Society of Eagle Mentors soars at HCC

By S. Sara Tubbs

Nov 19, 2014

‌Lost, overwhelmed and anxious?

Think about how you felt the first time you walked onto a college campus faced with a new challenge and a new life.

For Edward Garcia, it was too much to handle. In 2011, he enrolled at Houston Community College but lacked the personal motivation to continue his classes.

“When I needed someone to go to, I didn’t have that connection, so I left school,” said Garcia.

Three years later, Garcia is back at HCC with a certification in welding, working towards a certification in logistics and is a student ambassador for the Society of Eagle Mentors (SEM).

SEM, a new organization at HCC, provides support and guidance to students. It is the brainchild of Rima Adil, advising manager at Southeast College.

Like Garcia, Adil came to HCC as a student with a similar story. She was shy, but a great student. In fact, her chemistry professor recruited Adil to tutor fellow classmates on the subject. The mother of two young daughters did well enough to land a full-time job at HCC. Adil says the interaction with the students pulled her out of her shell. She took her new-found confidence to connect with others to a much higher level in creating the mentorship program.

“The first thing I did was to start making alliances with people at other colleges,” said Adil.

Her plan soared and this semester, 172 members from all six HCC colleges have joined. The mentors are students, faculty and staff ready to take anyone under their wings.

Garcia plans to use his story to help students feel accomplished, encouraged and confident.

“Hopefully it will keep someone from quitting.”

If you would like to become a mentor or are in need of mentoring go to www.hccs.edu/sem.