Mentoring a Dream
When Joscelyn Martinez-Barrientos graduated high school, she never imagined that she’d be in college and working with MIKE Program. All that changed when a friend signed her up for a Portland Community College (PCC) orientation session two years ago. Now Martinez-Barrientos is working toward a transfer degree in social work and mentoring other students.
Martinez-Barrientos wants to bring a deeper empathy to social work than what she needed as a child. The oldest of three sisters, Martinez-Barrientos endured the brunt of abuse and neglect by their mother. When a babysitter approached local authorities about the conditions at the home, Martinez-Barrientos says they received basic care, but little support in the psychological impact it had on their young lives.
“Now I realize that we needed much more support and understanding than we got,” said Martinez-Barrientos. “That’s why I want to help other children. I want to be someone who sees hope in them and can show them that they can be better.”
Martinez-Barrientos is dreaming big. She says she envisions a large building where children can access a full host of support. “I want to have a place where children can be tutored, play sports, take music lessons, learn math and get lunches,” she says. “I want it to be a place where they can build themselves up.”
When Martinez-Barrientos graduated from Westview High School in 2013, she had attended more than a dozen schools. She didn’t even consider college. “There wasn’t any money for that,” she said. When a close friend signed them both up for PCC’s Rock Creek campus orientation through Future Connect, Martinez-Barrientos’ outlook on college quickly changed.
The PCC program eliminates barriers to attending college, then provides a full range of ongoing support to help students successfully complete college. Martinez-Barrientos said that a scholarship opening for new students from the Beaverton School District helped her begin.
“You really see the range of people and cultures at PCC,” says Martinez-Barrientos. “I like to see how they see things.”
As she prepares for her third year in college, Martinez-Barrientos builds upon her goals by giving back to others. She mentors new students through Future Connect, showing them how to navigate through the complexity of college life and adapt to the digital platforms of registration and homework. “I encourage them to become their own person,” she said. “By mentoring, I can show them how to get volunteer opportunities or get additional help.”
Martinez-Barrientos is used to mentoring others. While attending Parkrose High School, one of more than a dozen schools she attended before graduating, she mentored fifth graders at Russell Elementary School. The experience helped her adapt to her local surroundings and allow her to reach beyond her current situation. She currently volunteers with Special Olympics to encourage others to reach their goals.
Martinez-Barrientos discovered MIKE through Worksystems’ SummerWorks program. Martinez- Barrientos participated in SummerWorks last year, qualifying for a summer position with the Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro. SummerWorks trains, places and pays first generation and disadvantaged youth in summer jobs. The organization announced last week that they have placed more than 750 youth in paid work experience positions for the summer.
Now with MIKE, Martinez-Barrientos is gaining a variety of administrative experiences and building her knowledge on what it takes to run a nonprofit organization. She says she likes how MIKE mentors youth toward healthier behaviors and inspires her in her dream of managing a nonprofit organization.