Skip to main content
University of Wisconsin–Madison
UW Crest
Morgridge Center for Public Service
Bridging Campus and Community Through Service and Learning
  • Home
  • About Expand Collapse
    • About
    • Our Staff
    • History
    • Pathways of Public Service
    • Civic Action Plan
    • Strategic Plan
    • Equity and Anti-Racism
    • Annual Report
    • Advisory Board
    • Jobs
    • Contact Us
  • Students Expand Collapse
    • Get Connected
    • Graduate Student Resources
    • Badger Volunteers
    • Badger Volunteers – Tutoring & Mentoring Programs
    • Wisconsin Idea Fellowship
    • Community-based Learning Courses
    • Meet with a Peer Advisor
    • Creando Comunidad
    • Student Organization Partnership Program
    • Transportation Options Programs
    • Workshops and Presentations
    • Volunteer Resources and Opportunities
    • Awards
  • Faculty & Staff Expand Collapse
    • Get Connected
    • Community-based Learning
    • Community-based research
    • Community Engagement Commitments
    • Funding and Award Opportunities
    • Professional Development Resources
    • Community Partnerships & Outreach Staff Network
    • Morgridge Fellows Program
  • Community Expand Collapse
    • Get Connected
    • Badger Volunteers
    • Public Service Fair
    • UW South Madison Partnership
    • Community-University Mixers
    • Community University Partnership Awards
  • Events
  • News
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Through Community and Identity: Daniel Bautista Pays it Forward

Through Community and Identity: Daniel Bautista Pays it Forward

Posted on November 12, 2021 | By Akshay Kalra

As of 2020, about seventeen percent of college undergraduates self-identified as first-generation, meaning their parents did not graduate from a four-year university.

Daniel Bautista — a Chicago native — is a junior majoring in personal finance and health promotion and equity. He chose to attend UW–Madison because of the vast number of majors and student organizations available and the opportunities and internships offered off- and on-campus.

Not only is Bautista the first in his family to attend college, but he also is one of the few people from his high school attending a four-year university. In fact, he only knows of one other student from his high school that attends UW–Madison, leaving him largely in the dark about much of the minutia of campus.

Daniel Bautista
Daniel Bautista

“For most first-gens, you have to work harder just to meet the standard that people think you should meet,” Bautista says.

First-generation students often experience higher rates of mental illness and are also less than likely to graduate in four years compared to their non-first-generation counterparts. Some attribute these disparities to the lack of support system and personal experiences that family members who have gone to college may be able to provide.

During his time on campus, Bautista has received a stable support system thanks to the Center for Educational Opportunity (CeO), a program focused on providing mentorship and support to first-generation and low-income students. Two years later, he now works as a mentor in its peer navigation program — paying it forward.

Beyond that role, Bautista is also the president of the First Generation Student Success (FGSS) club on campus.

“Our main goal is to create a space where all first-gens are able to come and meet each other, just to build a sense of community,” Bautista says.

He hopes that it will help the students not enrolled in CeO or similar programs since there is no application process nor any prerequisites besides being a first-generation student.

As an intern for the UW South Madison Partnership (UWSMP), Bautista has plenty of experience working with community members. The partnership is a space in the southern part of Madison that aims to support the community through pro bono legal services, continuing education programs and mentoring, as well as many other resources.

SouthMad_Com_Event19_8019
Aaron Diaz (right) and his mother take part in a drawing station during a UW-Madison South Madison Community Partnership event held in Villager Mall on Park Street on Sept. 12, 2019. The event provided community members from the Southside Madison neighborhood the opportunity to meet with various program representatives from UW-Madison and enjoy a meal together. (Photo by Bryce Richter /UW-Madison)

Discussing how his experience as a first-gen student impacts public service, Bautista says that it provides different perspectives on how to engage with the community and what public service and civic issues are. These perspectives, along with a position of humility about his own knowledge, seem to help him connect with community members that come to the partnership.

“I think it shapes by how I build relationships and how I interact with people,” Bautista says. “Just having the connection of being first-gen, I have that mindset to listen to people and provide them with the way to reflect and how to advance.”

Bautista’s supervisor, Merry Farrier-Babanovski, the assistant director of UWSMP, expresses the same enthusiasm for what first-gen students can provide.

“The first-gen students who I’ve had the opportunity to work with have all brought such valuable perspectives to our work with community partners and have had passion and drive to make a real impact,” Farrier-Babanovski says.

Posted in NewsTagged civic engagement, Service, Student Life

Post navigation

Previous post: ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge honors UW–Madison for Student Voting Success
Next post: Centering Civic Engagement: Diving into Democratic Participation on Campus with Kathy Cramer

Site footer content

University logo that links to main university website Part of the Universities of Wisconsin

Find it Fast

  • Badger Volunteers
  • Community-based Learning Courses
  • Volunteer Advising
  • Morgridge Mail Newsletter
  • Engaged Scholarship Listerv
  • GridgeFridge Podcast
  • Advisory Boards

Wisconsin Idea

  • “The least commendable purpose of acquiring knowledge…is to apply it to one’s own advancement – to achieve worldly success. A higher purpose is to fit one to live the intellectual life…A third and the highest purpose of acquiring knowledge is to use it for the benefit of mankind.” — Former UW President Charles Van Hise

Contact Us

  • Red Gym, Suite 154
    716 Langdon Street
    Madison, WI 53706

    Business Hours:
    Monday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
    Tuesday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
    Wednesday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
    Thursday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
    Friday: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
  • Map map marker
  • Email: info@morgridge.wisc.edu
  • Phone: 608-263-2432
    • facebook
    • x twitter
    • instagram
    • youtube

Website feedback, questions or accessibility issues: xxiong9@wisc.edu | Learn more about accessibility at UW–Madison.

This site was built using the UW Theme | Privacy Notice | © 2025 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.