A First-Generation Professional Profile: Cesar Grisales

Michelle Hoover: Okay, so, Cesar, take us back to the beginning. Where did you grow up? What was life like for you?

Cesar Grisales: My family and I are from Cali, Colombia. I was born there and moved to the States when I was three or four years old. We moved to a place in New Jersey  with two of my mom's younger sisters. That's something I never really thought about before, but there were five of us in an apartment, I think. We ended up moving to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a couple years later, and I've been here ever since. 

I can't truly claim to be Colombian, I think. But my parents have kept a lot of the culture and the language as a part of the household. Growing up, my parents always emphasized school. My goal as a young person was school, school, school; college will happen at some point. And that's what guided me as a child and then teen.

Hoover: … And you end up at Wake Forest University as an undergraduate, and you are now employed there. Can you share the typical profile of the Wake Forest student and what it was like for you to pursue an education there? What have you learned through being a student and a graduate of that institution?

Grisales: The profile is something I'm intimately familiar with, having worked in admissions. About 70 percent of the students here are white and also likely coming from households that make a little over $300K in combined household income. It's definitely a predominantly white institution, a very affluent space. It is an incredibly different environment for me.

The reason I chose Wake is because my high school had the International Baccalaureate program. This meant studying across disciplines, which I really, really enjoyed because I liked that I didn't have to pick something specifically to focus on academically. I got to be in a little bit of all the things. Our school had a good relationship with Wake, so we came here and toured a couple times. It was honestly the only school I toured because my high school was taking me on those trips. I didn't really have the opportunity to go out and see other schools, especially in another state. And I just really liked it. It was really pretty. 

Choosing Wake was mostly an academic thing. It was a great school. I should also preface this by saying that I didn't think I would go to college. I was planning on just going to community college or just kind of figuring something out, but I had some friends who sort of pressured me into applying the night before the scholarship application was due. So, yeah, I'm a mixture of fortune and blessings. 

Hoover: What are you getting out of your time at Wake?

Grisales: I think I’m getting a very honest reflection of what a lot of the professional world looks like. The professional world, for all intents and purposes, is fairly white-dominated still. And so, being here at Wake, I learned how to code switch. I learned how certain people interact with each other. I'm a very different person when I'm with my Winston-Salem friends versus when I'm with my Wake Forest friends. 

Code switching at university, especially, I think, a private one that is recognized is interesting. The education here is ninety-two grand a year, but then also the financial aid here is really, really strong, so you have a lot of folks from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. I had a community here. And I got along well with friends who weren't Hispanic or coming from low-income households. So, yeah, I mean, it's been an interesting place. It's definitely a bubble. I know that not every office space that I will be a part of will be exactly this way. My experience here has shown me what different people are looking for, what they hope to get out of education, life, their careers. 

Hoover: You said something really interesting: I have my Wake friends, and I have my Winston-Salem friends. Wake Forest is in Winston-Salem. Would you say more about that and the code switching that you do in between those environments?

Grisales: Winston-Salem is a small town, about 250,000 people. My Winston friends are mostly friends from high school, and they're all Hispanic. And so I speak a lot of Spanish with them. I think one of the tenets of code switching that people always think of is the slang you use, or speaking in a way that is acceptable to whomever you’re speaking with. That's a lot of what it is. I don't even talk about the same things with my Wake friends. At Wake, sometimes we'll talk about politics, the way of the world, or mostly work. But with my hometown friends, we'll just talk about, I don't know, soccer, or  minutia. Those are the friendships that feel like the ones I don't always have to check in with. Like, I can just kind of hang out with them whenever. Besides my roommate and people who became coworkers, I don't really have Wake Forest alumni friends that I interact with often. There are maybe three, but they don't live here. They're good friends who came from similar backgrounds as me.  

Hoover: What impact, if any, do you feel as a result of all of the code switching? 

