Jones is an advocate for the Act Six program and says he appreciates how it brings students like him into spaces on campus that typically lack representation.
“We take up space and we normalize (students of color) presence on campus,” he said.
Through Act Six, Jones is building his leadership skills by engaging with the local community. Jones says he saw his leadership skills grow while participating in the Big Buddies program with local kids.
“I grew up with my grandparents and they ran a daycare so I was always around kids and babysat,” Jones said. “I always really enjoyed working with kids, so the buddy program is where I felt comfortable. That’s where I felt my leadership was at the best.”
PLU has certainly benefited from his presence, but Jones says he has gained a lot from interacting with his fellow Act Six recipients. He credits them for snuffing his fears of studying abroad.
“I was really scared to go study abroad, but one of the benefits of being an Act Six student is we have a cadre or cohorts,” Jones said. “Your cadre is a group of other Act Six students who support you — it’s like a family. A lot of them studied abroad and said, ‘no bro, it’s not scary, go you will have fun’ so that gave me a lot of confidence.”
Now he’s ready to offer advice to students who are making their own decisions about college. He encourages them to not be afraid.
“You guys aren’t alone,” he said. “A lot of my fellow cadre members, who came to college were leaving home for the first time. Everyone you meet is most likely scared as well. You’re not going to be alone when you are going through this. Whether you go to PLU, Morehouse, Howard, or whatever, it’s OK, you’re not alone.”
"six" - Google News
February 03, 2021 at 07:04AM
https://ift.tt/2Lc7vWc
Act Six scholar Andre Jones ‘22 grows leadership skills through outreach - Pacific Lutheran University
"six" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3dcBbL9
https://ift.tt/2Wis8la
No comments:
Post a Comment