Unapologetically First Gen

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In this episode, we're joined by Lucy Magadichian - immigration attorney, boutique practice owner, and immigrant herself - who has spent over 20 years helping companies and individuals navigate the complex world of U.S. immigration law. Lucy breaks down the business side of immigration in a way that's accessible and eye-opening.

We talk about why mobility restrictions are one of the biggest hurdles facing foreign workers right now, how antiquated the U.S. immigration system really is, the heartbreaking reality of 15+ year green card waits for some applicants, and the importance of hiring a legitimate immigration attorney (and how to verify one). 

Plus, Lucy shares her own first-gen story - moving from Bulgaria at age 12, becoming her family's translator, and the sneaker moment that started her American education.

• Learn more about Lucy on her website https://www.lmaglaw.com or connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-magardichian-22abba7/
• Learn more about H1B Visas: or O-1 Visas or check out the USCIC website for information on other visas or scenarios. 

In this episode, we’re joined by Luisa de Paula Santos—educator, labor organizer, and newly elected member of the Cambridge School Committee. As a first-gen immigrant and current paraprofessional, Luisa brings a powerful perspective from inside the education system.

We talk about what it’s like to move from organizing workers to running for public office, what she saw working in schools that pushed her to run, and the complicated realities educators face behind the scenes. From underfunded classrooms to the fear teachers have about speaking up, this conversation pulls back the curtain on how school systems really operate.

We also explore the role parents play in school communities, how districts sometimes pit teachers and families against each other, and why building stronger school communities is of the most important ways to support students.

Luisa shares what it’s like navigating bureaucracy as a newly elected official, how her first-gen identity shapes her leadership, and why she’s determined to fight for dignity and justice in education.

• Learn more about IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
• Get to know Luisa 
• If you live in Cambridge, MA and want to share your perspective, Luisa encourages you to reach out: luisa4schoolcommittee @gmail.com.

• Get your Unapologetically First Gen mug — perfect desk buddy and gift for your fave first-gen.
• Join our email list for new episodes, guest announcements, and behind-the-scenes sister moments.
• Follow us on Instagram @UFGPodcast to peek at the sister shenanigans, Portuguese snacks, and episode drops.

We made it—one full year of Unapologetically First Gen 🎉
For our anniversary episode, we wanted to do something special (and very on brand): invite family into the conversation.

In this episode, Lesley and Stacy are joined by two of their older cousins, Michelle and Suzete, for an unfiltered, no-outline conversation about immigration, identity, and what it means to grow up first-gen—even within the same family. As some of the oldest cousins on their dad’s side, Michelle and Suzete helped pave the road the rest of us walked on, and their stories reveal just how different first-gen life can look across ages, neighborhoods, and circumstances.

What unfolds is funny, tender, raw, and deeply honest. From early memories of arriving in the U.S., to intergenerational living in the legendary “Braga compound,” to conversations about shame, pride, community, and becoming yourself over time—this episode is a reminder that there is no single immigrant experience.

• Get your Unapologetically First Gen mug — perfect desk buddy and gift for your fave first-gen.
• Join our email list for new episodes, guest announcements, and behind-the-scenes sister moments.
• Follow us on You Tube and Instagram (@UFGPodcast) and on to peek at the sister shenanigans, Portuguese snacks, and episode drops.

In this episode, we slow things down and talk honestly about self-care in times of anger, grief, and nonstop news cycles. We’re not experts, and this isn’t a “just light a candle and you’ll be fine” conversation. It’s a real check-in on what it looks like to take care of ourselves so we can keep showing up.

We share what’s been grounding us lately — from therapy tools and reading fiction again, to leaning into play, silliness, and hobbies that don’t need to be productive or monetized. We also talk about setting boundaries with the news and social media, finding balance between staying informed and burning out, and why rest isn’t optional if we want to stay in this work for the long haul.

Throughout the episode, we reflect on how self-care helps us move from feeling stuck in anger to feeling empowered, connected, and able to take action — without losing ourselves in the process.

• Get your Unapologetically First Gen mug — perfect desk buddy and gift for your fave first-gen.
• Join our email list for new episodes, guest announcements, and behind-the-scenes sister moments.
• Follow us on Instagram @UFGPodcast to peek at the sister shenanigans, Portuguese snacks, and episode drops.

In this episode of Unapologetically First Gen, Stacy walks us through some of the most common — and most harmful — myths about immigrants in the U.S., using research from the International Institute of New England as a starting point.

Lesley reacts in real time, adding personal stories, lived experience, and plenty of righteous anger as we unpack why these myths persist, who they harm, and how dehumanization shows up in policy, media, and everyday conversations.

This episode is heavy but necessary. We talk about immigration backlogs, asylum, crime myths, voting misinformation, economic impact, language access, and anti-Muslim rhetoric. Most of all, we talk about why humanizing immigrant stories matters now more than ever.

