Gabrielle Le

SAN JOSÉ STATE Peer Connections

BECAUSE I’M A CSU STEM VISTA…

I have developed a growth mindset and believe in my abilities to do something I’ve never done before, such as developing a program.

I think CSU STEM VISTA has also helped me learn how to become more confident in leading and supervising a team as well. It has helped me overcome the feeling of imposter syndrome since I was not a STEM major and did not know if I was qualified to help students in STEM fields. It has also helped me connect and network with other faculty and staff in higher education roles, as I would like to work full time in higher education in the future.

My Favorite Part of CSU STEM VISTA...

Is being able to serve at my alma mater and making a positive impact on students in my community.

I think that it’s not every day you get to go back to your college and work for them. I never thought it was possible for me and here I am. I also enjoy the retreats and in-person trainings that VISTA provides.

My Typical Work Day

Typically, I start my day with checking over my emails and checking the publicity credits of the students staff at Peer Connections, because I am a part of the publicity and outreach team as well.

If there is tabling that week, I will make sure to send out a reminder email to the students that signed up to table and explain to them what they need to do. Every Thursday, I attend the pedagogy training class and observe my potential LAs and their class discussions. At the beginning of the semester, we are all provided a Thursday training schedule that indicates the days we will have an all staff meeting and small team meeting. If there is a small team meeting that Thursday, I will also prepare for them by creating an agenda. My meetings with my staff are usually about topics we bring up in the meetings before, such as boundaries setting, email etiquette, creating a general feedback form, etc. I have bi-weekly one on ones with my staff as well to check in on them and ask them about anything they need from me. Sometimes, we will discuss ideas that we’d like to discuss in the small team
meetings as well.

Why I Chose My Campus

I wanted to really give back to my campus community and work in an environment that I was familiar with.

My campus is located in the middle of Downtown San Jose and so it is very public and I always feel like it is a part of the community, as anyone can come onto the campus. Our school’s library is also a public library, so anyone can come and check out a book, hold meetings, study etc. San Jose State University was founded in 1857, which makes it the oldest California State University campus! Another fun fact about this campus is our oldest building, Tower Hall, had to be rebuilt twice, because of a fire and earthquake. I chose to work at San Jose State, because this campus has a lot of history in my family, because both of my parents went there and I also went there. I wanted to really give back to my campus community and work in an environment that I was familiar with. The best part of working on my campus is the fact that I can see familiar faces like my friends and professors. I think that knowing the campus and having some connections here really helped with my transition. I was also able to learn about the resources at San Jose State that I did not know about before as a student too!

Why I Serve with CSU STEM VISTA

…everyone has been so kind and supportive to me.

I did an AmeriCorps program before this with AmeriCorps Reading Partners and hearing a VISTA’s experience when I was briefly interviewed by the Center for Community Learning & Leadership made me really interested in applying. The interview was for a social media post about how community service at SJSU helped alumni with their career. I was originally very hesitant about doing another year of service, but having looking into CSU STEM VISTA, I felt like I really should apply. I had a lot of doubts, because of my background in linguistics and not STEM, but everyone has been so kind and supportive to me.

One Moment That Stands Out

CSU STEM VISTA has further enhanced my desire to work in higher education and has definitely given me some clarity on where in higher education I want to work.

I have been interested in working with international students for a while now, but I know that if I wanted to do that I will need to study a lot more about international visas, F1 form, understanding of study abroad requirements etc. I am also interested in working in student outreach or student engagement, so I will look into those things more and see what might fit me. If not that, I would also be interested in working with high school seniors getting ready to go to college. My most memorable experiences were being a part of the Enrollment Management Professional Development Committee and also going to the International LA Conference in Boulder, Colorado. Both of these experiences helped me learn a lot about how to support students and their needs as well as how to work with faculty. I was very hesitant to do another AmeriCorps year, but I am glad I did, because I think that I needed another chance to find my interests careerwise and I’m glad I gave myself that chance.

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