Joe Palencia is currently an Advisor for the Student Support Services (SSS) TRIO Program at Oakton Community College in Skokie, Illinois. He was born and raised in the city of Chicago and currently works in northern Cook County, Illinois. Joe is a First Generation Student Affairs Educator with experience in Student Retention, Multicultural Affairs, Orientation, Residence Life, and Academic Advising. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Communication and Latina/o Studies and his Master of Education degree from Loyola University Chicago in Higher Education. His current research interests include academic advising, the experience of fir...