncredit math on top of that.
As I start going forward more, Istart realizing, as the
semesters go on, I'm not gonnamake graduation within two years
because another counselor wasasking me, who advised you?
Because they should have nevertold you to take X, Y, and Z.
(08:30):
You shouldn't have taken thiseconomics class.
You shouldn't have taken thisclass.
And now I had to face theconflict of having to tell my
parents, I may have to be herefor two and a half years,
possibly three years, which isgoing to cost them more money
that they don't have.
And it created tension and theydidn't hesitate for a second to
find every which way to getmoney, to get me to stay there,
(08:51):
And there was already a stigmaof going to community college
versus my more, I would say,American classmates in high
school who went straight to fouryears.
And they were just going to fouryears and dorming because their
parents could afford it.
And it's seemingly, they knewhow to navigate college
landscapes.
They knew the terminology,bursar's office, admissions
(09:12):
office.
Financial aid, all these foreignthings that I had never had to
navigate.
I had to learn on my own.
I had to be my own, the way myparents were a cultural broker
for my grandparents.
I had to be my own culturalbroker in real time because I'm
on campus.
I'm speaking to offices, somenot friendly at all.
They're telling me I needobscure paperwork that my father
(09:32):
needs to get notarized.
I have to run across campus.
I have to go to a notary.
Then I have to go back to thisoffice, but this person's only
here on Thursdays, every othermonth.
At 17, 18 years old, navigatingthis while still working one to
two part time jobs and luckilynot having to use public
transportation, using a commutercar to get to back to and from
(09:53):
campus, it was a lot.
Miguel, it was definitely a lot.
It was eye opening becauseagain, I didn't have that
institutional knowledge that Mymore Americanized classmates had
because their parents went tocollege and got bachelor's and
master's and their grandparentswent to school.
So they already knew the highereducation landscape.
They knew how to navigate.
(10:13):
They knew what a bursar's officeis.
They knew how to fill outfinancial aid paperwork.
They knew how to speak to a Deanof a department.
If they knew the program, thecurriculum chair, the department
chair.
Wasn't a good fit for them orthey were having issues.
I didn't know where to navigateif I was running into issues on
campus.
It was so frustrating and soscary navigating because I
(10:35):
didn't have any guidance.
When I asked my parents, whatdoes this mean that they're
asking for?
Because my parents have no cluewhat they're asking for because
they had taken college coursesin the early eighties, the whole
landscape had changed.
So, fast forward, I wasmiscounseled and because of
that, I had to stay longer at mycommunity college and my last
(10:56):
semester there, I had to worklike crazy to get out of there
if I was going to graduate ontime, which was two and a half
years instead of two.
So I had to take 18 credits,which was academic overload.
I had to get permission from adean.
I take 18 credits for thesemester and that final three
credits was a CLEP exam.
(11:17):
So because I was miscounseledand taking wrong classes in my
early semesters, I had to makeup for it on the back end now in
order to try to get out of thereon time and not cost my parents
any more money.
So I had to study like crazy fora CLEP exam while taking 15
other credits for in personclasses.
And it was just such a stressfultime because I'm doing all that
(11:38):
while I'm working a part timejob.
While I'm taking care of familyand things of that nature.
So it was a lot, but Iappreciate the journey so much
because I remember after thatand then navigating into my
undergrad, I was eventually ableto go to an undergrad school
commuting only.
That's the difference I wantedto make.
(11:59):
I wanted to prevent those issuesthat I encountered for my
students going forward.
I can't prevent every pain pointa student encounters at every
desk and the running around theyhave to go through.
But when they come into my area,which is the library, I know I
will give them the full service.
And not shut a door on them andnot reroute them to go somewhere
(12:22):
else.
We try to do above and beyondfor our students to support them
because they're already an atrisk population.
So they're this close at anytime to just dropping out
because it's just too much.
Thank God I didn't have thatoption because I knew that
wasn't an option for me with theparents I had.
There would be no way, but, forthese students, they don't have
(12:42):
that support at home, a lot ofthem.
So there's no one to kind ofkick them in the backside and
say, it's not an option.
You're not quitting.
There may be nobody at home.
And in a lot of cases, it is alot of them at couch surfing and
just living at friends housesand maybe in and out of, homes,
group homes for at risk youth.
So I just knew I wanted to limitwhat I had went through for
(13:06):
future students, because I canonly imagine the generations
that came before me that werefirst generation students.
That my situation was rainbowsand sunshine compared to what
they encountered.
Miguel Sanchez (13:19):
You came to mind when I was putting the list
together I think we shareexperiences.
I went to a community college.
I also had, probably more of afull time job on top of a full
time schedule and managing thosecan be very complicated.
So how were you able to maneuverall these things?
How were you able to manageclasses, learning the school
(13:42):
culture, gaining thatinstitutional knowledge and
experience with work?
Anthony Reda (13:48):
So I'm not unique at all because there were many
working class kids like me whoare first generation students
who were running off campus togo work their part time job.
So at least for me, and maybethat's more systemic because
it's at a community college.
