First-Generation Students and the Conte First Generation Fund
JP Conte knows what it means to arrive on a campus where almost no one shares your background. He has put a number on it: “When I was at Colgate, less than 5% of the population were first-gen students like me. I want to make sure those students are starting off from a place where they will succeed.”
That memory gave rise to the Conte First Generation Fund, which supports first-generation students at schools including Colgate and Harvard. That fund grew directly out of his own undergraduate experience.
What the Fund Supports
First-generation students often reach selective campuses without the informal map that classmates inherit from college-educated families. The fund aims to close that gap so the students it backs start on steadier footing.
Conte’s giving targets the stretch where talent meets opportunity. Support arrives early enough to help students settle in and succeed rather than merely enroll. A student admitted but unsupported can still struggle, and the fund aims to close that distance between getting in and getting through.
Reaching Students Before College
JP Conte expanded the work beyond university gates over time. He began funding organizations that reach students earlier, programs such as 10,000 Degrees and SEO Scholars that provide mentoring, after-school instruction, and summer coursework for young people from low-income backgrounds.
He described the payoff plainly: “It’s amazing to see the transformation in these kids. Closing the information gap and mentoring them changes their trajectory.”
Why the Cause Stays Personal
JP Conte was a first-generation student himself, which keeps the fund close to his own story. His investment now mirrors the help he once received on the way up.
Backing first-generation students extends a chain of mentorship across generations. The fund turns a personal memory into durable support for students walking a path he recognizes. Conte has framed the work as opening the same doors that once opened for him, then making sure the students who walk through them have the guidance to stay. Reaching young people early, well before they apply, is part of how that guidance takes hold. Support that starts in high school and continues through college gives the students it backs a steadier path from start to finish.