SCENE SPOTLIGHT
Erica Hernandez, a junior sociology major and urban education and Spanish minor, is impacting Santa Clara on both an interpersonal and global level through her work as a community facilitator and with her work within the MCC. Besides the impact that she feels she is making on Santa Clara's campus, she is also a member of the Sociology club and enjoys doing Arrupe Center placements.
Hernandez' first level of impact takes place in the halls of Walsh and McLaughlin, where she serves as a community facilitator. Hernandez feels that she is making "a more personal and direct impact as a community facilitator in Unity by hosting programs in the RLC that promote diversity and civic engagement. These programs engage residents in discussion, and we can talk to each other directly about how we feel and carry what we learn about each other's differences to the rest of campus."Ã
Hernandez says that she really enjoys working as a community facilitator.Ã She works with a great leadership staff who have put on great programs that have really built community and lived up to the mission of what an RLC should be.Ã
She feels that everyone collaborates with each other to make living in the residence hall just like "home."Ã She also feels that everyone really takes care of each other in the halls and makes an effort to promote diversity and civic engagement outside of the RLC.Ã
Hernandez is also involved in the MCC, where she is the office manager. If you happen to walk in and see a smiling, welcoming face â€" it's probably hers. She also serves on the Multicultural Center's Executive Board.
Hernandez feels that her involvement in the Multicultural Center allows her to impact the campus on a larger level. "The Multicultural Center, in contrast to being a CF, has a larger impact, because it directly targets the whole campus at promoting and celebrating diversity.Ã But I enjoy being part of both of these organizations because they open students to talk to each other about their backgrounds, what multiculturalism really is, and diversity.Ã They push students to explore new limits which some may never have known existed," she said.
- Written by Jessica Boyd