So you're going to get a higherpopulation of maybe students.
(14:11):
That work, are at risk, areminority, are first generation
students, versus if I wentstraight to SUNY Albany, or SUNY
Buffalo, or Mercy College, orsomewhere like that.
So there's a higher prevalenceof that.
Having said that though, it wasstressful.
I didn't have a full time job.
I don't know how you managedbecause at that age, no one
(14:33):
wanted to give me full time.
It took me so many years to getfull time, but it was also
coming on the heels of thefinancial collapse, financial
crisis of 08.
So around that time, like 07,08, things started slowing down
and no employer wanted to giveyou full time, at least for the
fields I was applying in.
So, but everyone was happy togive you part time because they
didn't want to pay your healthinsurance.
It was stressful because younever got to really ingrain
(14:55):
yourself in the culture ofcampus life, when I see,
students at four year collegesand they're kind of like hanging
around campus, having fun,joining clubs, parties, all that
kind of extracurricular stuff.
You didn't have the luxury as acommuter student, you were there
to go to class and drive rightback into wherever your home
(15:16):
was, your town to start yourshift.
And you were working to have gasmoney to get back and forth to
campus.
Take your classes, do what youhad to do and leave.
There was no time to hang outand join student life and all
this stuff that I was unfamiliarwith.
And it wasn't until the end ofmy tenure in my community
college, where I had left myprevious part time job and
(15:39):
gotten a job on campus in thecampus library.
And I realized, wait, this isgreat.
I could work on campus and be astudent here.
And it happens to pay betterthan the job I was doing in town
at a pharmacy.
so I started working on campusthe moment I was about to leave
that college campus.
And ironically, I wound upworking at that campus for five
(16:01):
more years after I graduatedthere and was at my
undergraduate institution to getmy bachelor's.
I started helping communitycollege students there where I
had graduated.
And I was trying to helpstudents and try to prevent them
from what I had went through.
Again, I didn't have the powerand the position I was in to be
able to step over to a counselorand say, make sure you advise
(16:23):
them right.
Don't be assigning them classesthat they shouldn't be taking.
I didn't have thatauthorization, but I knew when
they came into my department, wewere going to make sure all the
resources we offered tostudents, they were going to get
an abundance plus extra support,whether it's letters of
recommendations, money for thebus, money for food.
We try to fill in as many ofthose gaps as possible.
Miguel Sanchez (16:45):
Now that you mentioned working on a campus it
sounds like that led to whereyou are now in terms of a
career.
And you also mentioned not beingable to join as many clubs in
school and in many institutions,joining a club is crucial
because it's often the pathwaythat's going to get you to your
next job.
(17:06):
That's one of the ways that youbuild social capital.
So one of the things that I wantto ask you is how, how did you
make that transition from havinga job to then finding more of a
formal career?
How did you get there?
And were there any people whohelped you get there?
Anthony Reda (17:24):
There were so many, I was so blessed to have
amazing supervisors, in mycommunity college, colleagues
who were willing to support mebecause they saw something in
me.
Like personal anecdote, I wasworking at the community college
at the library, which is anacademic library because it
serves an academic institution,which is different from a public
(17:46):
library or a law library,anything like that, just a side
note.
But all along, I was trying toget into law enforcement.
And this is 07, 08.
I worked there till 2014.
So basically from 08 till 2014,I was working there and I was
taking police exams and I wastaking them all over and that's
what that was the direction itwas going.
(18:09):
As the year started going on, Istarted realizing, you know
what, this is my passionactually to work in higher ed,
to work in academic libraries,to help students with their
research, with theirassignments, with electronic
resources, physical resources.
Quiet spaces for studying,spaces for collaborative
studying and collaborative groupexplorations, all that.
(18:29):
So I realized I pulled back fromlaw enforcement where I was
working just as a side gig allalong, a part time job turned
out to be my passion.
And that's when I startedapplying for full time positions
in academic libraries.
And I kept doing that for somany years, not finding
anything, almost gettingsomething, then it getting
pulled away from me.
(18:49):
And again, it was all therepercussions of that 08
financial collapse.
From 2009, the country was stillreeling with debt.
And there was just a lot of fluxin the academic space.
And I went on so many interviewsand at that time I secured a
second job, a second part timejob at another college.
(19:11):
And I was in charge of alearning commons, which is a
wonderful collaborative spaceroom in the library where the
latest technologies in there.
Students, a lot of nursingstudents, but a lot of group
study happens in there.
And I was in charge of keepingthe room open till after
midnight because these were dormcampuses.
During finals, we stood opentill 2 a.
m.
(19:31):
So at the time I was going to myundergrad, I would start my
mornings with, now at myundergrad institution, commuting
to that college, then go to myold community college to do a
couple of hours.
Then go home to my parents, havedinner, then go to the four year
college I was working at now,part time, and I would stay
(19:51):
there till either midnight ortwo in the morning.
And those were my days.
And then eventually, when I gotmy bachelor's in 2011, I was
able to become a certifiedsubstitute teacher in my school
district, where I went to highschool.
