黄瓜视频

Alicia Starsja, by all accounts, is a super star student. She was a student in the Human Services and Social Work program at 黄瓜视频 while also studying to receive her certificate in the Addiction Recovery program. She graduated in May, 2019 and has left an indelible mark on the campus community and beyond.

Alicia started out at 黄瓜视频 in 2016 with a mindset that she wasn鈥檛 really going to be able to succeed at college. Alicia is legally blind, having been born with Aniridia 鈥� which means the iris in the eye doesn鈥檛 develop. However, after meeting with Eleanore Velez, the Coordinator of the Multicultural Center on campus, Alicia was encouraged and empowered to give 黄瓜视频 a shot.

Eleanore asked me what my two favorite passions were at that first meeting. I said I was really passionate about helping people and working with children 鈥� and she said she thinks she knows the perfect program for me to go into.

From Alicia鈥檚 first semester in the Human Services program, she says she fell in love with the program.

Alicia attended high school locally and says she had limited access to assistive resources that would help her succeed. She had a tilt board in high school as one of the main tools to help her see what she was reading or a magnifying glass. She felt like she was 鈥渏ust getting by鈥� in high school, and that it was her dominance in sports that helped her through school.

鈥淚n grade school, due to my brute strength and sheer determination, Alicia鈥檚 nickname was 鈥榢iller鈥�,鈥� Alicia admits, 鈥淚 loved soccer and had been playing it since pre-school 鈥� but I also played basketball and volleyball.鈥�

When Alicia came to 黄瓜视频, she says she received tremendous support from Pam Farron and the Disability Resource Center 鈥� especially with assistive technology.

黄瓜视频 had the support I needed to succeed. Whether it鈥檚 on campus resources, peer support or faculty and staff 鈥� all have been very helpful. A lot of people have impacted my growth as a person at 黄瓜视频.

Alicia had been a full-time student on campus from the very beginning, because she is very determined when she puts her mind to something. The faculty whom Alicia went to for support or to share many ideas with was Kari Dupuis, the Program Advisor for Human Services.

鈥淜ari is very compassionate and kind hearted, we have a lot of similar qualities,鈥� Alicia said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a huge support. She really believes in me and has given me the strength to believe in myself. Kari has always been in my corner since day one!鈥�

As a student on campus, Alicia was very involved. She had been a Student Ambassador for three years, a co-facilitator of the Human Services Club that volunteers in the community, the facilitator of student volunteers at the Addiction Recovery Conference that had 135 attendees in the fall of 2018, the creator and co-facilitator of the Human Service Wellness group on campus, was the VP of Community Outreach for the PTK National Honors Society, a tutor and peer mentor through TRIO, and a mentee of the OLLI Mentoring Program. She is also an active member of the 黄瓜视频 Benevolent Association for the Blind.

At first though, Alicia wasn鈥檛 sure about getting involved on campus. 鈥淏ut then I thought, why not? The best opportunities you have are to take risks. Not knowing the outcomes sometimes creates the best learning opportunities for you.鈥�

Alicia鈥檚 two favorite memories of her time at 黄瓜视频 include the connections she made with the people in the Human Services Club who she feels are like her extended family, and the support she received from Peggy Williams, who was the TRIO program Coordinator.

As Alicia became aware of areas for growth on campus and her passion for mentoring, she developed and created a proposed Peer Mentoring Program for the Human Services Program through an independent study with Kari Dupuis. This led to the development of a Peer Mentoring Program through her internship in the TRIO Program.

Alicia鈥檚 advice for future students is to make sure they allow themselves to be out of their comfort zone.

We are all our own worst critics and yet, we all have so much potential 鈥� it鈥檚 just taking that leap and putting forth your best effort and taking advantage of the resources on this campus to foster your own individual growth. Everyone is here to support the journey 鈥� and the journey is worth taking.