Grisales: In my previous job in admissions, it was very draining. Like I remember everyone always thought that I was super chipper and outgoing just because I have a very strong professional way to present myself. I worked in food service in high school, so presenting always came naturally, but it's not my default. It was always very draining. I never really like to do social things with people outside of work. Once 5 p.m. would hit, I was ready to turn that battery off, like, powering down my presentation mode, my work mode, whatever you want to call it. I remember people always thought that I was a flake or just didn't want to hang out. But this also created a bit of a bias in my mind. Whenever I met somebody in the Wake context, I would say to myself, I have to act this way. That idea in my head would maybe potentially close me out of something that could be a good relationship or a friendship, you know, maybe because that other person's also feigning that they are this sort of way, and I am, too. And at the same time, my Winston friends or like my hometown friends don't. They just see me as the smart one that went to the local, private, ritzy school on scholarship. 

Hoover: How did you find out that you got the scholarship?

Grisales: I knew I had gotten accepted, and I felt confident about getting in, and so I wasn't nervous about getting into Wake. I was always just the most nervous about the money. So I knew I got in. And when you get in, they ask you to put down an enrollment deposit. But I had to email them and say, “I can't afford this enrollment deposit. I'm not going to pay it unless I know I have some sort of financial assistance to attend.” And they got back to me and said, “You won't have to pay this deposit because it's part of your scholarship.” And that's when they were like, “Oh, yeah. And so your scholarship is going to be the full cost of attendance.” And so I remember the phone call, and I remember I called my family and everything and, you know, we were all crying and excited.

Hoover: That's so cool. And I know those happy tears. I’ve cried them myself. And now you are a First-Generation Professional. Talk to me about how that term resonates with you. 

Grisales: That specific nomenclature was not something I used before, but I think the idea behind it all was definitely something I’ve thought about. For me, when I say first-gen, that means a lifelong experience. I always saw myself as building this up as I go along. I know that I am sort of trailblazing a lot of this, either for myself, for my family, my loved ones. I have friends who know that they will inherit two to three homes when their parents pass, whereas, I help my parents pay off their home and buy groceries for them and with them. They’re just two very different worlds. 

Hoover: What kinds of things in the workplace are you noticing and experiencing as a First-Generation Professional?

Grisales: You have loyalty to your employer and the spaces that you come from. Part of it is because I feel at home here, but also because I feel like there's something I still need to give back to the institution or its students. Also, I don't care much to complain about when work gets added or like there's more things to do. Like you got to do it anyway. I may not be the first one in at 8:30 a.m., but I'm always happy to stay after five. And it's not an issue for me. I can't exactly say if those are skills that come from being a First-Gen Professional, but I like to think that because of where I come from, the culture and family that I'm in, I like to think I’m a non-problematic coworker. 

Hoover: To back up what you just shared: Boston Consulting Group reported that First-Generation Professionals are 32 percent more likely to be loyal to their employers and 40 percent more likely to be intrinsically motivated.¹ What are your reactions to that?

Grisales: From my perspective as a migrant, I can see how that's true because oftentimes, migrant families hold the ideas of lying low, don't bite the hand that feeds you. This can especially be true for undocumented folks. And so I think for me, coming from that background, it's like, never upset your supervisor, your boss, anyone that could impact your employment. As for the intrinsic motivation, that gets to wanting to prove yourself: prove to yourself that you're able to be there, prove to others that you're able to be there. I think it's exciting for some people to have been able to make it so far and to be able to work hard to get a title or to reach a goal or to infiltrate a space. I see that a lot in my peers who are just ready to tread new paths. But I think for me, because most of my peers in this space are also migrants, I think a lot of that comes from that perspective of, you got to lie low, but also try and shine in the duties that you're given.

Hoover: That's a great quote. Cesar, you're clearly bright. You're loyal; you work hard. What kind of professional experience would excite you? And what would a workplace need to do to entice you and keep you?

Grisales: I feel like I can adapt to any office. I just need coworkers who are kind and recognize that I’m doing the work. I may not always be the person emailing my boss for more things to do, but I think I'm the person that gets the things done and is happy to help others if needed. Also, communication about growth. I like that one of the first things one of my supervisors spoke with me about in this role was like, okay, you're here now, but how do we get you to grad school? Or how do we get you to think about where Cesar wants to be three or four or five years from now? 

