Category Archives: community

Meet Your Mentor!

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By: Jett Reed

The centerpiece of SLI’s success across its different chapters is mentorship. College students and working adults help to guide high school students by developing a strong, positive relationship as they progress through their education. I interviewed Andrea Gonzalez, a James Madison University Centennial Scholar and a founding SVSLI college student mentor to learn what it’s like to be a SLI mentor!

(From Left): Andrea, Mrs. Sandy Mercer (SVSLI High School Coordinator, Dulce (Andrea's menthe)

(From Left): Andrea, Mrs. Sandy Mercer (SVSLI High School Coordinator), Dulce (Andrea’s mentee)

Andrea Celeste Gonzalez, 20 years old, James Madison University

(Major: Health Science with a concentration in Health Assessment and Promotion)

Q: What led to you being a mentor for SVSLI?

A: The director of the Centennial Scholars Program, Mrs. Strawbridge, asked if I was interested in being a mentor to a Latino high school student who wanted to further their education. Being the first in my family to attend a university, it would have been extremely beneficial if I had had a college student to mentor me through the college process. Of course, I was immediately interested.

Q: What’s an average day like spending time with a student/students?

Continue reading →

Dia de los Muertos…Different than Halloween?

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By: Jett Reed
Today, as most of America knows it, is Halloween. Originated from the phrase, “All Hallow’s Eve,” Halloween is believed to have descended from a number of cultural traditions, including Christianized feasts and Celtic harvest festivals. Although it may have begun as a day to commemorate the death of loved ones, Halloween today is a opportunity for children dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating through neighborhoods for candy. It has a “spooky” vibe about it, and other activities include carving pumpkins and making jack-o-lanterns.

svsimageProfessional poster made by SVSLI for 2013 Harrisonburg International Festival, translated from English to Spanish

So…Dia de los Muertos is the same things except in Latino culture, right?  Wrong!   Continue reading →

From the Desk of: Raul

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This post is from SVSLI Scholar Raul about giving back to the community.

SVSLI group photo

SVSLI group photo

On a Saturday morning last November I (Raul) and the other scholars (Dulce and Willy) along with the mentors (Luis, Sergio, and Andrea) went to a downtown church in Harrisonburg to prepare and give out bag lunches to the homeless people in our town. We arrived at the church where the people would meet for lunch and where we would prepare the meal. The people in charge were thinking that since we were teenagers, we would forget and not come to help. But we proved them wrong.  We showed up and worked hard. Continue reading →