POE Mentoring Program Inspires George Mason POE Student to Mentor Others

Being part of the POE family has been a great experience in furthering my college success and having people that care and support my goals. My experience in college has been great so far. As a junior, my classes are a bit challenging but they’re focused on my major which is accounting. I’m involved in a student organization at Mason called the Association of Latino Professionals for America where I serve as the Vice President. I first started getting involved in this organization as a member my freshman year of college. I attended and participated in the events they held but wasn’t involved in the planning of events at the time. Towards the end of my freshman year, I knew I wanted to get involved, bring more members in, and make some changes to the organization. As Vice President, I work alongside the President to coordinate and establish events for our members that are intriguing and useful for their academic and professional life. Being a part of this organization has made me more aware of the Big 4 accounting firms where I networked with many professionals. Through this organization, I got to know PwC, a Big 4 firm, so I decided to apply to their internship for underrepresented college students. I got accepted and started the internship this past summer where I collaborated with a team of five on a project to help FIRST Robotics better understand their donor data. I utilized data analytics software such as Alteryx and Tableau to help draw new insight on FIRST’s data. Aside from my internship, I am an alumni mentor for freshmen in college who are alumni of the Early Identification Program, which is a program for first-generation students. As an alumni mentor, I offer support and guidance for freshmen as coming into college can be a stressful time for them. When I was a freshman, I was also on the same boat and received the same guidance through POE and other support groups as well. POE has allowed me to access my potential in college through its mentorship and overall welcoming support.