What was your main motivation for becoming a College Allies peer leader?
Before becoming a peer leader, I still wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do in terms of my major and career. However, taking part in the College Discovery Club at Hostos led me to a growing interest in social work and I started to really like exploring the field and understanding what social work is about. That was around the same time that my advisor told me about the College Allies opportunity, and I realized it sounded similar to social work. So I figured this would be a great opportunity to get experience in the social work field.
What are you hoping to accomplish with this experience/position?
As a College Allies Peer Leader, I know a big part of this is helping the new incoming students. I remember when I first got to Hostos, I had the College Discovery program specifically. To me that program is just beautiful, it’s amazing, it’s a great way for people new to college to get acquainted. You have a very deep support system and it really enriches your experience at the college. Now as a peer leader I get to be a part of that, the enrichment process. And I get to offer some emotional support and advice, or help these students get used to taking advantage of resources that maybe they normally wouldn’t really take a second look at. Helping the college experience be less daunting and scary is probably my favorite part of this job.
How has your experience as a peer leader helped fulfill your interest in pursuing a social work career?
Sometimes I have conversations with students that they kind of go beyond academics; some students have their own personal struggles and things that may get in the way of their school work. Sometimes for them to succeed in school, they have to address these problems that are outside of school. This looks different for everybody: for example, sometimes there are parents or students that are full-time workers and have so many responsibilities that make it very difficult for them to really give their all in school. I really enjoy having these conversations with the students about what they’re personally going through and then telling them how I could really understand where they’re coming from, understand their difficulties and try to find solutions to those problems. Me, myself, I know for a fact that I can’t really do anything to solve the problem directly but I can guide them towards things that may help them solve that issue which is what I learned in social work. It’s really about being the bridge for the student – connecting them to the resources they need, not necessarily being the solution to the problem but helping them find the solution.