Student Assistant for TRIO - Veterans Upward Bound
by Isiah (Philippines) Mechanical Engineering | May 12, 2025
As an international student a big part of adjusting is finding people and building your community.
Fortunately, I got to meet and work with the amazing people from TRIO - Veterans Upward Bound. Let me tell you how it was working as a Student Assistant for this program.
In beginning of September, I was lucky enough to meet one of the TRIO program directors during the job fair and to get recommended to TRIO-VUB.
Immediately I was interviewed and landed the position by October. The days flew as my initial task was to record our inventory, from number of desks to the number of pens, while getting to know more about the program.
Towards the end of the Fall semester, we had several events in which I was tasked to help prepare material, set-up our table in the venue, and get to know our veterans. This is where I got to know more about how kind and supportive the people in this office was. It was really generous of our Director (Ms. Stacia) to bring me into bigger events such as banquets, talks, and even a hockey game!
Through the Spring, my everyday in the office would be asking each program specialist if they needed any help. Whether it may be making sure all laptops are working for an event or simply creating flyers, I was the person they would call for different tasks. In last few months I helped with packing and moving and made sure they have everything that they needed.
This experience showed me how to interact with people in an office setting. How to work side by side with adults who were passionate about helping other people. I might not be able to work with them anymore but the values of kindness, appreciation and service that they have taught me are things I will carry as I move forward towards my career.
Oh and hey, if you're someone looking for a job I might know a position for you :)