July 25, 2025 • 33 mins
In this episode of the First Gen 101 podcast, Miguel welcomes Richard Mejia, who shares his compelling journey in the field of education. Growing up in Clifton, NJ, Richie faced numerous challenges, both academically and personally. He recounts his high school years, the pivotal moments that shaped his future. Richie discusses his family's role in motivating him and the turning point when his teacher's encouraging words changed his perspective. He dives into his college experience at Felician University, his eventual role in admissions, and his unique experience of running for and winning a seat on the Clifton Board of Education. Offering wisdom and inspiration for first-generation students, Richie emphasizes the importance of mentorship, networking, and perseverance. Tune in to learn more about Richie's aspirations and vision for the future in this uplifting episode.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Richie Mejia (00:05):
Five years ago, I wouldn't have imagined myself in
this position I am in today.
So if I were to go back and Ithink my younger self would
probably lie and be like, whatare you talking about?
We've made it this far.
Like what?
Me, me, Richie Mejia, we made itthere.
I would probably tell'em to takeit easy, take it a day at a
(00:26):
time.
Your family is always there tosupport you no matter what.
And keep on pushing.
How was election day?
How was waiting for the results?
And were you home with yourparents, with your family?
How did you find out you hadbeen elected and what did that
look like?
Yeah, so for me, everyone wasasking me, Hey Richie, are, are
(00:48):
we doing a party?
Are we celebrating?
What are we doing?
And I said to myself, I don'tknow if we even won yet.
Election day was tough.
Waking up early, talking topeople at different schools,
telling them, Hey, this is me.
Even if you do not know who Iam, this is a quick spiel on who
I am.
This is why you should vote forme.
Miguel Sanchez (01:13):
Welcome back to another episode of the First Gen
1 0 1 podcast Today I haveRichie Mejia with us today.
Richie, welcome.
Richie Mejia (01:22):
Thank you so much for having me.
Miguel Sanchez (01:23):
So Richie, I know we've been in contact for a
few weeks now, thank you forsetting time aside to be with us
today.
I know you're very busy and.
You have a different perspectiveabout education and for reasons
that we're gonna cover in a fewmoments.
But before we start, Richie,tell me about your, your life
during your high school years.
(01:44):
What did that look like?
What did you grow up?
Richie Mejia (01:46):
Yeah, definitely.
To start off.
like we mentioned before, myname is Richie Mejia, real name
is Richard, but been going byRichie since I was probably,
about three meters high.
Five years old, years old.
I grew up in Clifton, NewJersey, which is located in
Passaic County.
I like to say I wasn't born inthe best circumstances.
where I live specifically was alittle bit more urban compared
(02:08):
to the other side, of Clifton.
Where you would see, big houses,yards and all this.
I lived in more so of a, anapartment for.
Some time of my life beforetransitioning.
for our parents actually boughttheir first home and we moved
literally, I like to say acrossthe street into a nice home that
we still have today.
so from there on, we actually,for me, I hated school growing
(02:34):
up.
I hated the idea that I would goto school and then I would come
home.
to my parents, making me do moreschoolwork, making sure I was
doing the best I could I.
remember specifically whenIwhenever, I would have a
spelling test.
And my mom, she would know, shewould make me write down every
single word over a hundred timesuntil I got it right.
(02:55):
And then she would test me andthen she'd say, if it's not
right, you're if you're notgetting a hundred, then it's not
good enough.
Um, and that's kind of thementality you have and it's set
with you from the time you'refive years old up until, the
time I am now, which is 25.
for me, high school wasespecially challenging.
I was a student athlete, so Ipaid, I played, lacrosse, I
(03:17):
played football track and field.
so for me, I was more so focusedon athletics for a time.
and there was a specific momentfor me where I had a teacher
basically tell me, I wouldn'tamount to anything in life.
And So for me, it hit hard.
You are a junior and hearingthis From someone who's supposed
(03:40):
to be a professional.
whose space is supposed to be amentor to you.
For me, that was a shock.
I remember telling my parents,oh, I'm gonna drop out.
I don't wanna go back to school.
And I remember my parents beingangry with me saying, that's not
the path you should takecontinuing school.
Miguel Sanchez (03:59):
I'm glad you shared this with us because not
that it happened to you, thatyou had a negative experience at
one point, but that, and this ispart of the why we are doing
this podcast, is because thereare pivotal moments in our life
where we can be.
Carried it out or carried itaway by the negativity, You
(04:22):
mentioned, Felician Universitywhere you attended how was that
process though?
Did you visit other colleges?
Did you just.
Know that you were gonnaFelician University, how was
that process of choosing theuniversity you attended?
Richie Mejia (04:36):
So for me, my senior year of high school we
had something called a dualenrollment program.
Something that at the time theyoffered and they still do.
It was a great opportunity forme to take some classes along
with my community college, whichwas Passaic county community
college, I.
ended up taking two classes.
And I, I like to say this, Igraduated like on a Thursday I
(04:57):
think, and on the Friday I wasalready in college classes.
and so for me it was always thatimmense pressure and motivation
for my parents to keep on goingforward.
I know having my sister, myolder sister was one of the
first to go in college with myfamily.
she went to community collegeand then she went to Felicia
University.
and for me to take a few classesat PCCC and then finally
(05:20):
transitioned to the full onuniversity life Felician, it
felt almost natural.
more so because my sister hadattended before and she already
had these connections at theuniversity and I said, I might
as well go.
We're somewhere to a place wherethere is already a great
connection.
and There's already great thingsthat I'm hearing about.
(05:40):
my sister Ley is a great advisorto me Say, Hey, take this class,
take this class, take thisprofessor, it was like having a
second advisor.
when I had actually applied,that was, I believe that's the
only school I really applied to,because I was committed.
I was, saying, I'm gonna go toFelician because my sister went
there and we all have thiscompetitive.
(06:03):
competitive.
edge.
sister went there, I went there.
My younger sister currently goesthere, so it's all more so well,
who's who's trying to do better,who accomplished more in their
time there.
Um, I think my little sistermight be beating us out right
now.
Miguel Sanchez (06:19):
What, what was your vision?
previous guests come and said, Iwanted to be a lawyer.
I wanted to be a doctor.
What did that look like for you?
What was your initial interest,career-wise?
Richie Mejia (06:28):
So coming in, I still have this passion for me.
I wanted to study law.
I wanted to go to law school.
but unfortunately at the timethe only path for me was to
major in something that Ibelieved would help me out.
In that case, I majored inbusiness administration and I
graduated fairly young.
I believe I was 20, 20 years oldor 21 years old, I remember
(06:50):
saying, well, what's a 20201-year-old gonna do in law
school?
Is that gonna be a little bitweird?
I remember visiting a few andsaying to myself, well, this
might not be it.
I saw the average age was moreso like 27, 28.
now it has obviously changed,but at the time I was saying to
myself, you know what?
The bills are gonna be high.
