What is Boyle Heights Avanza?
BH Avanza is a high school to college transitional support program that outreaches and mentors student cohorts to ensure academic persistence through their first year of college at ELAC or CSULA. Students from Mendez High School and Roosevelt High School admitted to ELAC or CSULA are recruited to join Avanza in the late spring semester.
What is the objective of Boyle Heights Avanza?
The overarching objective encompasses building a cohesive support system amongst student cohorts, community schools, residents, and community partners that will foster retention and graduation rates.
​
With the mentorship of the College & Career Ambassadors, Avanza students will have access to academic and campus-related resources and support services to ensure successful completion of their first year in college.
Welcome to Avanza 2020
This summer, we had a successful virtual summer series to welcome our new cohort of Avanza scholars.
​
Our 6-week series welcomed students, professors, and administrators from local colleges to share further insight on how to start college academically and financially strong.
​
Avanza scholars who tuned in also got to meet and learn more about the first-year mentors who'll be working with them for the next academic year.
Avanza 2020 Summer Series
Our summer series was full of information to best prepare our scholars for their upcoming first-year of college.
Below you'll find the information and recordings from some of our Avanza summer workshops that we facilitated. Be sure to check out the Resources tab for any information shared during the workshops and more!
Week 3: Candid Conversations with Professors Panel
​
Our panelists answered questions on why office hours matter; how to find internships, funding, and involvement opportunities at your campus; and how to select--or re-select and deselect and re-select--a major!
We learned about the importance of building relationships with your professors and campus community, campus resources for undocumented students, and why you shouldn't feel confined to a career or job by what you selected as a major.
​
Click here to watch the recording of this panel.
​
Interested in learning about additional college experiences and careers? Click here to access our Career Day e-Zine in which we interviewed several professionals and learned about the steps they took to get to where they are now!
Week 4: Financial Wellness
​
Our Financial Wellness workshop was facilitated by ELAC's Financial Wellness Program's coordinator Alouette Cervantes-Salazar. Alouette did a fantastic job reviewing FAFSA information, subsidized & unsubsidized loans, resources for undocumented students, and strategies to improve our relationship with money.
Whether or not you're attending ELAC this fall, you're welcome to connect with Alouette with any FAFSA-related questions by emailing her at financialwellness@elac.edu.
​
For further information on registration fees, outstanding balances, and financial aid disbursement, visit the following sites. Please remember that it's best to connect with your campus directly before contacting the Federal Student Aid consultants.
-
-
Contact your Cashier's Office for questions about any outstanding balances or fees, disbursement information and/or updates.
-
-
-
GET is where students can access their account information and see any outstanding balances.
-
​
Click here to watch the recording of this workshop.
Click here to access the presentation slides courtesy of Alouette.
Week 5: Imposter/Impostor Syndrome
​
Our team of college student leaders facilitated a great workshop on defining and understanding Impostor Syndrome and how it can impact first-year and first-generation college students.
Our panelists of current college students and recent graduates defined Impostor Syndrome (IS) and helped us understand how culture shock and internalized racism contribute to feelings of IS. They also shared their experiences with IS in school, within the Latinx community, and at work, showing us that IS can happen outside of the classroom and how we can overcome it.
​
Avanza scholars in attendance participated by asking a series of great questions, so be sure to read the chat to follow along with the Q&A portions!
​
Week 6: To be Continued...
​
During our final workshop, the Avanza team addressed questions about college life, textbooks, note-taking, and more!
​
View the slideshow to see some of the questions Avanza scholars asked and the responses the Avanza team shared.
​
You access the full list of textbook and scholarship resources in our Resources section. You will find additional resources to help you as you continue to plan for your majors, financial support, and more.
​