重点报道系列:Sarah Villalobos，社区在学校

After high school, Sarah Villalobos thought college was something unattainable. 生活促使她迅速成长. 她的父母在她上小学的时候就离婚了, so she learned to pitch in and help her mom around the house at a young age. 她高中毕业后不久就结婚了. “It was easier to just get a job after high school because going to college is expensive if you don’t have the right resources,比利亚洛沃斯说. “我决定休息一年. I worked my IHOP job or McDonald’s job; that’s how I was able to afford an apartment.” 一年的休假变成了两年, 当她考虑回学校的可能性时, there was always something in the way – missing the registration deadline, 没有足够的钱, 或者害怕失败. 不时地, Villalobos would receive text messages on her phone asking if she planned on attending college.

“我甚至不知道他们是怎么得到我的号码的, 但是信息会说, “你在考虑回学校吗??’”比利亚洛沃斯说. “We were barely making ends meet, but I finally decided I’d talk to someone. My brother had been hesitant to start school until my dad took him to enroll. Maybe that can be for me too; maybe there’s some money somewhere.”

It was too late to enroll for fall, but she would start at 帕洛阿尔托学院 in the spring.

克服学习障碍

她的第一个学期一开始就不太顺利, having taken in a relative to live with her and then having her power shut off around that same time.

“在我上学的前一天，停电了，”Villalobos说. “I remembered hearing something about utility help [through emergency aid], 但这是一次性的. Little did I know that Communities In Schools not only helps with supplies, 但他们也会帮助你做任何你需要的事情.”

During a campus tour, Villalobos had learned about Communities In Schools – 圣安东尼奥 (CIS-SA). 她决定去他们位于帕洛米诺中心的校园办公室看看. 就在那时，她遇到了CIS-SA的过渡协调员莱斯利·芬克. 在她的角色中, Fink helps provide an extra layer of support so students can persist and complete their college degrees.

“我们知道，所有学生都有障碍，都面临挑战. Getting to the point where a student can open up and talk about the things they are facing can be scary; it’s personal. 能够说，我不知道该去哪里或该做什么，”芬克说. “We [CIS-SA] provide a hub of information so students know where they can find the support they need.”

Communities In Schools at 帕洛阿尔托学院 provides students with presentations from community partners, 指导, FAFSA援助, 奖学金, 学校用品, 资源，以满足学生的基本需求, 和更多的.

Fink guided Villalobos through all facets of support available at PAC as well as in the community.

“她就像我的第二个妈妈，”比利亚洛沃斯说. “She kept checking up on me, and I just felt like I could tell her anything. 事情变得更好了.”

回想, 维拉洛沃斯想知道她为什么犹豫要不要上大学，因为, 对于她遇到的每一个障碍, 有回应.

“I don’t know why I took a year off; this was an easy transition. 所有关于食物的烦恼. 嗯，学校里有一个食品储藏室。. “In the Teacher Education program, I had to dress professionally to visit schools. 有一个衣橱，里面都是职业装. 如果我有考试, 学校社区提供蓝皮书, 或者我可以免费去欢迎中心领取.”

一旦她获得了学士学位, Villalobos hopes to go back and teach at her elementary school – Stonewall-Flanders Elementary.

“莎拉是个摇滚明星. 她克服了所有这些障碍，”芬克说. “每个学生的背后都有一个故事. 不是说，我上大学了，一切都很容易. 只要有一个额外的支持和一个在你身边的人就会有帮助.”

通过合作扩大服务范围

帕洛阿尔托学院 and Communities In Schools of 圣安东尼奥 are announcing a new partnership in hopes of reaching more students like Villalobos who have either put off college or have stopped attending college due to a myriad of obstacles, 包括与流行病有关的挑战.

Based on Communities In Schools’ success with re-engaging K-12 students who stopped attending or inconsistently attended class during the shift to remote learning, the Re-Engagement Partnership seeks to reconnect with students on a one-to-one basis both virtually and via home visits. 通过这种拓展, the team will provide resources to students seeking to enter college for the first time or reconnect with students who may have “stopped out” due to the pandemic, 收入损失, 或者技术上的挑战.

帕洛阿尔托学院 and Communities In Schools of 圣安东尼奥 will formalize this first-of-its-kind partnership during a press event to be held in Spring 2022.

Students who need support can visit the CIS-SA on-campus office in the Palomino Center, 104房间, 或通过电子邮件联系Leslie Fink lfink@cissa.org 或致电210-895-2523. 的年代.H.A.R.E. Center offers many on-campus resources to help address out-of-school factors that affect students’ success in college. 要了解，请访问 阿拉莫.edu/pac/share.