First-generation community · Economic mobility

Opportunity moves through people.

EdMobilizer brings first-generation students, professionals, and allies together to build relationships, share hard-won knowledge, and make opportunity easier to navigate—in college, careers, and beyond.

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Students arriving together through open campus doors — Community in motion

First Lady Michelle Obama in conversation at the White House’s Beating the Odds Summit — The White House · Beating the Odds Summit

A national movement

From a Brown dorm room to a national movement.

What began with students naming the unwritten rules of college grew into a national movement—bringing first-generation experience into public view and, in conversation with First Lady Michelle Obama, expanding the dialogue from admission to belonging, agency, and opportunity.

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01 — Why this matters

Talent is widely distributed. Access is not.

Tuition and admission matter. So do the unwritten rules: whom to ask, how to find a mentor, which opportunities to pursue, and what to do when the path is unclear.

For students whose families have not already mapped the terrain, every missing introduction or unwritten rule adds friction. EdMobilizer brings that knowledge into the open—and puts relationships around it.

02 — How we work

Community shares knowledge. Access creates options. Mobility expands choice.

Community

Make room for candid exchange among first-generation students, professionals, and allies.

Access

Make the people, information, and opportunities that shape college and careers easier to find—and easier to reach.

Mobility

Give people more choice over what comes next—on campus, at work, and beyond.

03 — A decade in motion

A student-built network with national reach.

Through 1vyG summits and dozens of affiliated groups, students share practical knowledge, connect with campus leaders, and build relationships across institutions.

national and regional 1vyG gatherings

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3,000+

students engaged through EdMobilizer initiatives

Follow EdMobilizer’s history

40+

affiliated first-generation student groups

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30+

colleges and universities in the 1vyG network

See the host campuses

Panelists sharing a light moment on stage during 1vyG at Princeton — Princeton University

04 — Featured work

A student-led summit connecting campuses

1vyG

1vyG gives first-generation students a national room of their own—one designed for candor, practical exchange, and action back on campus.

What it offers

A forum where students can compare lived experience and campus practice.

How it grows

Each host campus shapes the program for its own community, then passes it forward.

Why it matters

The relationships outlast any one weekend, connecting student leaders across institutions.

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05 — The host network

Hosts do more than change the venue.

Local organizers set each agenda around the questions on their campus. Speakers, advisors, and partners add experience and support, while student leaders keep the wider network connected.

Meet the people