When the time came for Santana to decide on a major at CSUB, she thought liberal studies would prepare her for working with students. She decided to double-major in Spanish to prepare her for working as a professional translator.
“I thought they would complement each other and I could switch to Spanish if I wanted to,” she said.
Completing the requirements for two majors has kept Santana extremely busy. She consistently took over 17 units a semester — sometimes as many as 23 units — while maintaining a 4.0 GPA and juggling work responsibilities.
Santana worked at the Kegley Center for Student Success during her first year at CSUB, first as a tutor and then as a learning specialist. She was able to help students on the men’s basketball team receive academic support and make sure they were on track to graduate. Santana enjoyed being able to help meet these students’ needs and see them succeed.
“I was living my dream job in a sense because I was kind of a counselor,” she said.
Athletics Academic Advisor Bobbi Evans-Santiago said Santana was a great addition to the Kegley Center team.
“I learned from Alondra and felt confident about her ability to work independently and take the lead when supporting students on a one-on-one session,” he said. “Alondra was the best student I have had the opportunity to support. I enjoyed getting to know Alondra's story and having her learn from student-athletes about culture, perspective and life.”
Santana has been working full-time as a substitute teacher for the Greenfield Union School District. She said it’s been a great learning experience that has taught her about how to work with students, mostly at the middle-school level.
“I feel I have grown so much as a teacher and as a person,” she said. “I’m creating relationships with these students, and that makes it really worth it. Every day, I encounter a situation I hadn’t before, and I have to figure out a way to approach it the best way I can. It’s very challenging, but in a good way.”
While time management was a significant challenge, Santana said she always felt supported at CSUB.
“It was a great experience,” she said. “CSUB has so many different resources. I knew if I needed something, I was going to be able to find it at CSUB.”
Santana may be graduating this week, but her experience at the university isn’t over. She will begin her journey pursuing a master’s in counseling with a concentration in student affairs this fall.
Santana hopes to one day be able to work at CSUB as an academic counselor so she can help students just like herself.
“That is my dream. There’s nothing I would love more than to give back to the school that helped me achieve my goals,” she said. “I’ve always believed knowledge is a very powerful tool and that if you make an effort to learn, you’re going to go many places. We all get out of life whatever we are willing to put into it, and I decided I want to get the most out of life. I cannot believe how far I’ve come.”