(07:12):
I had seen how much tuition isranging from as little as 23,000
to as much as$75,000.
And I I can't afford That.
My next best option was for mewas to get a master's degree.
So while I was at Felician, Ihad done some research on some
master's degrees and MBA Theperspective of just getting one,
(07:34):
the job opportunities that couldcome with the cost effectiveness
was basically there.
And I said to myself, well, howam I gonna pay for grad school?
That's The biggest question.
How am I gonna pay for this?
luckily for me, I had a few.
great professors and staffmembers at the university who
told me about all these greatthings.
They told me about what agraduate assistant is.
(07:56):
graduate assistants get theirgraduate school paid as well as
a stipend at many schools acrossthe country, and I told myself,
this is perfect for me.
I can work at the university,learn the ropes of things in and
out, And then also study and getpaid.
So for me that was the best ofboth options.
(08:16):
I stayed as a graduate assistantfor one year working in the
School of Education, uh, workingon accreditation as well.
as anything that had pertainingto school of education
initiatives, for example,collecting data on assessments,
edTPAs practice scores, allthese types of initiatives.
We were doing in the school ofEd.
(08:39):
for me it was absorbing thatknowledge.
Working directly With the Deanof School education the
Associate Dean of Education.
I like to say this.
they did the trial and error, sothey could tell me what they did
right and what they did wrong.
That way in my Future I don'talso have to go through those
trial and errors.
Honestly, everyone goes throughtheir own trial and errors, but
(09:02):
I was lucky enough to observethat.
Absorb it and then say, okay, ifthis didn't work at this at this
particular moment.
then it might not work forwhatever I'm trying to do.
So I already know it doesn'twork.
Lemme try to pivot and find adifferent idea that might work
Miguel Sanchez (09:22):
and you'll be surprised how, years later what
you've been learning.
We will come back when I wasdoing my research about you, one
of the things that really caughtmy eye when I, uh, when I was
looking into your profile,couple years ago you sworn in as
member of the Clifton Board ofEducation.
And you also mentioned that youwere not a big fan of school,
that, you know, you struggled alittle bit in school.
(09:43):
So how did that happen?
How did that interest in,joining the school board start?
Richie Mejia (09:47):
Yeah, so definitely I'm talking outta my
own perspective.
and not like on behalf of theboard, but Basically, when I was
first starting off, like Imentioned before, I wasn't
always the biggest fan ofschool.
I.
but when after I had finished myundergraduate degree, and I was,
as I was working in the schoolof education at my university, I
realized how important educationis In terms of wanting to grow
(10:12):
your perspective, wealth overgenerations in terms of wanting
to become a better person interms of wanting to gain more
respect from individuals.
It was a holistic view formyself because I said, Well, the
school system almost failed me.
As I mentioned before, there wasa teacher, who basically said I
(10:34):
wouldn't amount to anything andI know my story isn't unique.
I know there are millions ofkids across the United States
who probably heard the samething, and at that time I said,
I don't want any student to everfeel the same way I felt that
day, that whole year.
(10:56):
You know when I had graduated I.
gave a speech as the seniorpresident, and I remember
standing up there talking to thecrowd and saying, if only this
teacher could see me now, Icould get a little emotional,
but I I refused not to.
And then when I got my master'sdegree in the mail, I remember,
(11:17):
jumping up and down, telling myolder sister, look, I did it.
For me, it was definitely alittle emotional.
because having been in thatposition, being told that, hey,
you wouldn't amount to anything,and now I have my undergraduate
degree, I have a master'sdegree, hopefully I'm gonna be
doing a doctorate degree.
(11:38):
soon.
for me, this was, Allegria, feltso happy.
I felt like I was on top of theworld.
And honestly, everyone has theirown ups and downs And for me
that was very inspirational.
going back to the point where Ididn't want any other student to
feel that way.
(11:58):
And I know it is almostimpossible to have that reality.
Every student is gonna feel somesort of way.
and I like to say you take everyday at a time.
If it doesn't affect you in fiveyears from now, don't stress
more than at least five minutesright now everything changes,
Time goes on, time changes.
(12:19):
you have to pivot every day.
Every day is a new day Today.
You might wanna be a lawyertomorrow, maybe you wanna be a
doctor.
And after I this was probablythe the worst Three months, of
three to four months of my lifewhere it was just me
campaigning, knocking on doors,talking to people, explaining
(12:41):
what my vision was about who Iam.
Remember at that time I wasstill pretty young.
You know, people don't usuallytake young people seriously.
And I believe after having spielwhat I was about, who I was,
what I had done, a lot of peoplegained confidence in me.
And for me, that was a biggermotivation, that they have the
(13:05):
same ideas I do.
They believe in what I can dohere for the community in
general, And it was justknocking doors.
Talking to people people,slamming doors.
I don't want to talk to You theusual things that happen, for
me, I had a great support systemin my family and my sisters who
(13:27):
would help me out every day, I.
No matter what, we were tiredknocking a hundred doors.
Well guess what?
There's another door next doorlet's knock on it and it was
basically from 9:00 AM up untilin the summer, the sun sets a
little bit later people are out.
I like to say on the.
block.
So 11:00 PM there's still peopleoutside whether they're in their
yard.
(13:48):
So I'd be knocking on doorssaying, Hey, would you, my name
is Richard Mejia, would you,mind supporting me for this
year's race?
and sometimes I was met withwith that negativity.
Sometimes I was met withpositivity, but at the end of
the day, you just gotta keep onmoving forward.
Miguel Sanchez (14:04):
one of the things that you mentioned that,
um.
Really caught my attention is asyou are going and you, as you
were going and knocking on thesedoors, there's another door.
And that is such a great advicethat you can apply not just for
campaigning, but also in life,right?
As you go through trials, as yougo through hardships.
(14:24):
Yeah.
But there's still an opportunityto do this one more.
And so I'm glad you're bringingthis up.
And so in the process of thecampaign and getting people
behind you.
what are some of the challengesthat came up in convincing
people that you didn'tanticipate?
Richie Mejia (14:40):
They were asking, well, hey, you are only 22, 21
at the time.
How am I going to fully put myconfidence in you that you will
more?
So keep your word to the thingsthat, that you wouldn't want to
change in the school systems.
I like to say this age sometimesis almost irrelevant.
(15:03):
I would say as long as you havegreat intentions in what you're
doing a great sense of, urgency,I believe no matter what, you'll
all be always be able toaccomplish what you want to
accomplish This is what I'vedone for the past four years.
I turned myself aroundcompletely.
I believe in the educationalsystem.
I've worked in the school ofeducation system.
(15:24):
I know things frontwards andbackwards.
And then after hearing howknowledgeable I was and how
passionate I was, for it, mostof them were saying, well, you
know what?
I agree with you You have mysupport.
And then some honestly, I liketo say, no matter what you say,
you could tell them you'regiving them the best of the best
(15:45):
Some people just I.
disagree.
and that is the reality.
there's gonna be people whoagree, there's gonna be people
who com compromise with you andthen there's gonna be people who
completely disagree withwhatever you're gonna say.