I think I feel best supported when my supervisors have looked like me and recognized that I'm still figuring it out, and so I appreciate approaching growth and development  from a space of empathy and understanding. Most of my supervisors have been folks with a background similar to mine, but it was interesting when one of them didn't. It felt like they were not as supportive as the others.  

Hoover: In your early days as a First-Generation Professional, if you could wave a magic wand that would provide any kind of tool, resource, or source of support, what would that be?

Grisales: I took my first job because I didn't exactly know what I wanted to do for a career, and it was a job at the institution that I knew. I had a decent shot at it; I held a couple leadership positions on campus. That was a role as an admissions counselor. Then Covid hit, so I stayed in that space. So if I could wave a magic wand, it would be to turn back time and make myself come to the professional development office and talk to people about what pathways could look like, because I didn't give myself that opportunity to explore. I took a path with very little resistance, and that has turned into something that's led me to some growth. But I'm still critical of myself in that, I'm still here. I've not left. But I was able to perform and become an assistant dean within like two years, which was really nice. 

Actually, financial tools would have been super helpful. I lived at home for a couple months and did not save what I should have. I know what a Roth IRA is now. I could have started saving four years earlier. Maybe a network of other First-Gen Professionals? That's been cool to find here. There are lots of first-gen people here on our staff, so it's been nice to create community with them. It's comforting knowing that it's not a unique experience. Some of us lie awake at night wondering if they could have done more, done better, or if there is more they could be doing for their families or the people that they care about.

Hoover: What you call the path of least resistance and taking the job that was available to you, is very common among first-gen college graduates. It’s been reported that first-gen college graduates take jobs for which they are overqualified and accept starting salaries that are lower than salaries of continuing-generation folks. ²

To begin wrapping up: As you navigate these early days of being a First-Generation Professional, what do you say to yourself? What are you striving for?

Grisales: That's a deep question. When I first started, I held a lot of guilt over this idea that I was given a chance. Early on, there was a lot of guilt and a lot of feeling like what I did was not enough or was not good enough. In the last couple of years, it's become more, ‘you do what you can to, to support those that you love.’ If you live so much in your head with all these doubts and insecurities and feelings of guilt, you won't let yourself enjoy life, which is ultimately why our parents made the sacrifice to come here. 

They came here so that you could start to create a better life for yourself than they had for themselves. And so I try to lean on that when I feel like I'm not doing enough for them. 

Hoover: How old are your parents? 

Grisales: My dad's fifty-eight, and my mom is sixty.

Hoover: And what do they do for a living?

Grisales: My dad works at McDonald’s, and my mom works out of the house. She used to own her own salon in Colombia, and she is a masseuse.

Hoover: … And their son went to college and now works at a college. What's that like for them? What have they said to you?

Grisales: Oh, I know that they're super proud. And I really appreciate it. Sometimes I don't like that they sing my praises. My sister didn't get to go to college and so I don't like the impact of her perhaps feeling like she wasn't as good because she didn't accomplish those things. But barring that, I know that they're proud. But then again, they always said, “We always knew you would be able to do this.” 

Founder’s Note: Cesar Grisales specifically cites tools for financial literacy as something that would be helpful to him in his first years as a First-Generation Professional. Employers: Can you see how this kind of employee benefit could attract and retain talent, regardless of whether they are FGPs? 

Resources

1

"Hiding in Plain Sight: First-Generation Professionals," BCG. https://web-assets.bcg.com/49/9c/184a60f14ed9b17f8fabfd7c9d6c/hiding-in-plain-sight-first-generation-professionals-bcg-study.pdf

2

"College Degree Doesn’t Pay Off As Well for First-Generation Grads." The Hechinger Report. https://hechingerreport.org/college-degree-doesnt-pay-off-as-well-for-first-generation-grads/