Joanna Solis & Kevin Salubre

San José State Center for Community Learning & Leadership

BECAUSE I’M A CSU STEM VISTA…

I've enhanced my presentation and professional skills.

I was given the confidence to lead and develop a program that utilizes San Jose State students in service-learning courses to serve as mentors to youth and help facilitate cybersecurity topics and computer programming. Creating a program from scratch definitely strengthened my writing and research skills. Through the creation of this program, I have presented at conferences, give classroom presentations, meet with student success center directors, college deans and professors to promote our program and help encourage their students to engage in service-learning courses. CSU STEM VISTA has given me opportunities to learn and grow in the world of higher education.

My Favorite Part of CSU STEM VISTA...

Is being able to use the research skills I learned as an undergraduate to make a positive impact while engaging STEM college students to be of service in their community.

I’m proud to be a part of a program like Cyber Spartans that reaches out to youth in underserved communities to engage them in the STEM field by learning cybersecurity and computer programming What a very important and relevant topic for youth to learn as they grow in this digital world! In addition, I have met such an amazing cohort of VISTAs that encourage and support one another despite being in different CSUs.

My Typical Work Day

A typical workday at San Jose State in the Center for Community Learning and Leadership office is always exciting and fun.

We work in an office that allows easy check-ins and conversations with one another and with our supervisor. Being one of two VISTAs in the office, we each have specific things we do day-to-day. Kevin, my co-VISTA works on research and data for our program Cyber Spartans. The research aims to assess the program by evaluating youths’ self-efficacy and engagement in cybersecurity and computer programming. The program hopes to inspire the youth to enter the STEM field. I work on developing, editing, and creating the curriculum that we will implement for the semester when we go out and teach youth cybersecurity and coding. Preparing all the materials that we will need (warm-ups, PowerPoints, Scratch code, etc.) allows us to deliver the lesson in the best way possible to really instill in the youth the concept that they “can do it!” Our program serves youth in Title 1 schools where they may not be exposed to our curriculum unless they pay for a program. Our hope is to level the playing field and give youth and mentors an experience that will motivate them to enter the STEM field, succeed in the field and help make it more diverse.

Why I Chose My Campus

The diversity of San Jose State University makes it a very unique campus and through the Cyber Spartans program, I met an amazing group of service-learning students and volunteers who shared the same goal of making a positive difference in the community.

I transferred to SJSU and have been living here for the past three years. I consider San Jose my home and being able to serve my community makes my work as a VISTA more meaningful to me. One of the reasons I chose SJSU was the opportunity to continue my work with Cyber Spartans. I started as a volunteer mentor and researcher, and becoming a VISTA allowed me to resume and progress the work being done. Throughout my undergraduate career at SJSU, I built meaningful relationships with faculty, staff, and peers. Working here on campus allowed me to maintain those connections. As we expand the Cyber Spartans program and its reach, it allowed for even more fruitful connections with various faculty members and professionals in the field.

Why I Serve with CSU STEM VISTA...

It gave me the opportunity to create a program for kids in lower-income communities that without our intervention may not be exposed to computer programming or cybersecurity.

After graduating college, I wanted to take some time to do something other than school that still involved serving the community. On my last day of my spring quarter, my instructor sent out an email about the different CSU programs offered through AmeriCorps. Coming from an education and human development background, I wanted to work with kids. I was told that the programs I initially applied for had been filled and was offered SJSU. I am glad I was placed here; it gave me the opportunity to create a program for kids in lower-income communities that without our intervention may not be exposed to computer programming or cybersecurity. I learned basic coding and cybersecurity myself to help teach the curriculum and I am glad I can see first-hand the students’ progress and sense of achievement when they finish coding their programs and relay back the cybersecurity information that was taught.

One Moment That Stands Out

Seeing the excitement unfold on youth’s faces when they presented their programs to their peers makes all the work that much more rewarding.

One of the most memorable experiences I had was before I became a VISTA. As a volunteer mentor for the Cyber Spartans, I had a wonderful experience working with youth, teaching them cybersecurity topics and computer programming. Seeing the youth engaged, active, and the challenges they had to overcome building their programs was really insightful. This is what lead me to serve as a VISTA and continue to work for the Cyber Spartans program. As a VISTA, I became an instructor of the class and instead of focusing on a small group of kids, I lead the entire classroom in discussion of cybersecurity topics. The transition from mentor to lead instructor allowed me to see the growth of engagement of the entire class. I experienced firsthand how intelligent and creative kids can be and with the help of encouraging mentors, they accomplished something truly remarkable. Seeing the excitement unfold on youth’s faces when they presented their programs to their peers makes all the work that much more rewarding.

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