Turning the tides: First-generation student overcomes adversity to earn college degree

Video by Brian Buss | Photography by Matthew Staver

Picture a total solar eclipse, when the moon is centered over the sun and light shines around the circumference. That is the equivalent of Robert Lamm's vision: His eyesight is entirely blocked at the center, with vision only around the rim.

When he was 24, Lamm gradually - and then very suddenly - lost most of his eyesight with the onset of a rare and incurable disease that attacks the optic nerves. The disease is called Leber hereditary optic neuropathy and is genetically inherited.

Lamm attributes its onset to severe alcoholism. At age 13, he was struck by a car and was badly injured. A few years later, he started regularly drinking to mask ongoing pain. Lamm was kicked out of high school and was fired from his job at a nursery near his hometown of Wheat Ridge.

His path from that low point to his status today as a standout first-generation student - the first in his family to earn a college degree - is marked by determination, inspiration, and support at just the right moments in his young life.

Lamm and his journey are featured in a new video released today as part of a CSU System docuseries called First Degree, which highlights first-generation students as they pursue higher education and its benefits.

"By attending Colorado State University, I have the chance to turn my story around. Now, I have security in my future. I have confidence in my future," Lamm, 29, said. "As first-generation students, many of us are breaking generational poverty. It's turning the tides."

As a senior at CSU, Lamm is studying environmental engineering with a minor in sustainable water management. He is a Presidential Ambassador, a role in which he represents the university at events involving CSU President Amy Parsons - a fund-raising gala one day, a research facility groundbreaking and luncheon with retired Denver Broncos great Terrell Davis on another. He has been a fellow with the Colorado Water Center at CSU and has conducted research in a biochemical engineering lab on campus. Lamm also works in the Student Success Center in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering, where he helps fellow students and potential students with all manner of questions and needs.

And everywhere you find him, Lamm is with his Labrador retriever, Fletcher, a guide dog that helps Lamm navigate the world with legal blindness.

In halls, classrooms, and out and about on campus, Lamm conducts himself with kindness and humility, said Shannon Miller, an undergraduate advisor in the engineering college. "He's incredible," Miller said. "Engineering has a certain rigor, and he rises to the challenge and is doing very well. He has overcome so many things to be where he is."

"By attending Colorado State University, I have the chance to turn my story around. Now, I have security in my future. I have confidence in my future."

-Robert Lamm, first-generation student majoring in environmental engineering

This evening, the university will honor first-gen students like Lamm at its annual First Generation Award Celebration Dinner, a highlight during a week of campus events planned in conjunction with National First Generation College Celebration Day on Friday.

About 5,600 first-generation undergrads attend CSU - nearly 25 percent of the total undergraduate student body. Reflecting the land-grant university mission, these students represent a vast talent pool that may be tapped through higher education, so they are contributing to the nation's professional workforce and competitiveness while also changing the trajectory of individual and family lives for the better.

CSU has a special interest in the success of these students as the first university in the nation to offer institutional scholarships designed just for first-gen scholars. This year marks the 40th anniversary of that program, which has expanded into a university initiative.

For Lamm, the journey to college began with a terrifying moment, when he was riding in the car with his dad, blacked out, and began having seizures. That led to alcohol detox, addiction treatment and recovery, and working through bleak feelings of hopelessness.

After he was sober, Lamm enrolled at Front Range Community College in Fort Collins. "That's when everything turned around," he said.

There, he met his future wife, Adriana, an industrious student on her way to becoming a registered behavioral therapist. She inspired him to achieve in school - and to transfer to Colorado State University in Fall 2022 to pursue his dream of earning an engineering degree, a dream that arose from his talents in math and systems thinking. "She helped me realize I can actually do this," Lamm said. "She wants to help the world on a personal level, and she's my spiritual connection. She is my best advocate and support system."

He also found needed support and encouragement through the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; through Leader Dogs for the Blind, a project of Lions Club International that provided him with Fletcher; and through No Barriers, a nonprofit cofounded by Erik Weihenmayer, a renowned climber with blindness, which leads transformative experiences for people with disabilities.

Lamm is attending CSU with multiple scholarships, including grants from the National Federation of the Blind and American Council of the Blind. He plans to graduate in Spring 2026.

"Even though my parents couldn't have taught me about navigating college, my mom and dad did teach me tenacity," Lamm said. "I had no clue how strong I was until I came to CSU thanks to all these opportunities."

His support has also provided Lamm with insights into philanthropy.

"Philanthropy is why I'm here today," he said, as he rubbed Fletcher's head. "One of my missions in life will be to give back to people who have helped me. The days you feel like you aren't getting something out of what you're doing, maybe you're there to give."

First Degree videos will be released once per month through May. Find all the videos as they become available. Read Chancellor Frank's column on first-generation students. Learn about the university-funded First Generation Scholarship Award. Give to donor-funded scholarships for first-generation students.