And I think it is hard for aperson to fully comprehend that
because me and you are thinking,well, they might come into
(16:06):
fruition.
They might think, okay, we cancompromise on something, but
some people just can't.
And that is the hard realitythat sometimes you need to face.
And it is hard because you selfcontemplate and say, well, how
come they don't understand myviewpoints?
How come they don't understandthis is to benefit not just the
students but the community?
(16:28):
I like to say this.
um, there's a quote aboutplanting trees and the tree
takes forever to grow and younever see the shade of that
tree.
You wanna be able to plant thatseed so that even after you are
gone.
That That shade remains therefor years to come, for
generations even.
(16:50):
And I believe people don'tunderstand that I.
You wanna be able to build afoundation that lasts not just
this year, not just next year,but the next 10 to 20 years.
And hopefully someone moreinnovative comes in and finds
other innovative things to addto whatever we already have
built.
Miguel Sanchez (17:09):
How was election day?
How was waiting for the results?
And were you home with yourparents, with your family?
How did you find out you hadbeen elected and what did that
look like?
Richie Mejia (17:19):
Yeah, so for me, everyone was asking me, Hey,
Richie, are, are we doing aparty?
Are we celebrating?
What are we doing?
And I said to myself.
I don't know if we even won yet.
Election day was tough.
Waking up early, Talking topeople at different schools,
telling them, Hey, this is me.
even if you do not know who Iam, this is a quick spiel on who
(17:41):
I am.
This is why you should vote forme.
I.
and at times there waschallenges.
I remember I ran against a lotof people.
There was an incumbent, which issomeone who was already on the
board, running for their seatagain.
and I'm thinking, these, these,are all professional people.
They all have great years ofexperience.
They're all great candidates, inmy opinion.
They were all great candidates.
(18:03):
what differentiates me fromthem, and it's so little.
There's only so little that wasdifferent from all of us, I
believe.
It was not so nerve wracking.
I don't think I get a lot ofjitters, but it was more so of
that uncertainty thinking, willI make it, will I not?
If I don't make it, I could doit again next year.
(18:25):
and That's okay.
I had no issue with that.
and if I do make it, well,what's next?
It continues.
The fight just keeps on goingon.
And so after all that, around8:00 PM There was people saying,
well, you can go in while theycount the votes, and then you
can kind of tally it foryourself.
And I go inside and I'm like,okay, It looked, I basically won
(18:48):
this specific building.
Which was my hometown, myhomeschool school, number 12.
And I said, all right, I didreally good here.
And people are saying, well, Ithink you did just as good at
the other schools as well.
And And I say, well, ho,hopefully that's true.
Hopefully that's true.
I remember walking back with myparents to our house, which is
only about 15 minutes away.
(19:09):
And I said, well, I'm gonna takea quick nap.
I was just gonna fall asleep andwake up the next day and then I
get calls from different peopleevery, somehow, some way
everyone in the city of Cliftongot ahold of my, phone number.
They're calling me.
Hey, where are we?
where are we, partying?
Where's, Where's the food?
where's where's it happening?
I'm like, I'm like, what are youtalking about?
(19:30):
I just woke up.
You won.
And I'm thinking to myself, ohmy, I'm winning.
So I, I look up the, electionresults and I see that, okay,
I'm a little bit of ahead rightnow, There's another person neck
and neck with me.
I'm not gonna say I won becauseI'm not a hundred percent sure
if I won.
(19:51):
So then.
next day, I think around 1:00 AM2:00 AM I got more calls saying,
no, it's finished.
You definitely won.
And I said, well, I don't wannasay that I won, if I don't know
a hundred percent that I won.
So I waited a week until Iannounced that I had officially
won, after they counted all thevotes, mail-in ballot, ballots,
(20:12):
provisional ballots, all theseother things.
And I told myself, all right,now's the time to announce that
I had officially won.
But That's how my night went.
And every time I tell peopleThis is how it went, they're
like, oh, you should have beenpartying.
But the thing is, like Imentioned before everyone was
such a great candidate.
Anyone had a chance at winningthat specific spot.
(20:34):
So it was almost like you can'tprepare for winning.
If you do not know a hundredpercent if you want.
You don't wanna celebrate tooearly and then outta nowhere at
1:00 AM turns out you are lastplace.
So that's another thing I didn'twanna do, but for me it was more
so like making sure I hadactually, won.
(20:55):
and at the end of the day, if Ididn't win, I would start my
campaign again for the, for thefollowing year.
Miguel Sanchez (21:02):
How many years?
How many, I'm sorry?
How many years is the, uh, the,seat?
Richie Mejia (21:06):
the the, term is about three years.
It is three years, but if you,you know, if you run one year
and you don't win, you canalways run again the following
year.
So I remember telling my mom,you know, if it doesn't happen,
then we could do it again nextyear.
and if that doesn't happen, wecan do it again the year after
that.
And I remember hearing it fromother people as well.
(21:26):
who had done races before andthey said.
If you don't win, don't takeanything negative from it.
Take this as not a loss, but asa learning opportunity to learn
the things you did, what youcould improve on, and it said
you're correct.
You're right.
the only thing you could do ismove forward.
You can't go backwards.
(21:47):
The only thing you could do ismove forward and learn from what
you had done in the past toimprove the things you wanna do
next time.
Um, And for me that I think thatwas top five best moments of my
life so far.
but then the swearing in day wasanother great moment.
My older sister held the Biblefor me as I got sworn in, and
(22:08):
for me it was very, I don'tthink it was an emotional day,
but it was more so of a day fullof happiness.
Having my family, friends, a fewmentors, a few professors of
mine there as well.
It was just a fantastic event.
I remember when we all stood upfor a photo, almost everybody in
the meeting room was there forthe photo with myself and I.
(22:31):
remember it was such a greatfeeling.
definitely top five moments ofmy life.
Miguel Sanchez (22:37):
That's fantastic.
What are the biggest challengesfor first generation students?
Richie Mejia (22:41):
the biggest one is coming in with no network.
When you come, in, many of.
us don't know a lick ofanything.
What to Major, in, what I wannado, do I need any special
certifications in order to getthe job I want?
Are there things in between thatI need to do before I finally
(23:03):
get to my final destination?
And the other thing, you know,the the money.
A lot of us don't have muchmoney in terms of resources that
we are able to dispose to, getahold of these other great
resources.
and then the foundationalsupport.
Many of us don't have thefoundational support at home.
(23:24):
I know many of us, our parentsare saying, well, you gotta keep
working.
You gotta keep working.
I am working.
you know, you just don'tunderstand how hard it is To, be
doing a calculus class.
I don't know about you.
I had to take a religious classto take a reading class.
it, it it takes a lot onsomebody.
and our parents didn't go tocollege, They don't know just
(23:47):
how hard it might be for them.
It looks like, hey, you're justworking on your computer.
