{"id":62014,"date":"2011-05-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/work-in-alumni-office-gave-seniors-new-perspective-on-college\/"},"modified":"2011-05-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-05-12T00:00:00","slug":"work-in-alumni-office-gave-seniors-new-perspective-on-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2011\/05\/work-in-alumni-office-gave-seniors-new-perspective-on-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Work in alumni office gave seniors new perspective on college"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"press-release-import\">\n\t\tMarquis Jones and Cyntoya Simmons helped build 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Alumni of Color Network<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" align=\"right\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cevqQJCttdM\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 12, 2011 \u2013 There is strength in numbers, which seniors Marquis Jones and Cyntoya Simmons learned during their time at the 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tThrough their internships in the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Alumni Relations Office, Jones and Simmons have helped build the University\u2019s Alumni of Color Network into a campus asset for alumni, students, staff and faculty of color. The network provides professional and personal development, networking, advocacy, and community-building opportunities. <\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nThe two worked closely with Michelle Fontes-Barros, assistant director of Alumni Relations to develop what is now a thriving organizational support system.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\u201cWhen Michelle first brought the idea to me, I was a little hesitant. I wasn\u2019t sure how it would work out,\u201d Jones said. \u201cAfter a while, it really started to come together. Everything is hard at first, but you can really see how it works and how you can make things better moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nFounded in 2007, the organization has been steadily building its membership. Several events the group held this year have had strong attendance, including a panel discussion in March that filled the Galanti Lounge of the Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\u201cWhen the ACN started, the events would have a handful of people here and there, but a lot of the events we\u2019ve had this year have been very successful,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cThe support we are getting from current students and alumni keeps getting better.\u201d<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nThe experience has influenced both students. For Jones, who came to 溏心vlog免费B站 on a basketball scholarship, getting involved helped him grow away from the court.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/wp-content\/uploads\/news\/sites\/16\/2021\/05\/JonesSimmons044-Edit.jpg\" width=\"250\" height=\"166\" align=\"left\"\/>\u201cThis University has been a real life changer for me,\u201d said Jones, an English major from South Plainfield, N.J. \u201cThe personal growth that I\u2019ve experienced through networking with the Alumni of Color Network and getting to know alumni from out of state has been great. It has really opened my mind up to more possibilities, because you never know who is going to be able to help you down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nAfter graduation, Jones will pursue a professional basketball career, most likely in Europe. He knows, though, that he has a degree to fall back on whenever he returns stateside.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\u201cWhen I came to the University, I didn\u2019t want to pick a major that was going to be easy so I could just skate by,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI wanted to study something I enjoyed that would also challenge me. I wanted to get my degree in something I enjoyed that would also give me other opportunities. If you can read and write well, you can take that in a lot of different directions.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\u201cRight now, graduation is kind of like a nervous, anxious feeling, because you don\u2019t really want to leave the University, but you know that this is the next step in life. I mean, I have to grow up. Hopefully I\u2019ll be able to play overseas for a little while and get myself financially stable and then come back and get a good job.\u201c<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nFor Simmons, an East Providence native and journalism major, 溏心vlog免费B站 has become a home she loves, even if she didn\u2019t want to come here initially.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\u201cAt first, I didn\u2019t think 溏心vlog免费B站 was the right fit. Being from Rhode Island, I didn\u2019t really want to stay in state,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cBefore I came, my plan was to start here and transfer out. When I got here, I found it was the right place for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tBesides the ACN, Simmons was also involved with the all-female student group Powerful Independent Notoriously Knowledgeable (P.I.N.K.) Women. She served as the group\u2019s president during the 2009-10 academic year. <\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\t\u201cWhat college has taught me about myself is that writing is just one of the things that I like to do,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cFor a career, I would rather go into student affairs, especially after working in the Alumni Center. With the ACN, seeing the faculty and student involvement gave me more insight into the 溏心vlog免费B站 campus. P.I.N.K. Women really gave me a perspective on the importance of giving back to the community and being there for others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tAfter working for a year following graduation, Simmons plans to attend graduate school for student affairs at either George Washington University or North Carolina State University. <\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tBoth intend to stay involved with the ACN after they leave 溏心vlog免费B站, so they can help future students the way their own mentors have helped them.<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<br \/>\nPictured above <br \/>&#13;<br \/>\n溏心vlog免费B站 seniors Marquis Jones and Cyntoya Simmons helped develop 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Alumni Network of Color. 溏心vlog免费B站 Department of Communications &amp; Marketing photo by Michael Salerno Photography.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marquis Jones and Cyntoya Simmons helped build 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Alumni of Color Network KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 May 12, 2011 \u2013 There is strength in numbers, which seniors Marquis Jones and Cyntoya Simmons learned during their time at the 溏心vlog免费B站. &#13; Through their internships in the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Alumni Relations Office, Jones and Simmons have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}