Community Fellows Blog Posts

I am fortunate enough to have been granted a fellowship through Santa Clara University’s LSB Community Fellows Program. For the 2018-2019 school year, I will be working at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in San Jose within their Corporate Work Study department. I am so excited to be interning here because this high school takes a unique approach to college prep education for low-income families. The Corporate Work Study Program is designed in such a way that allows high school students to be able to attend school and work at the same time. These jobs then help the students pay for part of their tuition at Cristo Rey.

Officially, my job title is Special Projects Assistant, however, in the first few weeks, I have taken on a variety of different roles. On my very first day, I took the bus route to pick up some of the seniors from their jobs, and, will now be doing this every Tuesday for the rest of the quarter! This gives me the opportunity to get to know some of the students and to get a sense of their perspective on the school and the program. Additionally, I have been helping the college counseling department revise applications for the Educational Opportunity Program, which supports low-income and first generation college students. Going through these applications has been eye opening, and has really made me aware of my own privilege as I am able to attend SCU with little financial aid.

As the year progresses, I hope to foster and develop meaningful mentorship relationships with some of the senior students as they begin applying for college. I was in their shoes not too long ago, and I understand how it may feel overwhelming as they navigate through this process.