But in reality, a million thingsare running through the back of
your mind.
and for me, when I startedworking in admissions, it was
making sure that I I was able tocommunicate these things to
prospective Students Studentscoming, well, what do I need to
(24:10):
do in order to become a nurse?
Well, you need some major innursing.
You need to take a special testcalled the N Class exam.
You got get these many creditsin order to graduate.
You need to take these classes.
And these are things that noteveryone is always told.
You just go into collegeassuming you already know
(24:30):
things.
But the truth is most of usdon't know anything that's Going
on.
Going back to the confidencething that you were saying
before, a lot of us don't haveas much confidence to ask those
questions.
We don't have the confidence togo ask financial aid, Hey, I'm
being charged$5,000.
Can you explain to me why I'mbeing charged with this?
(24:51):
some people just, let it happen.
And it has a lot to do with notknowing the environment.
We weren't raised in these typesof environments.
com compared to somebody who's,both of parents went to college
and know the ins and outs.
for example, I believe ourchildren, when they finally go
to college, will be able tonavigate them easily because of
(25:12):
our experiences that we've runthrough.
And these are experiences thatare unique to us because we
learned them firsthand.
So it's gonna be a little bitbetter when we finally teach our
kids all these new things.
But these are all things wedidn't have compared to students
who have had parents andgenerations of people going to
college.
Miguel Sanchez (25:33):
first generation student, it's not
limited to background orethnicity.
it's across the board.
And I think that's one of theways that we can have shared
experiences that.
You know, should unite us.
So talking about the network, Iwanna touch on, mentors.
Uh, I know you mentioned mentorsduring the celebration.
So gimme an example of howshould a first gen student think
(25:56):
about mentors?
Richie Mejia (25:57):
I don't think I've ever asking anyone If you could
be my mentor, I think thatconnection is just mutual.
for me, I had Dr.
Quaia, great person.
for me, he really helpednavigate my classes.
He told me what I should take inorder to become a lawyer taking
an LSAT exam, visiting, lawschools, making sure I had
(26:19):
everything in order to make sureI was in law school.
And then I had a regular advisorwho was mostly for my major.
I had a few throughout the year,so professor, Huey, professor
Tory, Dr.
Scardino, all great people whohelped me.
Navigate my classes and see whatI actually wanted to do in life.
(26:40):
But I had one specific, twospecific people who helped me
out in immensely.
one of them named Christina,another one named, Uma.
both of them, worked in studentengagement.
So for me it was I was involvedwith student government, so we
automatically had thatconnection and I looked up to
them.
(27:01):
at that time, they were probablyaround the same age I am right
now.
And I'm thinking to myself, wow,they are extremely success
successful.
they're both directors here atthe university.
They're young, they're helpingout students in a ways I could
only imagine.
And I said to myself, these arepeople I want to be.
loved.
I like to say she is Umaspecifically.
(27:23):
she's the reason why I ended upbeing in higher education.
I know right now I believe sheworks.
at another college now, But forme, having her teach me the
ropes of navigating school,navigating extracurriculars, um,
pointed me in the rightdirection.
(27:43):
Helping advocate for myself aswell.
For me, these are things thataren't always offered to
everybody because you never ask,you never get that connection
with a faculty me member or astaff member.
And then another one for mewould have been my bosses.
I had, I would say all my bosseswere terrific.
(28:05):
I was doing my graduateassistantship, I was working for
the the dean and the associatedean as well as the office
manager of the department.
And each one of them had uniqueperspectives of what they had
been through in life.
And I would always ask them,well, what would you do in this
case?
And they would give examples ofwhat they had done.
And I said, thank you forletting me know.
(28:27):
I know what, And.
for them they were great.
Always helping me in terms ofnetworking, how to look for
jobs, being great references forme.
Um, and then finally, I think,again, I graduated super early,
so I went into the workplace alittle bit earlier than, usual.
(28:52):
so while I was still doing mydegree, I was working full-time
And while working in admissions,I looked to my boss as well as
another great resource for me.
She was also young alsosuccessful in what she was
doing.
and I said to myself, well, thisis something I wanna do a little
bit long term.
I need to see what they're doingright and maybe mimic it a
(29:13):
little bit and hopefully be assuccessful as them someday.
Miguel Sanchez (29:20):
That's great.
One of the things that youmentioned, and I was listening
another colleague talking aboutquestions, And if you're looking
for a mentor, sometimes justasking a question, but a
well-crafted question, right?
A question that shows interestsin the other person, not only in
about them, but also about thework they do.
That's one of the ways that canlead to these mentorship
(29:40):
relationships.
what does the, what does thefuture look like for you?
I know you talked about maybe adoctorate.
I, I think I see a lot of lawyerin you.
and we can talk offline aboutsome of the, opportunities that
might be out there, but whatdoes that look like?
What is the future for you?
Richie Mejia (29:56):
I mentioned this to my mom last night, I wanna be
a dean, or at least an assistantvice president or vice president
by the time I'm 30 years old.
and she said.
As you know, um, get ready, likeget on it, you know, prepare
yourself now.
(30:16):
So I looked in the future,hopefully in the next three to
four years in a position likethat.
More so specifically maybestudent affairs, maybe academic
affairs.
I see myself in those roles.
more.
Hopefully it does come tofruition, sooner rather than
(30:39):
later, in my opinion.
But I would definitely love tocontinue in in higher education.
I do plan on taking some coursesin a doctor degree, program I.
for educational leadership,perhaps maybe in higher
education even.
And then, you know, as years goon, I do wanna go to law school.
(31:00):
That is definitely still in myfuture.
and I know I'm still relativelyyoung.
I have all the time in the worldto go back to law school.
I remember taking my LSAT andthere is a person who was about
maybe 50, 60 years old takinghis LSA exam as well.
And I said, Hey, I have all thetime in the world I could switch
my careers later on in life andcome back if I wanted to, but I
(31:24):
do wanna do that.
Ultimately though, I want to bea university president.
I don't know if it's in me yet.
It's definitely way down theroad, but perhaps going back to
my alma mater one day, thatwould be my dream.
Probably become the President ofFelician University one day.
(31:46):
I would love to be in a positionlike that one day.
but I know that's not soon.
I know it comes with time, itcomes with patience.
and It comes with years ofexperience, so hopefully it
does.
Miguel Sanchez (32:00):
And so to end, Richard, in the beginning of the
episode, you mentioned that youhad a particular person who, um,
was not particularly optimisticand said some things about you
If you can go back in time tothat moment and talk to
yourself, what would you say
Richie Mejia (32:20):
It's hard at the time.
You don't know what was gonnahappen.
five years ago, I wouldn't haveimagined myself in this position
I am in today.
So if I were to go back, I thinkmy younger self would probably
laugh, be like, what are youtalking about?
We've made it this far.
Like what?
Me, me, Richie Mejia, we made itthere.
(32:42):
I would probably tell him, takeit easy, take it a day at a
time.
Your family is always there tosupport you no matter what.
and keep on pushing.
