Joselia Souza

Bio

Joselia Souza serves as the inaugural director for the Office of First Generation Student Engagement at William & Mary. With over five years of dedicated experience supporting first-generation students, Joselia has been a trailblazer in this field. She founded the First Generation Initiative Office at Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a graduate student, where she also established their First Generation Student Organization and the annual First Generation College Celebration.

Joselia's extensive experience includes working with TRIO Upward Bound, serving as a College & Career Counselor in a Dallas K-12 school, acting as an Assistant Area Director at the University of Miami, and working as a Residential Experience Coordinator at Florida International University. Her passion for first-generation students is deeply personal, as she is a first-generation college graduate herself.

Joselia holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with minors in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, and Business Economics from the University of Notre Dame. She also earned her Master of Higher Education Administration from SMU and is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership at the University of Miami.

In her free time, Joselia enjoys running, going to the beach, and dancing. Her commitment to empowering first-generation students is driven by her own experiences and her dedication to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for all.