“It just makes sense ‘creating futures,’ it’s what students in college want. They come to college to make a future and to want to better their lives. CREAR Futuros provides that,” details Irving Uribe, Campus Liaison for CREAR Futuros. CREAR Futuros is a Hispanic term meaning “creating futures.” The program’s mission is to keep students from dropping out of college, increase their GPA averages and foster a strong and supportive community that builds students up and prepares them for their college experience.
CREAR Futuros accomplishes their mission by making the program free, as well as providing mentees with peer mentorship, leadership development, career mentorship, internship opportunities and connections to social services. As of May of this year, Queens College has become CREAR Futuros’s ninth and newest participant. Now, Queens College students get the opportunity to reap the many benefits that CREAR Futuros has to offer.
Even though CREAR Futuros is a Hispanic term, the program does not discriminate. In fact, the program is highly diverse and it welcomes anyone regardless of their background. Any Queens College freshman, sophomore or transfer student with under 60 credits can be a part of this program.
CREAR Futuros hosts monthly workshops where students learn how to navigate and explore their potential majors and minors, build their résumés and even set up a LinkedIn profile. These workshops are led by trained professionals and they’re designed to make the prospect of starting college less intimidating while also guiding students on their journey through college and helping them make tough decisions that may affect the rest of their lives.
Students will also be presented with paid/non-paid internship opportunities provided by the Hispanic Federation as well as the Queens College Career Center. Because the Hispanic Federation funds CREAR Futuros, members will gain access to internships provided by the companies and organizations that sponsor the Hispanic Federation. These companies include but aren’t limited to Morgan Stanley, Macy’s, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and Delta Airlines.
In addition, CREAR Futuros mentees will be assigned to one of the four CREAR Futuros mentors (Andrea Buzon, Christopher Chow, Giselle Ibanez, and Kimberly Kolsch). These mentors are fellow students who really make an effort to get to know their mentees and build a rapport with them so that the mentees feel comfortable and willing to share any issues they are having. The CREAR Futuros members make sure that their mentees can succeed in their academic, social and personal life. These mentors are available year round and are always there for their mentees. Christopher Chow, a mentor for CREAR Futuros as well as the First Year Initiative (FYI) program, compares the two programs saying, “CREAR is a lot more personal than FYI… Our goal as mentors is for mentees to look at this program and develop relationships with everyone in this program, both on and off campus. We really want the mentees to think of this as a new familial service.”
If you want to find out more about CREAR Futuros you can visit https://www.crearfuturos.org/ for more information or contact Irving.Uribe@qc.cuny.edu