Miguel Sanchez (32:53):
Well, Richard, I don't think there's any other
way we can end this episode.
I appreciate your time.
I appreciate your wisdom.
Such a young person with, uh,with words of encouragement, but
also with high confidence, whichis really necessary to navigate
the challenges that come to us.
Thank you for listening.
Richard.
Thank you for being here with ustoday.
Five years ago, I wouldn't have imagined myself in
this position I am in today.
So if I were to go back and Ithink my younger self would
probably lie and be like, whatare you talking about?
We've made it this far.
Like what?
Me, me, Richie Mejia, we made itthere.
I would probably tell'em to takeit easy, take it a day at a
(00:26):
time.
Your family is always there tosupport you no matter what.
And keep on pushing.
How was election day?
How was waiting for the results?
And were you home with yourparents, with your family?
How did you find out you hadbeen elected and what did that
look like?
Yeah, so for me, everyone wasasking me, Hey Richie, are, are
(00:48):
we doing a party?
Are we celebrating?
What are we doing?
And I said to myself, I don'tknow if we even won yet.
Election day was tough.
Waking up early, talking topeople at different schools,
telling them, Hey, this is me.
Even if you do not know who Iam, this is a quick spiel on who
I am.
This is why you should vote forme.
Miguel Sanchez (01:13):
Welcome back to another episode of the First Gen
1 0 1 podcast Today I haveRichie Mejia with us today.
Richie, welcome.
Richie Mejia (01:22):
Thank you so much for having me.
Miguel Sanchez (01:23):
So Richie, I know we've been in contact for a
few weeks now, thank you forsetting time aside to be with us
today.
I know you're very busy and.
You have a different perspectiveabout education and for reasons
that we're gonna cover in a fewmoments.
But before we start, Richie,tell me about your, your life
during your high school years.
(01:44):
What did that look like?
What did you grow up?
Richie Mejia (01:46):
Yeah, definitely.
To start off.
like we mentioned before, myname is Richie Mejia, real name
is Richard, but been going byRichie since I was probably,
about three meters high.
Five years old, years old.
I grew up in Clifton, NewJersey, which is located in
Passaic County.
I like to say I wasn't born inthe best circumstances.
where I live specifically was alittle bit more urban compared
(02:08):
to the other side, of Clifton.
Where you would see, big houses,yards and all this.
I lived in more so of a, anapartment for.
Some time of my life beforetransitioning.
for our parents actually boughttheir first home and we moved
literally, I like to say acrossthe street into a nice home that
we still have today.
so from there on, we actually,for me, I hated school growing
(02:34):
up.
I hated the idea that I would goto school and then I would come
home.
to my parents, making me do moreschoolwork, making sure I was
doing the best I could I.
remember specifically whenIwhenever, I would have a
spelling test.
And my mom, she would know, shewould make me write down every
single word over a hundred timesuntil I got it right.
(02:55):
And then she would test me andthen she'd say, if it's not
right, you're if you're notgetting a hundred, then it's not
good enough.
Um, and that's kind of thementality you have and it's set
with you from the time you'refive years old up until, the
time I am now, which is 25.
for me, high school wasespecially challenging.
I was a student athlete, so Ipaid, I played, lacrosse, I
(03:17):
played football track and field.
so for me, I was more so focusedon athletics for a time.
and there was a specific momentfor me where I had a teacher
basically tell me, I wouldn'tamount to anything in life.
And So for me, it hit hard.
You are a junior and hearingthis From someone who's supposed
(03:40):
to be a professional.
whose space is supposed to be amentor to you.
For me, that was a shock.
I remember telling my parents,oh, I'm gonna drop out.
I don't wanna go back to school.
And I remember my parents beingangry with me saying, that's not
the path you should takecontinuing school.
Miguel Sanchez (03:59):
I'm glad you shared this with us because not
that it happened to you, thatyou had a negative experience at
one point, but that, and this ispart of the why we are doing
this podcast, is because thereare pivotal moments in our life
where we can be.
Carried it out or carried itaway by the negativity, You
(04:22):
mentioned, Felician Universitywhere you attended how was that
process though?
Did you visit other colleges?
Did you just.
Know that you were gonnaFelician University, how was
that process of choosing theuniversity you attended?
Richie Mejia (04:36):
So for me, my senior year of high school we
had something called a dualenrollment program.
Something that at the time theyoffered and they still do.
It was a great opportunity forme to take some classes along
with my community college, whichwas Passaic county community
college, I.
ended up taking two classes.
And I, I like to say this, Igraduated like on a Thursday I
(04:57):
think, and on the Friday I wasalready in college classes.
and so for me it was always thatimmense pressure and motivation
for my parents to keep on goingforward.
I know having my sister, myolder sister was one of the
first to go in college with myfamily.
she went to community collegeand then she went to Felicia
University.
and for me to take a few classesat PCCC and then finally
(05:20):
transitioned to the full onuniversity life Felician, it
felt almost natural.
more so because my sister hadattended before and she already
had these connections at theuniversity and I said, I might
as well go.
We're somewhere to a place wherethere is already a great
connection.
and There's already great thingsthat I'm hearing about.
(05:40):
my sister Ley is a great advisorto me Say, Hey, take this class,
take this class, take thisprofessor, it was like having a
second advisor.
when I had actually applied,that was, I believe that's the
only school I really applied to,because I was committed.
I was, saying, I'm gonna go toFelician because my sister went
there and we all have thiscompetitive.
(06:03):
competitive.
edge.
sister went there, I went there.
My younger sister currently goesthere, so it's all more so well,
who's who's trying to do better,who accomplished more in their
time there.
Um, I think my little sistermight be beating us out right
now.
Miguel Sanchez (06:19):
What, what was your vision?
previous guests come and said, Iwanted to be a lawyer.
I wanted to be a doctor.
What did that look like for you?
What was your initial interest,career-wise?
Richie Mejia (06:28):
So coming in, I still have this passion for me.
I wanted to study law.
I wanted to go to law school.
but unfortunately at the timethe only path for me was to
major in something that Ibelieved would help me out.
In that case, I majored inbusiness administration and I
graduated fairly young.
I believe I was 20, 20 years oldor 21 years old, I remember
(06:50):
saying, well, what's a 20201-year-old gonna do in law
school?
Is that gonna be a little bitweird?
I remember visiting a few andsaying to myself, well, this
might not be it.
I saw the average age was moreso like 27, 28.
now it has obviously changed,but at the time I was saying to
myself, you know what?
The bills are gonna be high.
(07:12):
I had seen how much tuition isranging from as little as 23,000
to as much as$75,000.
And I I can't afford That.
My next best option was for mewas to get a master's degree.
So while I was at Felician, Ihad done some research on some
master's degrees and MBA Theperspective of just getting one,
(07:34):
the job opportunities that couldcome with the cost effectiveness
was basically there.
And I said to myself, well, howam I gonna pay for grad school?
That's The biggest question.