So then I was working three parttimes, because still nobody was
giving me Full time, no matterhow many interviews I went on,
(20:12):
letters of recommendations,everyone wanted me for the
company, but they wanted me parttime though.
I was substituting as a schoolteacher in K through 12.
I was working as a libraryassistant at my community
college, and then I was workingas head of a learning comments,
room at the four year college.
So my days were busy and thatcommuting stood with me for so
(20:34):
long.
So my experience working at.
Two different higher edinstitutions.
While subbing in a K through 12system, all that experience I
value so much now becausenothing ever came easy.
It took years for me to get fulltime.
And then I finally secured myfirst full time position where I
still am now, which is a SUNYWestchester.
Miguel Sanchez (20:55):
how do you think colleges can support students so
that first gen andunderrepresented students can be
their best in the classroom?
Anthony Reda (21:05):
They've seen, there's definitely been a lot of
changes.
Thank God since, when, during myundergrad year.
So since 05, 06, 07, 08, there'sbeen a lot of changes.
There's been ways to reduce thebarriers on the front end,
particularly placement exams,not having students to go into a
(21:25):
non credit English or math rightoff the bat.
SUNY Westchester just speakingas an employee there, but not as
in charge of that process.
There's now more of aquestionnaire and then possibly
an exam after if you want to doan exam, but they're fielding
the potential students.
What do you feel comfortablewith?
Take a look at some of thesequestions.
Do you think you'd be able tosolve this?
(21:46):
Try and solve it.
We'll place you in a one on onefor math.
I didn't have that option.
Take this exam.
If you don't get a certainscore, you're going into a non
credit for possibly English andmath right off the bat, your
first semester, those are twoout of your five classes that
you're going to pay for that youwon't get credit for.
So right away, you're startingwith your hand tied behind your
(22:09):
back.
And now that will delay yourprocess to graduate out of your
undergrad.
That's just one example.
The terminology, the higher edterminology, me not being able
to navigate those spacesconfidently and knowing what any
of those offices mean, what am Isupposed to do when something
pops up on my account?
That's an issue.
And I have no idea the foreignlanguage they're speaking to me.
(22:30):
All the stuff that terminology Iknow now intrinsically, but at
the time, never have heard of.
So colleges have addressed alot, and I can only speak for
the colleges I work at, becausewe have such a high first
generation population andbecause we're a majority
Hispanic institution, I see thechanges.
(22:51):
But we're still not there yet.
It's still, it's, it's notperfect yet.
Reducing barriers on the frontend, the kind of full cycle
recruiting of getting thestudent and the potential
student in the door, gettingthem through the pipeline and
then out successfully within twoyears, because I'm at a two year
institution, with theircertification or degree.
(23:14):
That's the goal.
I still don't think we're thereyet.
We're improving.
But I think there's still somany, and I'll just say in
general, I think we need to domore with the touch points that
students go through, especiallyif you're a first generation
student, we still need to createmore comfortable spaces for them
to navigate.
(23:34):
But in terms of the processes ofhow to sign up as a student, and
then while you're a studentregistering for your next
semester, All those processesshould be simplified.
There should always bemultilingual services.
For students to create greateraccessibility, and I think if
you come from that vantage pointwith a more holistic approach
because in terms of studentinvolvement and clubs, there's
(23:57):
so much more of that and it'sfantastic.
Now you have individual countryclubs, so you have the Peru
club, you have Colombian club,so you feel that sense of
community.
When I was in college, there wasa club, and it was probably just
a generic called Hispanic Club,and that was pretty much it.
So now, there's a greater senseof community there, which is
wonderful, but I think there'sstill more holistic things that
(24:19):
need to be put into the pipelineprocess of, they got to the
college, that's great.
Let's take care of them theentire journey, so they make it
to that finish line.
So you have to remember theexternal pressures they're
dealing with when they come tous.
Academic academia is challengingenough, especially if they're
not familiar with the space.
(24:40):
So we have to engage themconstantly, but we have to make
it holistically caring, likethis full kind of embrace.
And just speaking for me and mycolleagues in our area, there's
so much we try to do for ourstudents.
And we like to say that if itwasn't for the library, which
happens to be the highest rateddepartment on campus, shameless
plug, based on student surveys,we do letters of recommendation
(25:05):
for them.
We help them sometimes withmoney for food, money for the
bus.
We help them with letters ofrecommendations, not only for
jobs, but for colleges,scholarships.
We try to do things that areoutside of our job role.
That's not part of our job role,but that's just a wonderful
team.
I happen to work with in mydepartment and we do a lot for
(25:26):
them, but I see that spark intheir eye when we take an
interest in these students.
And I know they're not gettingthat at home sometimes.
So I just always think if everydepartment could just do a
little extra like that, thiswhole experience for them would
be so much different than when Iencountered and the generations
before me.
Miguel Sanchez (25:44):
If you could speak to yourself back in 2006,
during the hardest times whatwould you say to yourself?
