UTSA Athletics is a national leader in supporting first-generation student-athletes. Throughout the 2025-26 school year, GoUTSA.com will spotlight the department’s first-generation student-athletes, coaches, administrators and staff.
Owen Pewee will be a redshirt junior on the UTSA Football team in 2025. Originally from Liberia, Pewee is a first-generation college student from Houston, Texas. He was the first UTSA student-athlete to wear the new First-Gen Patch, donning it at The American Football Kickoff and Media Day.
Q: Why is attending college and graduating important for you?
Owen Pewee: “My family and I moved here to have a better lifestyle, to do better for ourselves and for me to have the opportunity that I have right now. It is important to me because I want to set the standard for generations to come. I knew I could do it. My mom has always been pushing me to be great, so I knew I just had to do it.”
Q: What does it mean to you to be a first-generation college student?
Owen Pewee: “It’s pretty cool. I hear people talk about how a lot of their family went to college and that’s cool too, but when I hear that, it makes me think about being the first one.”
Q: How impactful is it to attend UTSA, where approximately 45 percent of students are first-generation, including more than one-third of student-athletes?
Owen Pewee: “When I heard that, I knew that it was a good program and that they really care about everybody. UTSA wants to see everybody win.”
Q: How important is competing in athletics to first-generation college students?
Owen Pewee: “It’s really important. Being first-gen, we feel like we can do everything to set the standard for others.”
Q: What advice would you give to other first-generation college students?
Owen Pewee: “Just work hard and don’t ever give up. Listen to your teachers and do well in the classroom.”