Favorite Parts of Being an Upward Bound Director at an Education Nonprofit
Lidia, a Project Director III at an education non-profit, finds the most rewarding aspect of her role is "giving back to a community very similar to the one that I grew up in," having benefited from similar support as a first-generation college graduate. The opportunity to witness "the growth in staff and in the students" is a true privilege, both daily and over the years they participate in the program.
Youth Development, Higher Education Access, Mentorship, Nonprofit Leadership, Community Engagement
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. Working with youth from similar backgrounds and providing support to help them succeed in college.
2. Witnessing the growth of both students and staff.
3. Giving back to the community and creating pathways to higher education for underserved students.
Transcript
What do you enjoy most about being in your current role?
I really love working with the youth. I started off working with a population of students back when I was in college. They were very similar to the background that I grew up in, a first-generation college graduate now.
I had support from nonprofit and community-based organizations to help me get to college. I didn't understand the various pathways to get into college, all the terminology, and everything that just goes along with getting into and persisting through to graduate from college.
Being able to do that and give back to a community very similar to the one that I grew up in is what I love most about my job. Getting to see the growth in my staff and in the students that we serve is just really so wonderful to get to be a part of.
It feels like a true privilege to be able to see that growth on a day-to-day basis on a small scale and then over the longer period for the years that we do have the students in our program and for the years that I get to have staff on board with my team.