Stories

We are very excited to welcome the new 2021 Cohort to the ACE program! As the school year begins, two members of this new class, Adán González and Mary Maas, share a little bit of their background with us and what they are looking forward to this year at SCU and in ACE.

Adán González is an undeclared business major considering Economics or Finance, and a Philosophy/Spanish double minor. He is from Los Angeles, California, where the Jesuit high school that he attended there played a big part in his college decision process. SCU’s core values and mantras were big components in helping him make the decision to attend SCU. Currently, Adán is a LEAD scholar and mentor on campus. The LEAD Scholars program “is a program for first generation college students focused on academic success and community engagement”. Adán felt comfortable in the LEAD environment and a sense of belonging in the program, so much so that he wanted to further his involvement by coming back as a mentor during the summer.

A fun fact about Adán is that he is trained in boxing. His uncle was a professional MMA fighter, so starting at a young age, Adán would always hang out at the gym with him. By the time Adán was 13, he was already competing; however after a bad injury, he could no longer continue boxing. While he personally does not box anymore, Adán still enjoys watching the sport when he can.

This upcoming school year, Adán is looking forward to expanding his horizons at SCU by trying new things and joining different clubs. Adán is excited to get to know his ACE cohort and start attending meetings.

Mary Maas, from San Diego, CA, is also a member of the new 2021 cohort. Although she is currently undeclared, Mary is planning a major in Marketing with a minor in Communications, and possibly an additional minor in Retail Studies. She chose to go to SCU because she was “really drawn to the way that SCU crafts a college experience for each individual student” and saw the numerous opportunities for students “to get involved and have interesting and exciting experiences through clubs, organizations, immersions, etc”. In addition to SCU’s location, Mary liked how students were encouraged to “find balance between school and all other aspects of their lives”.

Mary has gotten involved on and off campus as a recipient of the Jean Donovan Fellowship and as a Community Facilitator (CF) in Graham. Since the fellowship is a summer community-based learning fellowship through the Ignatian Center, Mary spent six weeks in Boston, MA during the summer working at an organization called the Women’s Lunch Place. In addition to serving healthy breakfasts and lunches to women suffering from a variety of conditions and problems, such as homelessness and domestic violence, the organization also provides them with basic necessities, free medical care, employment resources, and housing information. Moreover, as an upcoming CF in the Alpha Residential Learning Community at SCU, Mary will “put on programs, build community…, and work to ensure the safety of students” alongside other CFs to make Graham a welcoming place for all residents.

In the upcoming year, Mary looks forward to continuing with the experiences that she started in her first year at SCU by reconvening with other Jean Donovan fellows to hear about their experiences and by working in the Graham community as a CF. She notes that “overall, it will be exciting to learn more about business and [her] future career possibilities through [her] classes and through the ACE program”. Mary can’t wait to get to know her ACE cohort through weekly meetings and the ropes course, and to get to work with them to prepare for internships in the coming year.

We are happy to have such driven students like Adán and Mary in our new ACE cohort, and look forward to learning more about the rest of our sophomores as this year progresses!