Jose Arellano said he felt like an outcast when he attended an orientation held at the U earlier this summer.
“I felt like I was the only brown kid there,” he said.
Arellano, 17, has also faced the challenge of finding scholarships and learning about campus resources, because he is the first in his family to go to college.
All that changed earlier this week.
Arellano learned he had a support network during the annual “Latinas/os Welcome to the U” orientation held in the Union on July 7.
At the event, prospective students and their families learned about the U through workshops and information sessions where students met with representatives from different departments on campus.
“It’s basically an opportunity to present some support services to students and their families and answer any questions,” said Luciano Marzulli, administrative program coordinator advisor at the Center for Ethnic Student Affairs.
Marzulli said inviting families to the event was also important because many prospective students have younger siblings who might get an idea of resources they might use at the U in the future.
Valery Pozo, co-chairwoman of the student group MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/a de Aztlan), stressed the importance of giving prospective students a support system.
“Only about 4 percent (of the U student body) is Latino or Latina, so when (Latina/o) students walk into their classroom it’s filled with students who don’t look like them,” she said. “It’s important to MEChA that students realize there are students here who have made it.”
Pozo said she hopes that by giving students a support system they will tell others about the program.
Karla Motta, enrollment management generalist for student affairs, said the welcome event also gives students networking opportunities. Last year, she said, a student met with University Neighborhood Partners, a group at the event. This year, the same student was named academic consultant for the group.
Marcus Sarzalejo, a transfer student from Salt Lake Community College, said the event gave him the chance to find other Hispanic students who have faced the same challenges he has.
“Something that has always bothered me is how whenever I go to classes people treat me like I’m only there because of affirmative action,” he said. “But the only reason I’ve been able to go to school and do everything I’ve done with school is because of my own actions.”
Chris PeddecordEvent Coordinator and outreach director Karla Motta speaks before attendants of the 2nd annual “Latinas/os Welcome to the U,” held in the Union Ballroom on Saturday morning.