UW-Whitewater honors first-generation college students

WOOD COUNTY – Three local students are being acknowledged by UW-Whitewater as first-generation college students. First-generation college students — or students who are the first in their families to attend college — make up more than one-third of the undergraduate population at UW-Whitewater. Nearly two-thirds of students on the Rock County campus alone are first-generation.
From Port Edwards, Khryse Flugaur is a first-generation college student, studying applied arts and sciences at UW-Whitewater.
From Nekoosa, Aiden Neduzak is a first-generation college student, studying marketing at UW-Whitewater.
From Wisconsin Rapids, Michaela Warpinski is a first-generation college student, studying social work at UW-Whitewater.
UW-Whitewater is proud to participate in the annual First-Generation College Celebration, a national effort led by First-Gen Forward. Held on Nov. 8, FGCC Day champions first-gen students’ contributions to their communities and connects them to the resources they need for success.

As part of the initiative, the university held a celebration at noon on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the University Center, the Whitewater campus’s student union. A pop-up exhibit featuring photo portraits of first-generation Warhawk students, faculty and staff is currently on display at Roberta’s Art Gallery, and students at both campuses are enjoying free giveaways all week.
Chancellor Corey A. King, one of several Warhawk faculty and staff members who are the first in their families to graduate from college, will be one of a handful of first-gen speakers at the celebration. He was named a top executive in southern Wisconsin by the Milwaukee Business Journal in 2025.
Learn about the ways UW-Whitewater supports and celebrates first-generation Warhawks on the university’s Proudly First-Generation website: www.uww.edu/ubc/our-stories/proudly-first-generation.