For Giuliano Lobos ’19, college once felt like an impossible dream. Growing up in an undocumented family of three, survival came first.

“There was a lot of uncertainty,” says the Argentinian immigrant, “[which made it] kind of hard to focus on school.”

But Lobos was determined to change his path.

He became the first male in his family to graduate from high school — and the first ever to attend college — earning a full-ride scholarship to UCF in 2015.

“I had just got into UCF [and] had no idea what to do,” Lobos says. “I met with one of the [admissions] counselors … [and] she led me to [PRIME STEM].”

First-Generation Student Awareness Week is Nov. 4-8, celebrating the success and achievements of first-generation college students.

Housed on UCF’s main campus, PRIME STEM Project/Student Support Services stands for Purpose + Reach = Individuals Measured for Excellence (PRIME). It supports first-generation in college students who demonstrate financial need and/or have a documented disability while pursuing STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degrees. Program participants benefit from resources such as priority registration, one-on-one tutoring, peer mentoring, help with financial aid and scholarship applications, research opportunities and more.

“When I didn’t know who to ask for a recommendation letter, I [turned] to PRIME STEM,” Lobos says. “It felt like home. It was somewhere I [could] go when I wanted to chat with my friends or needed some mentoring or tutoring. It was really a beautiful place to be.”

PRIME STEM is one of five federally funded TRiO Programs at UCF, each dedicated to educational opportunity and support. Its mission is to increase the college retention and graduation rates of its participants/scholars by helping them transition from one level of higher education to the next.

PRIME STEM, Project BEST and the McNair Scholars Program — housed under UCF’s Academic Achievement Programs — are collegiate Student Support Services programs. Upward Bound (through Project ACE and Project EDGE) are pre-collegiate programs that prepare small cohorts of students from Apopka and Edgewater high schools for college success.

“Being able to provide students with resources and connections they otherwise would not have access to is perhaps the single greatest benefit to working on the TRiO team,” says Deborah Bowie, director of UCF’s TRiO Programs. “These students are not only changing their own lives but, through their commitment to higher education and their future careers, they are also changing the trajectory for their families.”

The term “TRIO” was coined in the late 1960s to describe three federal education opportunity outreach programs launched as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” Established in 1964, Upward Bound was the first TRiO program — and this year marks its 60th anniversary. UCF launched its first TRiO program in 2010.

PRIME STEM paved the way for many firsts for Lobos. With the program’s support, the first-generation biomedical sciences major secured his first internship in cancer research at Boston University as a sophomore. He credits this transformative experience with early exposure to advanced technology and complex science, shaping the course of his college journey.

“[It] was the first time I ever left Florida,” Lobos says. “[This internship] was something I never really imagined I could do, but it turned out to be one of the most beautiful experiences of college.”

“Me and my folks came here with just suitcases. Now I’m going to be the first doctor in my family.” — Giuliano Lobos ’19, biomedical sciences and PRIME STEM alum

Since earning his bachelor’s degree from UCF in 2019, Lobos has set his sights on providing compassionate care to people in need. Now in his fourth year at Howard University’s College of Medicine, Lobos says he is grateful for the connections he made through PRIME STEM, which have helped him advance his education. His PRIME STEM tutor played a pivotal role in guiding him toward his purpose in psychiatry. After completing his clinical rotations, he says he realized that every doctor engages with psychiatry in some capacity, which inspired him to specialize in the field.

“I love the science and … how psychiatrists are able to care for … patients in a more holistic way. [ I find] a lot of joy in getting to know [my] patients [and] their stories,” Lobos says.

Graduating med school is just the tip of the iceberg for this budding physician. Next up: positively changing lives and owning psychiatric clinics.

“Me and my folks came here with just suitcases, heavy with dreams. I never thought I was going to graduate high school. Now I’m going to be the first doctor in my family,” Lobos says. “I hope that my journey shows that no matter how tough things are, … persistence always pays off.”