Anthony Reda (25:53):
I would do some things different.
I would give up the lawenforcement dream and tell
myself, stay in academia, thisis your future.
But I don't regret how rigorousthe journey was because nothing
came easy and nothing in lifeshould come easy.
And especially didn't come easyfor me.
(26:14):
Again, I experienced nothingcompared to some of what my
friends and classmatesexperienced because their skin
color is darker, because therewas one parent or no parents at
home.
I would tell myself the hardwork and the struggle is worth
it because that gave me thegrit.
the headspace to deal with whatI deal with now.
(26:40):
So I'm blessed to come from aloving family, two parents
wanted me to go to school,supported me going to school.
And then after, when I went tograduate school, I supported
myself doing that.
And it was my dream to continuemy education, but I would tell
myself, stay on that same path.
Maybe do one or two thingsdifferent with job wise and,
with taking certain classes,listening to certain people on
(27:03):
campus that I thought had mybest interests at heart, but,
there were counselors and peoplethere again, because I didn't
know the space.
Throughout my entire journey atall of my different jobs that
were wonderful boosters for me,including my current job.
I couldn't have done it withoutfamily, friends, and all of the
people in my career.
(27:23):
And the wonderful professors Ihad at different points in the
journey that were just thosetype of professors you'll never
forget.
They left a lasting impact onyou.
Miguel Sanchez (27:33):
Anthony, Thank you for speaking with me today.
Anthony Reda (27:36):
Thank you for having me.
So appreciate it.
Thank you.
Miguel Sanchez (27:40):
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoy the episode.
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Welcome to first gen 1 0 1.
The podcast or first-generationgraduates share their stories
and career tips.
I am your host Miguel Sanchez.
In this episode, Anthony Redashares his inspiring journey
from community college toacademic success.
I say first-generation student.
(00:31):
He talks about the challenges hefaced and overcame with grit and
determination.
If you're looking for practicalinsights.
On navigating higher education.
Anthony said advice is a must.
Listen.
Hello everyone, and welcome backto another episode of the 1st
(00:51):
Gen 101 podcast.
I am your host, Miguel Sanchez.
Today, I'm very excited.
I have a good friend who I'vemet a few years ago while
volunteering in a not for profitthat helps first generation
students.
Anthony, welcome.
Anthony Reda (01:08):
Miguel, thank you for having me.
My name is Anthony Reda.
So firstly, I've worked at SUNYWestchester community college
for the past 11 years thisJanuary.
Prior to that, I worked atseveral other higher education
institutions, marking almost my17th year in higher education,
which I can't believe it.
Currently, I'm a librarytechnician and an adjunct
(01:29):
librarian.
So I wear both a staff hat and afaculty hat at SUNY Westchester.
I'm also an adult serviceslibrarian at the Mammaroneck
Public Library.
I'm a deputy title ninecoordinator for SUNY
Westchester, our Valhallacampus.
So I oversee cases dealing withsexual harassment, stalking,
bullying, I handle all thosecases.
(01:49):
It's very important ensuringequity, safety, accountability,
and investigations.
So I wear a couple of differenthats at the college.
It is my passion and I'mprimarily serving first
generation, traditionallyunderrepresented groups at the
college.
SUNY Westchester was one of thefirst Hispanic serving
institutions in New York state.
(02:11):
That has been my passion, bothhere and at previous
institutions I've worked atwhere the institutions were
majority minority populationsand mostly at risk student
populations.
So that's where I've excelled.
And that's where my passion is.
Miguel Sanchez (02:27):
Thank you, Anthony.
I want to go back to yourexperiences as a college
student.
I know now you're in a rolewhere you're empowering and
helping students.
can you tell me about yourbackground and how was it like
growing up as a first genstudent?
Anthony Reda (02:43):
I would say, as a first generation student, at the
time, I didn't realize I was afirst generation student
because, to be honest, in the2005 6 world, that terminology
wasn't around, at least for me,I didn't hear that terminology.
I didn't think there wasanything unique with my
experience, and it's not untilmany years later I realized
(03:05):
that.
Me, along with millions andmillions of other students in
this country, faced the samething that I was facing and
people were facing way moredifficult academic journeys
prior to me.
But at that time, in that era,that kind of pre social media
era, where things were just muchsmaller and all you really had
was a MySpace at that point, youdid feel like you were in a
(03:28):
silo.
My parents had grown up inimmigrant households.
Where they were the translators,the mediators for my
grandparents and the outsideworld.
They were expected to go toschool, but they weren't
expected to go to college.
They were expected to pick up atrade.
A skill and just going to theworkforce.
So now, by time I had comearound, my parents had impressed
(03:50):
on me and my brother thateducation was something that we
had to pursue post high school.
But there wasn't money for afour year.
You would have to go to thelocal community college, which
is still, I look at as ablessing because how many
parents can't even provide that.
But, it was a two parenthousehold of both of them
working multiple jobs.
(04:11):
In order to ensure that me andmy brother could go to the local
community college.
And then from there, maybe thepossibility of two years at a
four year school to finish upand get an undergraduate degree.