How am I gonna pay for this?
luckily for me, I had a few.
great professors and staffmembers at the university who
told me about all these greatthings.
They told me about what agraduate assistant is.
(07:56):
graduate assistants get theirgraduate school paid as well as
a stipend at many schools acrossthe country, and I told myself,
this is perfect for me.
I can work at the university,learn the ropes of things in and
out, And then also study and getpaid.
So for me that was the best ofboth options.
(08:16):
I stayed as a graduate assistantfor one year working in the
School of Education, uh, workingon accreditation as well.
as anything that had pertainingto school of education
initiatives, for example,collecting data on assessments,
edTPAs practice scores, allthese types of initiatives.
We were doing in the school ofEd.
(08:39):
for me it was absorbing thatknowledge.
Working directly With the Deanof School education the
Associate Dean of Education.
I like to say this.
they did the trial and error, sothey could tell me what they did
right and what they did wrong.
That way in my Future I don'talso have to go through those
trial and errors.
Honestly, everyone goes throughtheir own trial and errors, but
(09:02):
I was lucky enough to observethat.
Absorb it and then say, okay, ifthis didn't work at this at this
particular moment.
then it might not work forwhatever I'm trying to do.
So I already know it doesn'twork.
Lemme try to pivot and find adifferent idea that might work
Miguel Sanchez (09:22):
and you'll be surprised how, years later what
you've been learning.
We will come back when I wasdoing my research about you, one
of the things that really caughtmy eye when I, uh, when I was
looking into your profile,couple years ago you sworn in as
member of the Clifton Board ofEducation.
And you also mentioned that youwere not a big fan of school,
that, you know, you struggled alittle bit in school.
(09:43):
So how did that happen?
How did that interest in,joining the school board start?
Richie Mejia (09:47):
Yeah, so definitely I'm talking outta my
own perspective.
and not like on behalf of theboard, but Basically, when I was
first starting off, like Imentioned before, I wasn't
always the biggest fan ofschool.
I.
but when after I had finished myundergraduate degree, and I was,
as I was working in the schoolof education at my university, I
realized how important educationis In terms of wanting to grow
(10:12):
your perspective, wealth overgenerations in terms of wanting
to become a better person interms of wanting to gain more
respect from individuals.
It was a holistic view formyself because I said, Well, the
school system almost failed me.
As I mentioned before, there wasa teacher, who basically said I
(10:34):
wouldn't amount to anything andI know my story isn't unique.
I know there are millions ofkids across the United States
who probably heard the samething, and at that time I said,
I don't want any student to everfeel the same way I felt that
day, that whole year.
(10:56):
You know when I had graduated I.
gave a speech as the seniorpresident, and I remember
standing up there talking to thecrowd and saying, if only this
teacher could see me now, Icould get a little emotional,
but I I refused not to.
And then when I got my master'sdegree in the mail, I remember,
(11:17):
jumping up and down, telling myolder sister, look, I did it.
For me, it was definitely alittle emotional.
because having been in thatposition, being told that, hey,
you wouldn't amount to anything,and now I have my undergraduate
degree, I have a master'sdegree, hopefully I'm gonna be
doing a doctorate degree.
(11:38):
soon.
for me, this was, Allegria, feltso happy.
I felt like I was on top of theworld.
And honestly, everyone has theirown ups and downs And for me
that was very inspirational.
going back to the point where Ididn't want any other student to
feel that way.
(11:58):
And I know it is almostimpossible to have that reality.
Every student is gonna feel somesort of way.
and I like to say you take everyday at a time.
If it doesn't affect you in fiveyears from now, don't stress
more than at least five minutesright now everything changes,
Time goes on, time changes.
(12:19):
you have to pivot every day.
Every day is a new day Today.
You might wanna be a lawyertomorrow, maybe you wanna be a
doctor.
And after I this was probablythe the worst Three months, of
three to four months of my lifewhere it was just me
campaigning, knocking on doors,talking to people, explaining
(12:41):
what my vision was about who Iam.
Remember at that time I wasstill pretty young.
You know, people don't usuallytake young people seriously.
And I believe after having spielwhat I was about, who I was,
what I had done, a lot of peoplegained confidence in me.
And for me, that was a biggermotivation, that they have the
(13:05):
same ideas I do.
They believe in what I can dohere for the community in
general, And it was justknocking doors.
Talking to people people,slamming doors.
I don't want to talk to You theusual things that happen, for
me, I had a great support systemin my family and my sisters who
(13:27):
would help me out every day, I.
No matter what, we were tiredknocking a hundred doors.
Well guess what?
There's another door next doorlet's knock on it and it was
basically from 9:00 AM up untilin the summer, the sun sets a
little bit later people are out.
I like to say on the.
block.
So 11:00 PM there's still peopleoutside whether they're in their
yard.
(13:48):
So I'd be knocking on doorssaying, Hey, would you, my name
is Richard Mejia, would you,mind supporting me for this
year's race?
and sometimes I was met withwith that negativity.
Sometimes I was met withpositivity, but at the end of
the day, you just gotta keep onmoving forward.
Miguel Sanchez (14:04):
one of the things that you mentioned that,
um.
Really caught my attention is asyou are going and you, as you
were going and knocking on thesedoors, there's another door.
And that is such a great advicethat you can apply not just for
campaigning, but also in life,right?
As you go through trials, as yougo through hardships.
(14:24):
Yeah.
But there's still an opportunityto do this one more.
And so I'm glad you're bringingthis up.
And so in the process of thecampaign and getting people
behind you.
what are some of the challengesthat came up in convincing
people that you didn'tanticipate?
Richie Mejia (14:40):
They were asking, well, hey, you are only 22, 21
at the time.
How am I going to fully put myconfidence in you that you will
more?
So keep your word to the thingsthat, that you wouldn't want to
change in the school systems.
I like to say this age sometimesis almost irrelevant.
(15:03):
I would say as long as you havegreat intentions in what you're
doing a great sense of, urgency,I believe no matter what, you'll
all be always be able toaccomplish what you want to
accomplish This is what I'vedone for the past four years.
I turned myself aroundcompletely.
I believe in the educationalsystem.
I've worked in the school ofeducation system.
(15:24):
I know things frontwards andbackwards.
And then after hearing howknowledgeable I was and how
passionate I was, for it, mostof them were saying, well, you
know what?
I agree with you You have mysupport.
And then some honestly, I liketo say, no matter what you say,
you could tell them you'regiving them the best of the best
(15:45):
Some people just I.
disagree.
and that is the reality.
there's gonna be people whoagree, there's gonna be people
who com compromise with you andthen there's gonna be people who
completely disagree withwhatever you're gonna say.
And I think it is hard for aperson to fully comprehend that
because me and you are thinking,well, they might come into
(16:06):
fruition.
They might think, okay, we cancompromise on something, but
some people just can't.
And that is the hard realitythat sometimes you need to face.
And it is hard because you selfcontemplate and say, well, how
come they don't understand myviewpoints?
