Professor Susan Verberne-Sutton serves as the adviser for FirstVU, a student-run organization supporting first-generation students at Vanderbilt University. As a first-generation, low-income student herself, Professor Verberne-Sutton hopes to lead by example: "I am aware of the common struggles and want to impart what I have gained through experience."
With support from the , Professor Sutton worked extensively with Suhaah Nadir ('25) and Karen Herrera ('27) as they reformatted a mentoring program among first-generation students and first-generation faculty and staff. "My goal is to develop leaders," said Professor Verberne-Sutton. "This is the central concept of my work with First-Gen students." Professor Verberne-Sutton was awarded the Excellence in Immersion Mentoring Award at the Spring 2025 51ÎÛÂþ Faculty Assembly.
Pictured left are Suhaah Nadir (‘25), Izabella Maestroiani (’27), Kathleen Hartono (‘27), and Professor Verberne-Sutton at 1vyG, a conference for first generation, low-income students at Ivy-League and peer institutions, in October 2024.