So at that time, I didn'trealize that was unique.
I just realized that my parentshad pressed upon me.
You both were going to go tocollege.
(04:31):
There was no with, and they hadregretted that they both had
taken some college courses, buthad never finished.
My father was able to get enoughcredits and became a certified
electrician and has done verywell, thank God for himself, and
now retired.
And my mother was a teacher'saide, but they both had
(04:52):
regretted not finishing theireducation, but they didn't have
that backing at home becausetheir, my grandparents
perspective was that wasn'treally a necessity.
So it was different timescompletely.
And I think going forward now.
I look back at experience and Irealized how unique it was.
And I know we'll get into itlater, the nuts and bolts, but I
have so many situations thathappened during my first gen
(05:14):
experience, navigating collegelandscapes, but I don't want to
get too ahead of myself yet.
Miguel Sanchez (05:20):
At what point.
During your college experience,you realized I'm different.
What, can you give me an exampleor an anecdote of a time in
college when you realized, Hmm,there's some things that I don't
know, or there are certainthings that I didn't understand
because of my circumstances.
Anthony Reda (05:40):
Absolutely.
So many things.
Post high school, I realized Iwasn't prepped enough for higher
education, period.
I had, graduated from a publicschool system that was adequate,
but it wasn't exceptional by anymeans.
The school district I was in,they were known for sports more
than academics.
And the guidance counselors,while were good, I had one in
(06:03):
particular, she was a wonderfulwoman.
But at the time, because Ididn't know my direction, the
advice was just go to communitycollege and, you know, get an
associates.
And then from there, you'llprobably get a good job.
You don't need anything morethan associates.
This was in 2004, five and six.
This is what they're tellingyou.
And associates is good enough.
A bachelor's is fantastic.
(06:24):
If you get that.
Having said that, I went to thelocal community college and I
realized that I didn't knowanything about navigating the
higher ed landscape because myparents didn't know the
terminology that so many of myclassmates who weren't first
generation knew because somehowthis was foreign to me.
(06:44):
Their parents went to school andgot bachelor's, some even got
master's degrees.
And I thought that was strangewhen I was growing up.
My family just kind of got herein the sixties and the late
fifties.
So both sides of my family onlygot to this country within the
last 50 years.
So they hadn't been here forgenerations where classmates of
mine, their families, They hadgrandparents that went to
(07:06):
college, which I thought was themost bizarre thing to me.
Now, seeing it, it was so naiveof me to think that way, but at
the time, all of my cousins andpeople I grew up around me, not
my classmates, but friends,childhood friends, none of our
parents went to college and noneof our grandparents certainly
went to college.
So it was weird to me.
(07:27):
That my classmates werenavigating these spaces better
than me.
So fast forward, I get tocommunity college.
I'm sitting down with acounselor to get advised and
scheduled for classes.
I said, I had interest incriminal justice.
I said, I was probably going tolook into law enforcement.
The counselor assigned me abunch of classes.
It turns out that weren'trelated to that program map.
(07:48):
On top of that, I had anentrance exam in there where I
failed the math portion.
I passed the English portion, soI had to be placed in a non
credit math.
I didn't understand what thatmeant other than the counselor
told me, you're probably goingto be delayed now because you're
taking a non credit math.
So you're taking a class yourfirst semester that's not
(08:08):
working towards your degree thatyou wanted to get.
So I was miscounseled, and a noncredit math on top of that.
As I start going forward more, Istart realizing, as the
semesters go on, I'm not gonnamake graduation within two years
because another counselor wasasking me, who advised you?
Because they should have nevertold you to take X, Y, and Z.
(08:30):
You shouldn't have taken thiseconomics class.
You shouldn't have taken thisclass.
And now I had to face theconflict of having to tell my
parents, I may have to be herefor two and a half years,
possibly three years, which isgoing to cost them more money
that they don't have.
And it created tension and theydidn't hesitate for a second to
find every which way to getmoney, to get me to stay there,
(08:51):
And there was already a stigmaof going to community college
versus my more, I would say,American classmates in high
school who went straight to fouryears.
And they were just going to fouryears and dorming because their
parents could afford it.
And it's seemingly, they knewhow to navigate college
landscapes.
They knew the terminology,bursar's office, admissions
(09:12):
office.
Financial aid, all these foreignthings that I had never had to
navigate.
I had to learn on my own.
I had to be my own, the way myparents were a cultural broker
for my grandparents.
I had to be my own culturalbroker in real time because I'm
on campus.
I'm speaking to offices, somenot friendly at all.
They're telling me I needobscure paperwork that my father
(09:32):
needs to get notarized.
I have to run across campus.
I have to go to a notary.
Then I have to go back to thisoffice, but this person's only
here on Thursdays, every othermonth.
At 17, 18 years old, navigatingthis while still working one to
two part time jobs and luckilynot having to use public
transportation, using a commutercar to get to back to and from
(09:53):
campus, it was a lot.
Miguel, it was definitely a lot.
