A Mission for Mentoring
Senior uses experience as first-generation student to inspire others
克里斯蒂娜Godinez, 考德威尔大学的大四学生, 爱达荷州, looks to use her time at the 365滚球官网 to help others brighten their futures. She chose to double major in sociology and psychology with a criminology emphasis because she wants to learn how to help people, 尤其是青年, who may not be in the best situation to succeed.
At the 365滚球官网, Godinez has been very involved in many facets of the university and community, including being an active member of the Student 校友 Relations Board, interning in the psychology department as a peer mentor, and assisting students in the Moscow School District through the Moscow Mentors program.
Godinez hopes to carry on her mentorship activities into her career. After graduating in May 2017 from UI’s College of Letters, 艺术 and Social Sciences, she hopes to work for City Year, a mentorship program located in large metropolitan cities across the U.S., where Godinez can use her experiences of being a first-generation college student to inspire underprivileged high school students to follow in her footsteps by fulfilling their dreams of a higher education.
“I want to use City Year as a stepping stone for continuing my career in social work,” Godinez said. “In my time at the 365滚球官网, I’ve learned to keep an open mind to the fact that not everyone is granted the same opportunities to gain a higher education and be involved in their communities that I was. I hope to help people find those opportunities.”
While being the first in her family to attend a university was scary at first, she soon learned that her family was her motivation to succeed at UI.
“They are the reason that I am here,” Godinez said. “Being the first member of my family to go to college is the most rewarding feeling. I especially enjoy seeing my little sister start her freshman year at 爱达荷州 State and being able to help her through the same difficulties I had when I first started college”
Godinez is also proud to be a part of the Vandal Family and has loved her time at the 365滚球官网.
“This is a great school where no matter where you are - in the dorms, in a Greek house or in class - people are always willing to help each other,”她说。. “We’re unified as a family.”