Education Pathways - University Neighborhood Partners

In this issue

Graduate Assistant Voices with Maricela Hernández Zamudio

I was originally pursuing Psychology when I started college. But, my passion for education grew more and more because of my work with Mestizo Arts & Activism (MAA). I’ve trusted that passion and graduated with my Bachelors in both Sociology and Gender Studies and am now working on a Master’s in Education Leadership and Policy with an emphasis in Student Affairs.

Through my graduate assistantship I’m working with both MAA and Youth Voices. I used to be a student in MAA and now I’m advising. Participants are high school students and undergrads from the U and Salt Lake Community College who are trying to navigate partnerships together and work as a team.

Youth Voices, now in its third year, works differently. My role there includes more programming development in partnership with the Youth Voices coordinators. Youth Voices is really a more arts-focused sister to MAA. They have similar curricula and sometimes the two meet together for activities and workshops. A primary difference is that youth in MAA come from both West and East High, but most are from West because we meet at Mary Jackson Elementary, which is nearby. The Youth Voices cohort are still from the west side of Salt Lake, but most of them attend East High.

Right now I’m excited about working with MAA to conduct visits to the Utah State Capital so students can meet with their representatives to advocate for and against policies that will affect them directly. The students work on active listening and how to be prepared for negative responses without shifting to the defense. In the past, some of them have had very positive encounters with representatives.

Both MAA and Youth Voices are incredibly empowering partnerships that validate youth experiences. I have sometimes struggled with academia because it doesn’t always transition well into community spaces. These programs help bridge that by establishing a clear pathway from high school to college – one that students can see themselves succeeding on.

Graduate Assistant Voices with Diana Y. Bahena Coronel

As I pursue my Master’s in Education with an emphasis in Student Affairs, I’ve wanted to focus on community engagement and pipeline programs for historically underrepresented students. I had heard of UNP and wanted to learn how, as an entity of the University rooted in west side communities, it partners to provide resources and spaces for community residents to bridge to higher education.

I thought I was just going to learn the different partnership and assessment aspects. But, my heart was stolen by the different elementary-aged kids I have been interacting with in the Hartland Youth Center. From helping them with their homework to racing them on the playground, it highlighted for me that often times we as professionals restrict ourselves to the four walls of our offices and to appointments rather than truly engaging with our students and authentically building relationships with them.

Also, through working with the high school students in Youth Voices, I learned that it is critical to provide safe spaces where students are taught and challenged to consider their own self-identity as youth, and where their voices will be heard and validated. By focusing on self-identity, cultural awareness, and leadership, Youth Voices highlights students’ identities, their culture, and their strengths. Thus, critically pointing out that community asset mapping needs to replace the deficit-thinking model that is often paired with underrepresented students.

My time at UNP has made me critically think about the Student Affairs profession I am pursuing. To become a caring professional, I must maintain being student-centered by focusing on students holistically, including their family and their community.

I am so grateful for my time with UNP, where learning from students’ experiences and resiliency has been so powerful and encouraging.

The West High Our CASA: A Thriving Educational Hub

By Vivian Lee

Although my time here at West High school hasn’t been very long, I have been welcomed with open arms. Our CASA is a program created through a partnership between University Neighborhood Partners and the Salt Lake City School District. It is geared towards making a safe environment for students and families, where students can seek post-secondary educational readiness, and where families can access academic aid. By involving students in the creation of each Our CASA site, they get to see their impacts first hand on their schools and communities. The first students in the West High Our CASA have already set a foundation for the classroom as a welcoming environment with an atmosphere full of spirit.

As the student and family advocate for West High School, my main goal is to create a comfortable space for everyone within the school. One where students can talk about their issues, release stress, and prepare for life after high school. An institution as diverse as West High is hard to find in Utah, making it home to a well rounded population, the conglomeration of students seeking spaces that break down cliques and social normalities.

Our CASA translates as Our Home, or an acronym for Our Communities, Aspiring, Succeeding, and Achieving. As the room begins to settle into its new location, I believe that the space will feel more like a home than ever. Big plans are in the works – a mural painted by students, new furniture, a variety of workshops, and a grand reopening.

There is an abundance of energy coming in and out of the space each day, and I am so excited to work with these students and help them make their future a better place for everyone. I can’t begin to express how thankful I am for this position and Our CASA, as well as the students that enter the classroom.

U of U Diversity Scholars in West Side Communities with Nina Feng, Community-Engaged Learning Coordinator

Diversity Scholars take ethnic studies classes that introduce them to issues of race, class, and gender, and then we connect them to community engagement opportunities. They also work in groups to produce and present art projects that integrate what’s discussed in class with their experiences working in the community.

Many have engaged in the traditional service-learning route, but what they’re trying to do with this experience is integrate critical concepts learned in class. We don’t want them to think, “Oh I’m going to go out and help the community,” but “how am I going to work with the community to start social change, to create authentic relationships.”

So many of these young scholars don’t fully understand the incredible knowledge and wisdom that they bring to this experience, since so many of them come out of these communities. They aren’t just random strangers trying to work in these neighborhoods. They have intimate knowledge of how the schools operate because they attended those schools. They understand the neighborhoods because they live there. They are already rooted in the community.

It is my hope that many of these scholars will go on to work in their community’s organizations, because they have so much to contribute. I think they’re amazing people that are sometimes underestimated since they’re first year students. They’re constantly teaching us, and we have to remember how much we can learn. It’s just humbling as an instructor. I really hope that other faculty feel that as well.

Diversity Scholars currently working with UNP and in the Hartland Youth Center this past autumn are Zoie Brown, Alex Fierro, Daniela Gonzalez, Amina Hussein, Tamara Jaljouli, Suzie Jo, Kevin Jones, Sahar Kanishka, Vivian Lee, Israel Morales-Cuanalo, Rahma Mustafa, and Ying Huang.

The First Year Diversity Scholars Program is offered through the U of U’s Office of Equity and Diversity. It is designed to support students through a personalized campus orientation, regular interactions with faculty and staff of color, academic advising, multiple mentoring relationships, and off-campus community engagement opportunities.

Living the UNP Model: Intersecting Higher Ed & Community Pathways with Minoa Rodriguez, Two-Time Wolf & Meritus Scholarship Awardee

I am a sophomore at the University of Utah, on a pre-law track majoring in political science and sociology. I have been deeply involved in my community since high school, which has made me aware of the inequalities that historically underrepresented students face. This is part of what motivates my desire to become a lawyer.

As a first-generation college student, exposure to career “choices” was not a privilege I had as a child. Eventually a family friend introduced me to the idea of being a lawyer and I was intrigued. Criminal law is something that truly interests me. It helps me think critically about social justice issues, concepts of guilt and innocence, and the need for the systems of power to be equitable and humane for all people. I want to be a lawyer to serve my community – more specifically, the Latinx immigrant community.

I am an active student – during my freshman year I joined AVID, a course that has opened up the world of higher education to me. I am also actively involved in Beacon Scholars and the Dream Center, where I work with undocumented high school students who are trying to access higher education themselves.

I strongly believe that children are the future of this country and we need to prepare them to participate in their communities. This year I was awarded an internship as a tutor in the Hartland Youth Center. It is something that I never expected would happen. I used to be so much like the kids there. I was in their shoes not long ago because I grew up there as one of the students. It’s a dream come true!