It was eye opening becauseagain, I didn't have that
institutional knowledge that Mymore Americanized classmates had
because their parents went tocollege and got bachelor's and
master's and their grandparentswent to school.
So they already knew the highereducation landscape.
They knew how to navigate.
(10:13):
They knew what a bursar's officeis.
They knew how to fill outfinancial aid paperwork.
They knew how to speak to a Deanof a department.
If they knew the program, thecurriculum chair, the department
chair.
Wasn't a good fit for them orthey were having issues.
I didn't know where to navigateif I was running into issues on
campus.
It was so frustrating and soscary navigating because I
(10:35):
didn't have any guidance.
When I asked my parents, whatdoes this mean that they're
asking for?
Because my parents have no cluewhat they're asking for because
they had taken college coursesin the early eighties, the whole
landscape had changed.
So, fast forward, I wasmiscounseled and because of
that, I had to stay longer at mycommunity college and my last
(10:56):
semester there, I had to worklike crazy to get out of there
if I was going to graduate ontime, which was two and a half
years instead of two.
So I had to take 18 credits,which was academic overload.
I had to get permission from adean.
I take 18 credits for thesemester and that final three
credits was a CLEP exam.
(11:17):
So because I was miscounseledand taking wrong classes in my
early semesters, I had to makeup for it on the back end now in
order to try to get out of thereon time and not cost my parents
any more money.
So I had to study like crazy fora CLEP exam while taking 15
other credits for in personclasses.
And it was just such a stressfultime because I'm doing all that
(11:38):
while I'm working a part timejob.
While I'm taking care of familyand things of that nature.
So it was a lot, but Iappreciate the journey so much
because I remember after thatand then navigating into my
undergrad, I was eventually ableto go to an undergrad school
commuting only.
That's the difference I wantedto make.
(11:59):
I wanted to prevent those issuesthat I encountered for my
students going forward.
I can't prevent every pain pointa student encounters at every
desk and the running around theyhave to go through.
But when they come into my area,which is the library, I know I
will give them the full service.
And not shut a door on them andnot reroute them to go somewhere
(12:22):
else.
We try to do above and beyondfor our students to support them
because they're already an atrisk population.
So they're this close at anytime to just dropping out
because it's just too much.
Thank God I didn't have thatoption because I knew that
wasn't an option for me with theparents I had.
There would be no way, but, forthese students, they don't have
(12:42):
that support at home, a lot ofthem.
So there's no one to kind ofkick them in the backside and
say, it's not an option.
You're not quitting.
There may be nobody at home.
And in a lot of cases, it is alot of them at couch surfing and
just living at friends housesand maybe in and out of, homes,
group homes for at risk youth.
So I just knew I wanted to limitwhat I had went through for
(13:06):
future students, because I canonly imagine the generations
that came before me that werefirst generation students.
That my situation was rainbowsand sunshine compared to what
they encountered.
Miguel Sanchez (13:19):
You came to mind when I was putting the list
together I think we shareexperiences.
I went to a community college.
I also had, probably more of afull time job on top of a full
time schedule and managing thosecan be very complicated.
So how were you able to maneuverall these things?
How were you able to manageclasses, learning the school
(13:42):
culture, gaining thatinstitutional knowledge and
experience with work?
Anthony Reda (13:48):
So I'm not unique at all because there were many
working class kids like me whoare first generation students
who were running off campus togo work their part time job.
So at least for me, and maybethat's more systemic because
it's at a community college.
So you're going to get a higherpopulation of maybe students.
(14:11):
That work, are at risk, areminority, are first generation
students, versus if I wentstraight to SUNY Albany, or SUNY
Buffalo, or Mercy College, orsomewhere like that.
So there's a higher prevalenceof that.
Having said that though, it wasstressful.
I didn't have a full time job.
I don't know how you managedbecause at that age, no one
(14:33):
wanted to give me full time.
It took me so many years to getfull time, but it was also
coming on the heels of thefinancial collapse, financial
crisis of 08.
So around that time, like 07,08, things started slowing down
and no employer wanted to giveyou full time, at least for the
fields I was applying in.
So, but everyone was happy togive you part time because they
didn't want to pay your healthinsurance.
It was stressful because younever got to really ingrain
(14:55):
yourself in the culture ofcampus life, when I see,
students at four year collegesand they're kind of like hanging
around campus, having fun,joining clubs, parties, all that
kind of extracurricular stuff.
You didn't have the luxury as acommuter student, you were there
to go to class and drive rightback into wherever your home
(15:16):
was, your town to start yourshift.
And you were working to have gasmoney to get back and forth to
campus.
Take your classes, do what youhad to do and leave.
There was no time to hang outand join student life and all
this stuff that I was unfamiliarwith.
And it wasn't until the end ofmy tenure in my community
college, where I had left myprevious part time job and
(15:39):
gotten a job on campus in thecampus library.
And I realized, wait, this isgreat.
I could work on campus and be astudent here.
And it happens to pay betterthan the job I was doing in town
at a pharmacy.
so I started working on campusthe moment I was about to leave
that college campus.
