Half of UWGB’s 2023 graduates are considered first generation | WLUK

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WLUK) — More than 1,000 students walked across the stage Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s graduation ceremonies.

And half of those students are first-generation college graduates.

Iris Shipley has been waiting for this moment since she arrived to campus in 2019.

“Green Bay also was just a beautiful campus. I fell in love with it the first time I stepped on and I was like ‘oh I need to keep going here,'” says Shipley.

Shipley is from Ridgeland, Wisconsin, and is the first in her family to graduate college.

“It’s like three and a half hours away from here, a town of 200 people,” Shipley said. “I really wanted to come to college because both my parents they didn’t go, they just didn’t have the means to at this time so I was like I need to do this.”

Many members of her family came out to cheer her on.

“I have both sets of my grandparents, my parents, and then one of my younger brothers,” says Shipley.

She knew the communication program at UWGB would be a great fit.

“I loved talking to people, I love working with people,” says Shipley.

Share photos and videos of your Class of 2023 graduate here.

Source: Half of UWGB’s 2023 graduates are considered first generation | WLUK