Remember to attend Student Sundays and take advantage of a safe place to learn about the resources available to you at UMass , get help scheduling your week, meet other students like you, and have some tasty refreshments!

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As I sit here and reflect upon the decision to become a MACC VISTA, I remember being scared of not succeeding in the role. I guess I still kind of am afraid of not having an impact. But the more involved I get with Student Bridges and our community partners the more I realize what a difference and impact “the little things” make. The networking, the staff meetings, the conferences, the amazing discussions that happen in the office are all pieces to that bigger puzzle. Those little things matter to me and make me so excited to be a part of this movement.

Serving at my alma mater worried me at first because I had just finished my undergrad degree. I was worried about working with students close to my age and that weird transition from being a student to an alumni/staff member. Once I got to campus and started working with the staff, a lot of those worries went away. From the moment of my arrival I felt welcomed and supported in my transition to this new role. More importantly, they remind me and help me see the value of my history with Student Bridges and the work I have been and will be doing this year.

I have been fortunate as an undergrad to see Student Bridges grow from its inception to an incredible, progressive agency on campus. I have the longest history with Student Bridges out of all of our staff members. That fact was a little overwhelming but I see it as an opportunity to exchange knowledge with staff and get our alumni more involved again.

With this new academic year came new staff members to the SB team. I knew that I had to pass on my story, my experiences and my history to the new staff to carry it on for the ones to come. I can’t believe how fast time is flying. September was a whirlwind of a month; jam packed with tons of events and recruitment opportunities for Student Bridges. Holyoke and Springfield Bound went extremely well. It was a great experience going from planning sessions to the actual events. Now as the month of October is here and the buzz from September dies down a bit, I am focusing more on helping to develop our tour training as well as our tour planning process. I am also starting to develop a system or method to track our alumni as well as reach out to them to have them included more in the organization.

I guess at the end of the day I really am trying to keep the spirit of Student Bridges alive within our staff and passing on the fire of access & success to the generations after us.

This blog post was authored by Lorena Holquin, who serves as a MACC Vista for Student Bridges and has been with the organization since it’s inception.

Over the past year and a half, I have seen that with patience, empathy, and assistance, children can and will thrive – even the ones with difficult challenges. From when Jon and I started up until now, he has come a long way – from hardly speaking to being enthusiastic and talkative. Jon has learned how to build and nurture his own relationships, and has gone beyond by positively influencing his peers through leadership roles. Through my experience tutor-mentoring and more specifically by tutor-mentoring Jon, I have learned the true meaning of reciprocity.

When I first started as a tutor/mentor, I thought I was going to teach underprivileged and underserved students how to improve academically, but to my surprise, I ended up learning so much more about myself and began re-evaluating my life goals. Coming from an underprivileged community myself, I have used my life experiences to relate to my mentees and have shared my knowledge to positively influence them and show them that almost anything is possible if they truly put their mind to it.

I am so proud to be part of an organization that works towards educational equality. Student Bridges facilitates mentor-mentee relationships regardless of our many social differences. We enter communities not thinking we are going to solve their every problem. Instead, we try our best to guide them towards using the strengths and skills they already possess in order to achieve their full potential.

There are many programs that guide and support students in receiving a higher education, but many fail to cater to the needs of underrepresented students, especially once they are enrolled in a college or university, which creates a lack of retention. Our organization not only supports students and provides the resources needed for underrepresented students to strive for higher education, but once they are enrolled in college, we work on retention by actively engaging with those students so that they have the support, knowledge, and resources needed to thrive in college and graduate.

I started as a UMass student, became a tutor-mentor, and have grown into a member of the Student Bridges family. I am currently a full-time student and a part-time Development and Evaluation Coordinator for Student Bridges. I collaborate with Student Bridges committee members to implement constructive changes based on evaluations and feedback. This experience has brought me growth, knowledge, and a hope to forever impact young people’s lives. Displaying commitment and directing optimistic energy towards youth has a positive impact on young people’s lives and will open the doors of opportunity.

This post was written by Lorena Alves, who served as a Student Bridges tutor-mentor and development and evaluation Coordinator 2010-2011.

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