And ironically, I wound upworking at that campus for five
(16:01):
more years after I graduatedthere and was at my
undergraduate institution to getmy bachelor's.
I started helping communitycollege students there where I
had graduated.
And I was trying to helpstudents and try to prevent them
from what I had went through.
Again, I didn't have the powerand the position I was in to be
able to step over to a counselorand say, make sure you advise
(16:23):
them right.
Don't be assigning them classesthat they shouldn't be taking.
I didn't have thatauthorization, but I knew when
they came into my department, wewere going to make sure all the
resources we offered tostudents, they were going to get
an abundance plus extra support,whether it's letters of
recommendations, money for thebus, money for food.
We try to fill in as many ofthose gaps as possible.
Miguel Sanchez (16:45):
Now that you mentioned working on a campus it
sounds like that led to whereyou are now in terms of a
career.
And you also mentioned not beingable to join as many clubs in
school and in many institutions,joining a club is crucial
because it's often the pathwaythat's going to get you to your
next job.
(17:06):
That's one of the ways that youbuild social capital.
So one of the things that I wantto ask you is how, how did you
make that transition from havinga job to then finding more of a
formal career?
How did you get there?
And were there any people whohelped you get there?
Anthony Reda (17:24):
There were so many, I was so blessed to have
amazing supervisors, in mycommunity college, colleagues
who were willing to support mebecause they saw something in
me.
Like personal anecdote, I wasworking at the community college
at the library, which is anacademic library because it
serves an academic institution,which is different from a public
(17:46):
library or a law library,anything like that, just a side
note.
But all along, I was trying toget into law enforcement.
And this is 07, 08.
I worked there till 2014.
So basically from 08 till 2014,I was working there and I was
taking police exams and I wastaking them all over and that's
what that was the direction itwas going.
(18:09):
As the year started going on, Istarted realizing, you know
what, this is my passionactually to work in higher ed,
to work in academic libraries,to help students with their
research, with theirassignments, with electronic
resources, physical resources.
Quiet spaces for studying,spaces for collaborative
studying and collaborative groupexplorations, all that.
(18:29):
So I realized I pulled back fromlaw enforcement where I was
working just as a side gig allalong, a part time job turned
out to be my passion.
And that's when I startedapplying for full time positions
in academic libraries.
And I kept doing that for somany years, not finding
anything, almost gettingsomething, then it getting
pulled away from me.
(18:49):
And again, it was all therepercussions of that 08
financial collapse.
From 2009, the country was stillreeling with debt.
And there was just a lot of fluxin the academic space.
And I went on so many interviewsand at that time I secured a
second job, a second part timejob at another college.
(19:11):
And I was in charge of alearning commons, which is a
wonderful collaborative spaceroom in the library where the
latest technologies in there.
Students, a lot of nursingstudents, but a lot of group
study happens in there.
And I was in charge of keepingthe room open till after
midnight because these were dormcampuses.
During finals, we stood opentill 2 a.
m.
(19:31):
So at the time I was going to myundergrad, I would start my
mornings with, now at myundergrad institution, commuting
to that college, then go to myold community college to do a
couple of hours.
Then go home to my parents, havedinner, then go to the four year
college I was working at now,part time, and I would stay
(19:51):
there till either midnight ortwo in the morning.
And those were my days.
And then eventually, when I gotmy bachelor's in 2011, I was
able to become a certifiedsubstitute teacher in my school
district, where I went to highschool.
So then I was working three parttimes, because still nobody was
giving me Full time, no matterhow many interviews I went on,
(20:12):
letters of recommendations,everyone wanted me for the
company, but they wanted me parttime though.
I was substituting as a schoolteacher in K through 12.
I was working as a libraryassistant at my community
college, and then I was workingas head of a learning comments,
room at the four year college.
So my days were busy and thatcommuting stood with me for so
(20:34):
long.
So my experience working at.
Two different higher edinstitutions.
While subbing in a K through 12system, all that experience I
value so much now becausenothing ever came easy.
It took years for me to get fulltime.
And then I finally secured myfirst full time position where I
still am now, which is a SUNYWestchester.
Miguel Sanchez (20:55):
how do you think colleges can support students so
that first gen andunderrepresented students can be
their best in the classroom?
Anthony Reda (21:05):
They've seen, there's definitely been a lot of
changes.
Thank God since, when, during myundergrad year.
So since 05, 06, 07, 08, there'sbeen a lot of changes.
There's been ways to reduce thebarriers on the front end,
particularly placement exams,not having students to go into a
(21:25):
non credit English or math rightoff the bat.
SUNY Westchester just speakingas an employee there, but not as
in charge of that process.
There's now more of aquestionnaire and then possibly
an exam after if you want to doan exam, but they're fielding
the potential students.
What do you feel comfortablewith?
Take a look at some of thesequestions.
Do you think you'd be able tosolve this?
(21:46):
Try and solve it.
We'll place you in a one on onefor math.
I didn't have that option.
Take this exam.
