A Harrisonburg “SLI Saturday” this spring featured a Scholars Latino Initiative (SLI) panel conversation on health and wellness, with personal reflections on resilience.
Each month Harrisonburg SLI scholars meet with their SLI program directors and college student mentors on a Saturday for programs that develop leadership skills and support systems critical to wellbeing and academic success. The March session’s panelists included a James Madison University counselor and three representatives of Sentara Health, was part of “SLI Saturday” programming.
SLI’s mission is to support Latino/a/x high school students with college access through rigorous academic challenge, leadership development, scholarships, and supportive mentorships. It is a collaboration with high school and university faculty, staff, and students to offer out-of-school, college access programs for high school students (“SLI scholars”) in Harrisonburg, Richmond, and Winchester. With support from its donors, SLI creates college scholarships, tech grants, and other financial assistance opportunities for SLI scholars and alumni.
“Many of our students are encouraged by their families to pursue a career in nursing, and so we like to open their vision to the larger landscape of health serving careers,” said SLI program director Carlos Alemán, PhD, a professor of communication studies at James Madison University and the SLI board vice chair. “Given increasing threats to our families and our access to higher education, we think it’s important to keep a healthy perspective on resilience for making sense of and moving forward from personal setbacks and professional barriers. Our students can learn from hearing about others’ paths and continuing journeys.”
Panelists were invited to describe their professions, how they came to those professions, and associated highlights and challenges, as well as about the role of their cultural heritages and families in their professional journeys. They included:
- Allison Collazo, a licensed professional counselor at the JMU Counseling Center
- Silvia Garcia-Romero, the director of Health Impact & Engagement at Sentara Health
- Mayra Gavia Molina, RN, a practice manager at the Sentara Community Care Clinic
- Yasmin Rodriguez, RN, a nurse at Sentara Health
“Participating in the panel was meaningful and powerful to me because these students remind me of my 16-year-old self — determined, resourceful, and ready to chase a better life despite the odds,” said Garcia-Romero. “Many lack guidance, and programs like SLI give them the tools and vision to succeed. I’m honored to help encourage them to take that first step.”
Since 2022 Sentara has awarded SLI more than $131,000 to support SLI scholarships for students pursuing health-related careers, programming such as this panel, community events, and more. With this and additional private funding by the SLI community of support, since its incorporation in 2012 SLI has served 223 scholars (67 current and 156 alumni) and awarded students more than $917,300. This year is “SLI’s Million Dollar Año,” when the organization anticipates passing the $1 million mark in total awards to students. SLI alumni have attended 29 colleges and universities.
