SHENANDOAH VALLEY SCHOLARS LATINO INTIATIVE
Issue #2, 2013
SV-SLI
Newsletter
December
2013
Shenandoah Valley Scholars’
Latino Initiative (SV-SLI)
P.O. Box 2734
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
SV-SLI SCHOLARS WITH COLLEGE MENTORS FROM JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY.
EVENTS FROM THE 2013-14 SCHOOL YEAR
Mentorship in SV-SLI
by Jett Reed, SV-SLI Intern
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.
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?
A: An average day consists of hanging out
with the students and seeing how everything
is going with school. Asking if they are
struggling with anything and coming up with
some ways to resolve those problems. Also,
trying to build a steady friendship and trust
with our mentee and the other students.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish as you
mentor the students?
A: I hope to establish a strong friendship and
sense of trust with my mentee. If she is
having trouble with school or with something
personal, I hope that she would trust me
enough to tell me about it and hopefully help
her through whatever the situation may be. I
hope the mentees really use us mentors as
they begin applying to colleges next year.
Even if it’s for something as simple as proof
reading their college applications or even
helping write personal statements, we, the
mentors, have all been through the process.
SV-SLI College Visits
SV-SLI scholars visit James Madison University and
Eastern Mennonite University on multiple occasions
during the school year. The students observe college
classes, attend college prep workshops, meet school
administrators, and learn what life in college is like.
Q: What are some goals for your current
students now?
A: I hope that they keep working hard in
school and stay motivated so that they are
able to achieve their dreams. I hope they
know that they have a group of people who
are more than willing to help and support
them in any way we can. I hope they know
that know, the road will not be easy, but with
hard work, passion, motivation, and
discipline, they will be able to achieve
anything.
SV-SLI Winchester
Our SV-SLI Scholars from Handley High visited
Harpers Ferry with mentors and board members
for a team building experience.
SV-SLI NEWSLETTER | Issue #2, 2013
Scholar Corner
A Scholar’s Experience
By Dulce (SV-SLI Harrisonburg Scholar)
About this time last year I learned about
SV-SLI and decided I wanted to
apply. At first it didn’t seem real that I
could apply for a college scholarship
program as a freshman. But I filled out
the application anyway.
The essay part of the application was
tremendously stressing, but after many,
many, many hours I was finally satisfied
with it. In the essay I wrote about my
motivation for going to college and about
my family’s support. I also said I wanted
to make my family proud by being the
first in my family to graduate from
college. As part of the application
process, I had to go through an interview,
which was a very emotional process. One
of the questions I was asked was “What
will your family think if you aren’t
selected?” That question was easy to
answer because my father had already
said, “If you are not selected, there will be
many more opportunities, so don’t
worry.” Then they asked what I would do
if I was not selected. That question was
harder to answer. I knew I would be sad,
but I said, “I will not give up my dream of
going to college.”
When I found out I was chosen to be a
scholar in the program, I didn’t know
what to feel because I had so many
emotions inside of me. Through SV-SLI
my friendships with both the other
scholars and my mentor have
strengthened me as a student as well as
increased my motivation to work hard in
school and take even more challenging
classes to help me prepare for university
work. Now that I am in the program, I
look back and think that going through the
hard application process was definitely
worth it.
2
SV-SLI would like to welcome two new board members to our team! Dr.
Ruth Bosch, Assistant Professor of Education at JMU, joined the board as a
University Coordinator for Academic Programs. Hannah Bowman, a teacher
at Harrisonburg High School, joined the board as the SVSLI High School
Coordinator for Mentoring and Academic Programs.
The board and mentees would also like to thank Sandy Mercer and Emily
Riehl, two members of the original board of SV-SLI who have moved out of
the area. Thank you Sandy and Emily! Without you, SV-SLI would not be
what it is today.
Our first SV-SLI college scholar, Rebecca, having a meal with SLI founder
and SV-SLI board member Peter Kaufman.
SV-SLI’s first college student, Rebecca, is from the Winchester
area and is attending Shenandoah University. Like many of
our partner universities, Shenandoah University provides
scholarships to SV-SLI students to assist in making college
affordable.
Please help SV-SLI make our scholar’s college
dreams come true! Donate with Paypal on our
website www.shenandoahvalleysli.org
or
You may donate by check:
SV-SLI
P.O. Box 2734
Harrisonburg, Va. 22801
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Visit us online at www.shenandoahvalleysli.org or at our blog at svli.wordpress.org
SHENANDOAH VALLEY SCHOLARS LATINO INTIATIVE
Issue #2, 2013