If you don't get a certainscore, you're going into a non
credit for possibly English andmath right off the bat, your
first semester, those are twoout of your five classes that
you're going to pay for that youwon't get credit for.
So right away, you're startingwith your hand tied behind your
(22:09):
back.
And now that will delay yourprocess to graduate out of your
undergrad.
That's just one example.
The terminology, the higher edterminology, me not being able
to navigate those spacesconfidently and knowing what any
of those offices mean, what am Isupposed to do when something
pops up on my account?
That's an issue.
And I have no idea the foreignlanguage they're speaking to me.
(22:30):
All the stuff that terminology Iknow now intrinsically, but at
the time, never have heard of.
So colleges have addressed alot, and I can only speak for
the colleges I work at, becausewe have such a high first
generation population andbecause we're a majority
Hispanic institution, I see thechanges.
(22:51):
But we're still not there yet.
It's still, it's, it's notperfect yet.
Reducing barriers on the frontend, the kind of full cycle
recruiting of getting thestudent and the potential
student in the door, gettingthem through the pipeline and
then out successfully within twoyears, because I'm at a two year
institution, with theircertification or degree.
(23:14):
That's the goal.
I still don't think we're thereyet.
We're improving.
But I think there's still somany, and I'll just say in
general, I think we need to domore with the touch points that
students go through, especiallyif you're a first generation
student, we still need to createmore comfortable spaces for them
to navigate.
(23:34):
But in terms of the processes ofhow to sign up as a student, and
then while you're a studentregistering for your next
semester, All those processesshould be simplified.
There should always bemultilingual services.
For students to create greateraccessibility, and I think if
you come from that vantage pointwith a more holistic approach
because in terms of studentinvolvement and clubs, there's
(23:57):
so much more of that and it'sfantastic.
Now you have individual countryclubs, so you have the Peru
club, you have Colombian club,so you feel that sense of
community.
When I was in college, there wasa club, and it was probably just
a generic called Hispanic Club,and that was pretty much it.
So now, there's a greater senseof community there, which is
wonderful, but I think there'sstill more holistic things that
(24:19):
need to be put into the pipelineprocess of, they got to the
college, that's great.
Let's take care of them theentire journey, so they make it
to that finish line.
So you have to remember theexternal pressures they're
dealing with when they come tous.
Academic academia is challengingenough, especially if they're
not familiar with the space.
(24:40):
So we have to engage themconstantly, but we have to make
it holistically caring, likethis full kind of embrace.
And just speaking for me and mycolleagues in our area, there's
so much we try to do for ourstudents.
And we like to say that if itwasn't for the library, which
happens to be the highest rateddepartment on campus, shameless
plug, based on student surveys,we do letters of recommendation
(25:05):
for them.
We help them sometimes withmoney for food, money for the
bus.
We help them with letters ofrecommendations, not only for
jobs, but for colleges,scholarships.
We try to do things that areoutside of our job role.
That's not part of our job role,but that's just a wonderful
team.
I happen to work with in mydepartment and we do a lot for
(25:26):
them, but I see that spark intheir eye when we take an
interest in these students.
And I know they're not gettingthat at home sometimes.
So I just always think if everydepartment could just do a
little extra like that, thiswhole experience for them would
be so much different than when Iencountered and the generations
before me.
Miguel Sanchez (25:44):
If you could speak to yourself back in 2006,
during the hardest times whatwould you say to yourself?
Anthony Reda (25:53):
I would do some things different.
I would give up the lawenforcement dream and tell
myself, stay in academia, thisis your future.
But I don't regret how rigorousthe journey was because nothing
came easy and nothing in lifeshould come easy.
And especially didn't come easyfor me.
(26:14):
Again, I experienced nothingcompared to some of what my
friends and classmatesexperienced because their skin
color is darker, because therewas one parent or no parents at
home.
I would tell myself the hardwork and the struggle is worth
it because that gave me thegrit.
the headspace to deal with whatI deal with now.
(26:40):
So I'm blessed to come from aloving family, two parents
wanted me to go to school,supported me going to school.
And then after, when I went tograduate school, I supported
myself doing that.
And it was my dream to continuemy education, but I would tell
myself, stay on that same path.
Maybe do one or two thingsdifferent with job wise and,
with taking certain classes,listening to certain people on
(27:03):
campus that I thought had mybest interests at heart, but,
there were counselors and peoplethere again, because I didn't
know the space.
Throughout my entire journey atall of my different jobs that
were wonderful boosters for me,including my current job.
I couldn't have done it withoutfamily, friends, and all of the
people in my career.
(27:23):
And the wonderful professors Ihad at different points in the
journey that were just thosetype of professors you'll never
forget.
They left a lasting impact onyou.
Miguel Sanchez (27:33):
Anthony, Thank you for speaking with me today.
Anthony Reda (27:36):
Thank you for having me.
So appreciate it.
Thank you.
Miguel Sanchez (27:40):
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoy the episode.
Subscribe to this podcast andshare it with a friend.
Don't forget to leave a review.
Until next time.
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Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!