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the residential hall called Blaze the Tra1l First-Gen LLC. And
through coffee chats with his orientation leader Darianny
Bautista, BA ’26, a philosophy and political science major and
a first-generation student herself, Liu’s anxieties slowly eased.
“I immediately recognized that he had the exact same
sense of responsibility so many first-generation students
have,” Bautista said. “When you realize that you’re not the
only one, when you have somebody you can talk to, it
changes everything.”
With Bautista’s encouragement, Liu won an SGA senate
seat in his first year, chairing committees and working on
issues like housing and student safety. “He is one of the
sharpest people and hardest workers I know,” said former
SGA President Ethan C. Lynne, BA ’26. Liu built a tight-knit
circle of friends, including Bautista who even visited his
family’s home in Claremont, California. “Justin is unaware of
how kind and selfless he is,” she said. “If you know him, you
love him.”
Looking back, Liu said his time at GW—“the best decision
I could have made”—reframed his perspective on his parents’
own journey. His challenges—from that first disorienting
night on campus to charting a path no one in his family had
taken before—gave him a glimpse into the uncertainty his
parents faced as they began new lives in a new country. “I
came to understand their struggles,” he reflected. “And I
came to understand how important this was to them.”
Meanwhile, he’s embraced the “first generation” term he
once avoided. What had felt like a label that set him apart
now seems like a testament to how far he’s traveled.
As Liu put it, “I can be proud to say that I am first-gen.”
Liu (far left) and students from the First-Gen LLC visited NPR.
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