Amigos Mentores Receives Regional NASPA Award

Salt Lake Community College’s Amigos Mentores has been selected to receive the 2017 NASPA Region V Innovative Program Award for developing and implementing an “outstanding program that furthers the growth of students and enhances life on campus.” SLCC Amigos Mentores has enhanced life on campus by being an established reliable powerhouse that other departments, offices and groups on campus can count on and partner with.

Amigos Mentores staff and students

SLCC will receive the award in November during the NASPA Western Regional Conference in Hawai’i. NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) is the leading association for the advancement, health and sustainability of the student affairs profession.

The peer mentoring program Amigos Mentores, established in 2011, has expanded to assisting more than 800 Hispanic students in reaching their academic goals while guiding new students through the first steps of their college careers. It is, in essence, an outreach retention and completion program to support students of color at SLCC. Throughout each school year, students can take part in meetings and workshops and take advantage of tutoring and referrals to resources designed to help them succeed.

“I could not have asked for a more kind and loving group of professionals, scholars, students and mentors who have helped this program flourish. All volunteer hours go into creating and establishing a platform and opportunity for our students and community to share their passion for mentorship and education to the rest of the world,” said Luz Gamarra, the peer mentoring program coordinator with SLCC’s Amigos Mentores in the Office for Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. “We look forward to continuing being a resource for all students at Salt Lake Community College and an outlet for the Hispanic and Latino(a) community to reach and meet their goals.”