College can be confusing—especially for students figuring it out on their own. At Glendale Community College, La Comunidad helps Latinx students feel less alone.
La Comunidad is one of the Student Equity’s Department programs. Their mission centers around building both academic and social foundations. While academic counseling is a main offering, the program also focuses on identity development and belonging. Students are positively encouraged to ask questions, explore their goals, and build confidence in a culturally supportive environment. “La Comunidad is meant to be a place for Latinx students to feel comfortable to come in and ask questions. Many times students have questions, but they just don’t know who to ask,” said Jamie Sanchez, a Student Equity counselor. “We want students to feel like they are part of the campus, whether or not they’re taking classes in person online, we still want them to feel like they have some place to come in and ask questions.” Although it primarily serves Latinx students, La Comunidad is open to all.
La Comunidad offers academic counseling that helps students with their needs, including major exploration, transfer requirements, college planning, petitions, etc. “That’s one of the big services that we offer, but that comes embedded with, I would say, a very genuine counselor to student relationship because we have a lot of our students for years in our program. Our program is designed for students to be with us until they reach their educational goal. We meet the student where they’re at,” Sanchez said. Academic counseling in La Comunidad comes with student to counselor connections, who offer their guidance to help students with what they need, and meet them where they’re at.
Aside from academic counseling and resources, there are other things the program offers students. They offer book loans, bookstore credit, and tech loans — such as laptops and iPads that they can borrow for free for the entire semester and then return at the end. There are also internship or job opportunities that La Comunidad forwards to their students. The program also offers university tours in Northern and Southern California. Bus and hotel expenses are paid for, making the tours accessible to all participants. They offer local university tours, where you go and come back the same day, overnight tours, and HBCU tours, which are for historically Black colleges and universities. It is a great chance to explore the campuses, to envision oneself, and really to open up one’s eyes to the different opportunities that are available to them.
A first-year student, Angel Cano, went on one of the overnight university tours that was offered. “I went to the university tours that was hosted by Jamie and the universities we visited were all SoCal UCs. It was very fun to see all the UC campuses, because I had only ever seen UCLA,” he said, recounting the opportunity in exploring different campuses.
La Comunidad also offers a program called “Career Adventures,” that helps students to think about career exploration and encourage them to access the career services that are provided. “Career Adventures” is developed by Student Equity, and often collaborates a lot with GCC’s Career Center. It helps with major and career planning. Counselors encourage students to check the program out for further assistance and guidance for planning out what they wish to do within their major.
Throughout the semester, La Comunidad hosts many events for students. They have their monthly “Taco and Tostada” bar at the Student Equity office, which is one of their more popular events. This gives students the opportunity to come in, eat some good food, connect with others, and get to know the counselor’s faces.
“The idea was that sometimes students might feel a little bit intimidated coming into a scheduled workshop or event, but coming to grab food seems very non-confrontational,” said Sanchez. “So the intent is to get them to our office, to our space. And sometimes they’ll hang out here, eat here, meet other students, and then we see them, you know, continuing to come back. We get them to come see our faces so that way they at least know who we are and they would be more likely to follow up on their appointments or their student equity activity or whatnot.”
They have events such as their “End-of-the-year Kickoff ” to celebrate student’s accomplishments, as well as other events like their Thanksgiving Social, where students bring in various foods and eat together. They host video game nights, board game nights, and many others. These events are usually announced, or sent by email.
An important aspect about La Comunidad is embracing your identity and culture. There are La Comunidad meetings that help with that. Over the years, La Comunidad meetings have transformed from casual social events to purposeful, reflective spaces where students engage more seriously with Latinx identity and culture. Understanding that Latinx identity varies for every individual, the program invites students to explore issues like language, colorism, machismo, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and variations in the Latinx experience.
These conversations, most frequently led by a guest teacher of ethnic studies, allow students to explore the details of their heritage and take pride in who they are. By providing space for open conversation, the program allows students to understand the pros and cons of their culture—feeling seen, empowered, and bonded to each other.
Students who are already enrolled in La Comunidad do not need to do the application again. Their timing ends when they leave GCC. But for students who are interested in joining, the application process is simple. To join, you need to be enrolled in at least one class, whether it’s in person or online. Go to the GCC website, and search up ‘Student Equity.’ Then, click on the La Comunidad. There will be an ‘Apply Now’ option, and then complete the Google Form. You will receive an email when you have been approved.
La Comunidad is more than a student service. It is a space where students can receive support and gain guidance, build connections, and feel empowered in both their academic and personal identities. From academic advising to community events, La Comunidad gives Latinx students a space to navigate college with support and connection.
Sirey Rivas can be reached at [email protected].