My first year on this campus was complicated. I quit my job of two years because it got old and I didn’t feel like I belonged there anymore. I left another job because of mistreatment, which I had never experienced before I came to this campus. I joined house council which I loved! And I found a home with Mullins Concessions where I have been for a year. As for sophomore year it has also been very complicated. I was so sure that when I came into this year next fall I would be spending a semester in Spain and I was going to write about how amazing I hoped it would be and how I was going to live with this great family and what I would stress about. Well, it turns out I do not have the time in my schedule to spend a semester abroad, so now I will write about my experience with Student Bridges.

Student Bridges is a primarily student run organization that I have been a part of for a semester now and plan to stay a part of for as long as they keep me. Student Bridges is an organization that works with our youth and is so important because we help students go through the high school process as mentors and the college application process as well. Many of the students we work with are minoritized and do not have the best guidance counselors, but we are there to motivate these students and help them realize that they can do whatever they put their effort into. Student Bridges works with high schools such as Commerce, Holyoke, and Amherst and they also work with the younger grades in Amherst. I got involved with Student Bridges through an email that was sent out to be an ambassador for the program and go to Commerce high school in Springfield and since I was familiar with the area, because I grew up there I jumped right on it. I really wanted to work with our less privileged youth and doing it in my own community made it even more worth it.

When I got into the Student Bridges program I came to learn about the civic engagement and service learning certificate and I learned that Student Bridges covers at least 3/7 requirements for the certificate just by being involved with the community and taking a few classes along with doing a final project. So I am currently in the process of completing my certificate and I am about 70% of the way there. I always tell people about the work of Student Bridges because you don’t have to be minoritized to be a part of the work that is being done, you just have to want to be a mentor and positive influence on the youth. We do things from helping them with their addition and subtraction to helping them with college applications and friendships grow out of this. I really appreciate being welcomed into the Student Bridges family and I hope that no matter how complicated my college years are this remains my peace of mind. Because Students Bridges motivates, I motivate.