How come they don't understandthis is to benefit not just the
students but the community?
(16:28):
I like to say this.
um, there's a quote aboutplanting trees and the tree
takes forever to grow and younever see the shade of that
tree.
You wanna be able to plant thatseed so that even after you are
gone.
That That shade remains therefor years to come, for
generations even.
(16:50):
And I believe people don'tunderstand that I.
You wanna be able to build afoundation that lasts not just
this year, not just next year,but the next 10 to 20 years.
And hopefully someone moreinnovative comes in and finds
other innovative things to addto whatever we already have
built.
Miguel Sanchez (17:09):
How was election day?
How was waiting for the results?
And were you home with yourparents, with your family?
How did you find out you hadbeen elected and what did that
look like?
Richie Mejia (17:19):
Yeah, so for me, everyone was asking me, Hey,
Richie, are, are we doing aparty?
Are we celebrating?
What are we doing?
And I said to myself.
I don't know if we even won yet.
Election day was tough.
Waking up early, Talking topeople at different schools,
telling them, Hey, this is me.
even if you do not know who Iam, this is a quick spiel on who
(17:41):
I am.
This is why you should vote forme.
I.
and at times there waschallenges.
I remember I ran against a lotof people.
There was an incumbent, which issomeone who was already on the
board, running for their seatagain.
and I'm thinking, these, these,are all professional people.
They all have great years ofexperience.
They're all great candidates, inmy opinion.
They were all great candidates.
(18:03):
what differentiates me fromthem, and it's so little.
There's only so little that wasdifferent from all of us, I
believe.
It was not so nerve wracking.
I don't think I get a lot ofjitters, but it was more so of
that uncertainty thinking, willI make it, will I not?
If I don't make it, I could doit again next year.
(18:25):
and That's okay.
I had no issue with that.
and if I do make it, well,what's next?
It continues.
The fight just keeps on goingon.
And so after all that, around8:00 PM There was people saying,
well, you can go in while theycount the votes, and then you
can kind of tally it foryourself.
And I go inside and I'm like,okay, It looked, I basically won
(18:48):
this specific building.
Which was my hometown, myhomeschool school, number 12.
And I said, all right, I didreally good here.
And people are saying, well, Ithink you did just as good at
the other schools as well.
And And I say, well, ho,hopefully that's true.
Hopefully that's true.
I remember walking back with myparents to our house, which is
only about 15 minutes away.
(19:09):
And I said, well, I'm gonna takea quick nap.
I was just gonna fall asleep andwake up the next day and then I
get calls from different peopleevery, somehow, some way
everyone in the city of Cliftongot ahold of my, phone number.
They're calling me.
Hey, where are we?
where are we, partying?
Where's, Where's the food?
where's where's it happening?
I'm like, I'm like, what are youtalking about?
(19:30):
I just woke up.
You won.
And I'm thinking to myself, ohmy, I'm winning.
So I, I look up the, electionresults and I see that, okay,
I'm a little bit of ahead rightnow, There's another person neck
and neck with me.
I'm not gonna say I won becauseI'm not a hundred percent sure
if I won.
(19:51):
So then.
next day, I think around 1:00 AM2:00 AM I got more calls saying,
no, it's finished.
You definitely won.
And I said, well, I don't wannasay that I won, if I don't know
a hundred percent that I won.
So I waited a week until Iannounced that I had officially
won, after they counted all thevotes, mail-in ballot, ballots,
(20:12):
provisional ballots, all theseother things.
And I told myself, all right,now's the time to announce that
I had officially won.
But That's how my night went.
And every time I tell peopleThis is how it went, they're
like, oh, you should have beenpartying.
But the thing is, like Imentioned before everyone was
such a great candidate.
Anyone had a chance at winningthat specific spot.
(20:34):
So it was almost like you can'tprepare for winning.
If you do not know a hundredpercent if you want.
You don't wanna celebrate tooearly and then outta nowhere at
1:00 AM turns out you are lastplace.
So that's another thing I didn'twanna do, but for me it was more
so like making sure I hadactually, won.
(20:55):
and at the end of the day, if Ididn't win, I would start my
campaign again for the, for thefollowing year.
Miguel Sanchez (21:02):
How many years?
How many, I'm sorry?
How many years is the, uh, the,seat?
Richie Mejia (21:06):
the the, term is about three years.
It is three years, but if you,you know, if you run one year
and you don't win, you canalways run again the following
year.
So I remember telling my mom,you know, if it doesn't happen,
then we could do it again nextyear.
and if that doesn't happen, wecan do it again the year after
that.
And I remember hearing it fromother people as well.
(21:26):
who had done races before andthey said.
If you don't win, don't takeanything negative from it.
Take this as not a loss, but asa learning opportunity to learn
the things you did, what youcould improve on, and it said
you're correct.
You're right.
the only thing you could do ismove forward.
You can't go backwards.
(21:47):
The only thing you could do ismove forward and learn from what
you had done in the past toimprove the things you wanna do
next time.
Um, And for me that I think thatwas top five best moments of my
life so far.
but then the swearing in day wasanother great moment.
My older sister held the Biblefor me as I got sworn in, and
(22:08):
for me it was very, I don'tthink it was an emotional day,
but it was more so of a day fullof happiness.
Having my family, friends, a fewmentors, a few professors of
mine there as well.
It was just a fantastic event.
I remember when we all stood upfor a photo, almost everybody in
the meeting room was there forthe photo with myself and I.
(22:31):
remember it was such a greatfeeling.
definitely top five moments ofmy life.
Miguel Sanchez (22:37):
That's fantastic.
What are the biggest challengesfor first generation students?
Richie Mejia (22:41):
the biggest one is coming in with no network.
When you come, in, many of.
us don't know a lick ofanything.
What to Major, in, what I wannado, do I need any special
certifications in order to getthe job I want?
Are there things in between thatI need to do before I finally
(23:03):
get to my final destination?
And the other thing, you know,the the money.
A lot of us don't have muchmoney in terms of resources that
we are able to dispose to, getahold of these other great
resources.
and then the foundationalsupport.
Many of us don't have thefoundational support at home.
(23:24):
I know many of us, our parentsare saying, well, you gotta keep
working.
You gotta keep working.
I am working.
you know, you just don'tunderstand how hard it is To, be
doing a calculus class.
I don't know about you.
I had to take a religious classto take a reading class.
it, it it takes a lot onsomebody.
and our parents didn't go tocollege, They don't know just
(23:47):
how hard it might be for them.
It looks like, hey, you're justworking on your computer.
But in reality, a million thingsare running through the back of
your mind.
and for me, when I startedworking in admissions, it was
making sure that I I was able tocommunicate these things to
prospective Students Studentscoming, well, what do I need to
(24:10):
do in order to become a nurse?
Well, you need some major innursing.
You need to take a special testcalled the N Class exam.
You got get these many creditsin order to graduate.
You need to take these classes.
And these are things that noteveryone is always told.
