For one student organization at Georgia State University, it does not matter where you come from, but rather where you are going. Race, skin color and country of origin are the last details of concern for members of AVES, whose mission is to offer guidance and support to Hispanic students who strive to attend and excel at college.
AVES — Avanzando el Sueno, which translates to Advancing the Dream — helps students navigate the often daunting and confusing process of applying for college, as well as offering guidance to help students better adapt to the campus setting. All of this is accomplished through a series of fundraising events, orientations and other educational activities.
“We started out under the philanthropic organization ‘Hispanic Scholarship Fund,’” explained Rosa Félix, current board member of AVES. “Last year they stopped the program in order to evaluate it, and they gave us the opportunity to continue with it, but under a different name. We named it AVES. Here, we provide support to students, and everyone involved are students as well. We all have a passion to give back to the community. We want to involve all voices.”
For her part, current organization president Nicole Guillén said that the program acts as an empowerment tool for young Latinos. “Sometimes we don’t recognize that the power that we have can affect others.”
Each student volunteer invests approximately seven hours a week collaborating with the initiative, whose meetings take place every other week, in order to help organize events, which are held at least three times a month.
“Sometimes it’s hard with all our classes, but we have a very united team,” said vice-president Reyna Pérez, who also encouraged young Latinos to seek help. “You can’t just sit there. And if we can help make your process easier, that’s what we’re here for.”
According to the organization’s members, the program also hopes to plant a seed. In addition to helping Hispanic students, AVES seeks to “show those who are not [Hispanic] about the importance of integration.”
For more information about AVES, please write to: avesatgsu@gmail.com.
About the Author
