Ariana Martinez

When I think about EOP I think about all the students that have reached their goals due to the amazing guidance and support they have received from the program. When I attended the summer bridge program before I started college in fall 2015, I was overwhelmed since I am the first one to attend college in my family. Yet, due to EOP I felt welcomed and supported. EOP has assisted me academically and professionally. I had an amazing peer mentor and advisor my first year in the program and it lead me to my first job in the education field. I worked as a peer mentor for two years and it assisted me in growing professionally. I gained many skills that led me into deciding what I want to do after my undergraduate journey. Due to learning how to assist students academically and personally, I gained passion in helping out students being a part of the EOP environment. I now plan to pursue a graduate degree in counseling so that I can be able to assist students and hopefully one day work for EOP as an academic advisor.

Due to the experience I gained by working at EOP as a peer mentor, I was able to get a position at the Career Center and it has been a smooth transition. I now feel confident in meeting students’ needs and providing good customer service. Through the journey, I have gone through with EOP I would advise current EOP students to be open minded and utilize all their resources. College life as a low income student can be very overwhelming but with the guidance and support EOP provides they will become successful as long as they reach out for help.