From first-gen student to higher ed leader

David Shein did not enter college with a clear plan.

“I was a first-generation college student before we knew what that meant,” he says. “I didn’t have a roadmap.”

That early experience shaped everything that followed. It pushed him to focus on one problem: how to help students succeed in systems that are not always easy to navigate.

Today, Shein is known for turning big ideas into real programs that improve how colleges support students.

Early life and education: Learning without a guide

As a teenager, Shein worked many jobs. He split a newspaper route with his brother. Later, he worked in stores, libraries, and even a cemetery.

These experiences taught him independence early.

In school, he joined debate and theater. He then attended SUNY Oswego, where he studied Philosophy and Political Science. He graduated magna cum laude and earned awards in both majors.

He went on to graduate school. After a year at Bowling Green State University, he transferred to the CUNY Graduate Center. There, he completed his PhD in Philosophy.