Biggest Challenges Faced by an Upward Bound Project Director in Education
Lidia, a Project Director III at an education non-profit, identifies "making the most out of the limited resources" as the biggest challenge in her role, a common issue for grant-funded projects. The goal is to provide a "fantastic and holistic experience" for students from under-resourced communities without compromising the quality of the program, requiring creativity and careful budgeting to ensure students feel supported and prepared for college.
Grant Writing, Resource Management, Budgeting, Program Management, Student Development
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Lidia Alfaro Chavez
Project Director III, Upward Bound
Education Non-Profit
UCLA, 2014
Pepperdine University, MA Social Entrepreneurship & Change, 2017
Anthropology, Sociology
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Operations and Project Management
Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Balancing limited resources with high-quality student experience
2. Finding creative solutions within a grant-funded budget
3. Ensuring student engagement and preparedness for college
Transcript
What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
The biggest challenge is definitely making the most out of limited resources. We're a grant-funded project, so everything we do comes from our small grant budget.
It's about finding a creative way to provide a valuable experience for our students. Despite the fact that our students come from communities with limited resources themselves, we don't want them to feel like they're in a program that also limits them.
The challenge is always to stretch the budget and resources as much as possible. We aim to be creative to give our students a fantastic and holistic experience that keeps them engaged. We want them to feel they are getting as much out of the program as they are putting into it.
Our ultimate goal is that by the time they graduate from high school, they feel prepared to go into college and then graduate from college.