• The article used: Dispelling 10 Common Myths About Immigrants and Refugees
• If you want to support adult education check out Randolph Community Partnership or your local adult ed program.  
• Pasteis De Nata 
• Information on the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi 
• Get information on applying for documented status on USCIS’s site 
• Find and contact your elected representatives 

• Get your Unapologetically First Gen mug — perfect desk buddy and gift for your fave first-gen.
• Join our email list for new episodes, more ways to help, and behind-the-scenes sister moments.
• Follow us on Instagram @UFGPodcast to peek at the sister shenanigans, Portuguese snacks, and episode drops.

Happy New Year… and yes, we’re already tired. 😅 In this 2025 recap episode (recorded January 4), the Braga sisters get honest about a year that felt like the longest 12 months ever — politically, personally, and for the immigrant community at large. We talk about job instability, self-employed health insurance sticker shock, the corporate-to-contractor pipeline, and what it really looks like to build a business while life is life-ing.

We also bring the levity: jury duty stories, appliances dying in dramatic fashion, a very niche drag show (Hanukings!), and a truly unhinged podcast pitch that made us roll our eyes into another dimension. Plus: our favorite episodes + guests of 2025, behind-the-scenes podcast lessons, and what we’re carrying into 2026 to stay unapologetically ourselves.

• Be our guest
• Yale Appliance - if you live in Massachusetts and need new appliances but you don’t want to support a big corporation. 
• Further listening:
  • Cozypreneur episode that changed Lesley’s life
  • Stacy’s favorite episode of 2025
  • Lesley’s favorite episode of 2025
• If you want to check our Lesley’s fancy copy, sign up for her newsletter
• If you need fancy copy, contact Stacy. 
• Check out Boston’s Premier Jewish Drag Company

• Get your Unapologetically First Gen mug — perfect desk buddy and gift for your fave first-gen.
• Join our email list for new episodes, guest announcements, and behind-the-scenes sister moments.
• Follow us on Instagram @UFGPodcast to peek at the sister shenanigans, Portuguese snacks, and episode drops.

In this episode, the Braga sisters sit down with Kayla Guardado—a yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, and somatic curandera—to talk about reclaiming identity, honoring ancestry, and finding rebellion in healing. Kayla shares her journey from Honduras to the U.S., the “be safe, achieve more” mindset so many first-gens inherit, and how grief cracked her heart open and redirected her life’s work. We get into layered healing, why “witchy” is a reclamation, and simple ways to come back to your center when the world feels loud.

We also cover: teaching beyond the classroom, generational joy and generational trauma, and building daily rituals that keep you grounded.

• Keyla’s Website  with free meditations and somatic practices 
• Connect with Keyla on IG
• Curandera (n.): Spanish for “medicine woman”—ancestral healer blending body, spirit, community, and earth-based practices.

• Get your Unapologetically First Gen mug — perfect desk buddy and gift for your fave first-gen.
• Join our email list for new episodes, guest announcements, and behind-the-scenes sister moments.
• Follow us on Instagram @UFGPodcast to peek at the sister shenanigans, Portuguese snacks, and episode drops.

In this feel-good convo, the Braga sisters reflect on how their parents have grown alongside them—from “we don’t talk about that” to warm, boundary-respecting grandparents who queue up pranks and apologies. We talk therapy, boundaries, asking for help, and the cultural shifts that made space for softer relationships. Plus: airport independence (!!), phone-call anxiety is universal, and Dad’s legendary prankster era lives on with a new little pink-loving sidekick.

• Check out your local YMCA and join Lesley in BEAST MODE!
• Learn all about PAPSY over at StacyBragaCopy.com

• Get your Unapologetically First Gen mug — perfect desk buddy and gift for your fave first-gen.
• Join our email list for new episodes, guest announcements, and behind-the-scenes sister moments.
• Follow us on Instagram @UFGPodcast to peek at the sister shenanigans, Portuguese snacks, and episode drops.

In this episode of Unapologetically First Gen, the Braga sisters sit down with actress Maria Timonina — most recently seen on Netflix’s The Gringo Hunters. Maria shares her journey as the daughter of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, growing up in Ohio, studying acting in Boston, and chasing her dream career in Los Angeles.

We talk about family memories, immigrant identity, and what it’s like to navigate being white-presenting but still first-gen in today’s political climate. 

Maria opens up about ICE raids in her community, the emotional toll of speaking out, and why protecting immigrant rights is personal. She also shares the behind-the-scenes story of booking her first big union role — and how her late cat even made a cameo in the show.

It’s a conversation about resilience, community, and learning to be unapologetically yourself, on-screen and off.

Resources & Mentions

• The Gringo Hunters on Netflix
• Why ICE raids are happening in droves

Join the Community & Support Us

• Get your Unapologetically First Gen mug — perfect desk buddy and gift for your fave first-gen.
• Join our email list for new episodes, guest announcements, and behind-the-scenes sister moments.
• Follow us on Instagram @UFGPodcast to peek at the sister shenanigans, Portuguese snacks, and episode drops.