Staff and Ambassadors

Our Director

Lissette Garcia

As a proud first-generation college graduate, Lissette brings a deeply personal understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by first-generation students. She recognizes the determination required to navigate higher education without a clear roadmap. For more than 28 years, she has worked closely with first-generation scholars through the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Program, gaining a comprehensive understanding of both the challenges they encounter and the strengths they bring to their academic journeys. Lissette is deeply committed to empowering, advocating for, and supporting all first-generation scholars at Fairleigh Dickinson University as they pursue their goals and achieve lasting success.

Lissette currently serves as the Executive Director of the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) Programs on both of Fairleigh Dickinson University’s New Jersey campuses. In addition, she has been an adjunct faculty member at the University since 2007. Prior to joining FDU, she worked as a certified social worker at a prenatal and family planning health center in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The Center’s Founding Director

Eleni P. Mylonas EdD

The Center for First-Generation Scholars was established in Spring 2024 with Dr. Eleni Mylonas appointed as the Center’s Founding Director. Under her leadership, the Center launched with a strong vision and an unwavering commitment to supporting first-gen students. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Mylonas for laying a solid foundation on which the Center will continue to grow and thrive.

Dr. Mylonas is a first-generation immigrant and FDU alumna; she received her MA in TESL/TEFL and a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration. Her research focuses on the sense of belonging and its impact on the success and retention of first-year first-generation and generation 1.5 college students. She is a lecturer for the Foundational Writing for the Writing Program and has taught at the university since 2011.

All first-generation FDU students are welcome to participate in all programs and activities of the Center, regardless of the student’s sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual preference or gender expression, or any other protected status under law.