Reflective Essay: A Career As A Community College Student

Growing up in a low-income and rural Mexican-field working community in central Washington State, I 
had always been on the receiving end of community outreach endeavors. Whether it was the local community college athletes, high school coaches and athletes from around the state, or teachers, I had grown up always on the receiving end of outreach and engagement. Sure, there were times throughout high school and college where I was asked to go talk to younger students or children at the local YMCA or community schools but never was it something that I felt committed to or overly passionate about. As I graduated college and reflected back on my life, I began to realize just how fortunate I was to have the people and resources in my life to assist in getting to the point of being a college graduate. This was something that is not commonplace in my community and is unheard of in my first-generation Mexican-American family.

Those life reflections led me to the realization that it was my turn to pay forward the resources, support, and opportunities to …show more content…
Jennifer McGarry’s Husky Sport organization has been a challenging one. I have had to understand that my influence as a teacher that was once with my students and community every single day is much different than my role where I am in the school and community 2-3 times a week and for 8-10 total hours. Alongside Dr. McGarry and other graduate students, we have to understand how to engage in this dynamic and fluid campus-community partnership to create as much positive impact as possible without taking steps backwards or ruining the established and authentic partnership and relationships that have been gained over the 10+ years of this specific partnership. For me, I have had to understand how to take a step back, evaluate, assess, and understand that I am only a partner in this relationship