You just go into collegeassuming you already know
(24:30):
things.
But the truth is most of usdon't know anything that's Going
on.
Going back to the confidencething that you were saying
before, a lot of us don't haveas much confidence to ask those
questions.
We don't have the confidence togo ask financial aid, Hey, I'm
being charged$5,000.
Can you explain to me why I'mbeing charged with this?
(24:51):
some people just, let it happen.
And it has a lot to do with notknowing the environment.
We weren't raised in these typesof environments.
com compared to somebody who's,both of parents went to college
and know the ins and outs.
for example, I believe ourchildren, when they finally go
to college, will be able tonavigate them easily because of
(25:12):
our experiences that we've runthrough.
And these are experiences thatare unique to us because we
learned them firsthand.
So it's gonna be a little bitbetter when we finally teach our
kids all these new things.
But these are all things wedidn't have compared to students
who have had parents andgenerations of people going to
college.
Miguel Sanchez (25:33):
first generation student, it's not
limited to background orethnicity.
it's across the board.
And I think that's one of theways that we can have shared
experiences that.
You know, should unite us.
So talking about the network, Iwanna touch on, mentors.
Uh, I know you mentioned mentorsduring the celebration.
So gimme an example of howshould a first gen student think
(25:56):
about mentors?
Richie Mejia (25:57):
I don't think I've ever asking anyone If you could
be my mentor, I think thatconnection is just mutual.
for me, I had Dr.
Quaia, great person.
for me, he really helpednavigate my classes.
He told me what I should take inorder to become a lawyer taking
an LSAT exam, visiting, lawschools, making sure I had
(26:19):
everything in order to make sureI was in law school.
And then I had a regular advisorwho was mostly for my major.
I had a few throughout the year,so professor, Huey, professor
Tory, Dr.
Scardino, all great people whohelped me.
Navigate my classes and see whatI actually wanted to do in life.
(26:40):
But I had one specific, twospecific people who helped me
out in immensely.
one of them named Christina,another one named, Uma.
both of them, worked in studentengagement.
So for me it was I was involvedwith student government, so we
automatically had thatconnection and I looked up to
them.
(27:01):
at that time, they were probablyaround the same age I am right
now.
And I'm thinking to myself, wow,they are extremely success
successful.
they're both directors here atthe university.
They're young, they're helpingout students in a ways I could
only imagine.
And I said to myself, these arepeople I want to be.
loved.
I like to say she is Umaspecifically.
(27:23):
she's the reason why I ended upbeing in higher education.
I know right now I believe sheworks.
at another college now, But forme, having her teach me the
ropes of navigating school,navigating extracurriculars, um,
pointed me in the rightdirection.
(27:43):
Helping advocate for myself aswell.
For me, these are things thataren't always offered to
everybody because you never ask,you never get that connection
with a faculty me member or astaff member.
And then another one for mewould have been my bosses.
I had, I would say all my bosseswere terrific.
(28:05):
I was doing my graduateassistantship, I was working for
the the dean and the associatedean as well as the office
manager of the department.
And each one of them had uniqueperspectives of what they had
been through in life.
And I would always ask them,well, what would you do in this
case?
And they would give examples ofwhat they had done.
And I said, thank you forletting me know.
(28:27):
I know what, And.
for them they were great.
Always helping me in terms ofnetworking, how to look for
jobs, being great references forme.
Um, and then finally, I think,again, I graduated super early,
so I went into the workplace alittle bit earlier than, usual.
(28:52):
so while I was still doing mydegree, I was working full-time
And while working in admissions,I looked to my boss as well as
another great resource for me.
She was also young alsosuccessful in what she was
doing.
and I said to myself, well, thisis something I wanna do a little
bit long term.
I need to see what they're doingright and maybe mimic it a
(29:13):
little bit and hopefully be assuccessful as them someday.
Miguel Sanchez (29:20):
That's great.
One of the things that youmentioned, and I was listening
another colleague talking aboutquestions, And if you're looking
for a mentor, sometimes justasking a question, but a
well-crafted question, right?
A question that shows interestsin the other person, not only in
about them, but also about thework they do.
That's one of the ways that canlead to these mentorship
(29:40):
relationships.
what does the, what does thefuture look like for you?
I know you talked about maybe adoctorate.
I, I think I see a lot of lawyerin you.
and we can talk offline aboutsome of the, opportunities that
might be out there, but whatdoes that look like?
What is the future for you?
Richie Mejia (29:56):
I mentioned this to my mom last night, I wanna be
a dean, or at least an assistantvice president or vice president
by the time I'm 30 years old.
and she said.
As you know, um, get ready, likeget on it, you know, prepare
yourself now.
(30:16):
So I looked in the future,hopefully in the next three to
four years in a position likethat.
More so specifically maybestudent affairs, maybe academic
affairs.
I see myself in those roles.
more.
Hopefully it does come tofruition, sooner rather than
(30:39):
later, in my opinion.
But I would definitely love tocontinue in in higher education.
I do plan on taking some coursesin a doctor degree, program I.
for educational leadership,perhaps maybe in higher
education even.
And then, you know, as years goon, I do wanna go to law school.
(31:00):
That is definitely still in myfuture.
and I know I'm still relativelyyoung.
I have all the time in the worldto go back to law school.
I remember taking my LSAT andthere is a person who was about
maybe 50, 60 years old takinghis LSA exam as well.
And I said, Hey, I have all thetime in the world I could switch
my careers later on in life andcome back if I wanted to, but I
(31:24):
do wanna do that.
Ultimately though, I want to bea university president.
I don't know if it's in me yet.
It's definitely way down theroad, but perhaps going back to
my alma mater one day, thatwould be my dream.
Probably become the President ofFelician University one day.
(31:46):
I would love to be in a positionlike that one day.
but I know that's not soon.
I know it comes with time, itcomes with patience.
and It comes with years ofexperience, so hopefully it
does.
Miguel Sanchez (32:00):
And so to end, Richard, in the beginning of the
episode, you mentioned that youhad a particular person who, um,
was not particularly optimisticand said some things about you
If you can go back in time tothat moment and talk to
yourself, what would you say
Richie Mejia (32:20):
It's hard at the time.
You don't know what was gonnahappen.
five years ago, I wouldn't haveimagined myself in this position
I am in today.
So if I were to go back, I thinkmy younger self would probably
laugh, be like, what are youtalking about?
We've made it this far.
Like what?
Me, me, Richie Mejia, we made itthere.
(32:42):
I would probably tell him, takeit easy, take it a day at a
time.
Your family is always there tosupport you no matter what.
and keep on pushing.
Miguel Sanchez (32:53):
Well, Richard, I don't think there's any other
way we can end this episode.
I appreciate your time.
I appreciate your wisdom.
Such a young person with, uh,with words of encouragement, but
also with high confidence, whichis really necessary to navigate
the challenges that come to us.
Thank you for listening.
Richard.
Thank you for being here with ustoday.
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