In an effort to highlight student support programs and services that are offered on campus, El Camino College hosted a Student Support Expo at the Student Services Plaza on Monday, Sept. 19.

The exposition presents various programs to help students in a myriad of ways, this year the event was packed with students and booths around the plaza. While El Camino College boasts numerous support programs, not every program has its own booth.

Equity & Retention and Career Advisors Melisa Silva and Claudia Buenfil, are the organizers for this year’s event and talked about the event goals and impact around campus.

The organizers said the main purpose is to set engagement between students and faculty and staff to build a great environment around campus.

“The purpose of this event is to gather all of our support programs to provide students with information about their programs to aid their success,” Buenfil said.

A brand new addition that was made to this year’s event are programs that are to help students academically but also their basic needs and employment.

“It’s not just one way that impacts [students], but it’s multiple ways. It impacts their academic, personal, and professional careers.” Silva said.

The focus of this event was to support students at all levels of their academic careers, students with declared majors and students who don’t know where to start can seek help by attending each booth.

The exposition presented a number of programs to help students in a variety of ways where students had the opportunity to ask program representatives questions about the services offered.

The Employment Program, led by Job Developer Adrian Delgado, offers jobs for unemployed students and provides them with real-world experience.

The goal is to “connect students to employees and [with] the community” Delgado said.

The majority of the jobs offered are for the college which intends for students to build connections around the community for future career opportunities.

Academic programs like the Student Equity and Achievement Program are willing to help students to better their grades and study habits.

Open Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Student Services Building room 100, the program offers resources including Peer-Assisted Study Sessions, or PASS Mentors, academic support, desktop computers and free printing.

Other helpful resources, especially for students who plan to transfer, include the scholarship office which offers 700 scholarships annually for students who are enrolled for two semesters in El Camino, with a minimum 2.0 GPA and a letter of recommendation. The application is currently open and closes on December 23rd.

Scholarship Project Specialist Theresa Clifford said the scholarship program is funded by donations from businesses around the community, and alumni among other avenues.

PASS Mentor Joseph Lloyd is making sure that students that regularly attend Peer-Assisted Study Sessions will have the option to enhance their skills.

The program aims to be inclusive by offering supportive and engaging courses and offering mentors to help students academically, personally and professionally.

“[We’re] making accessible to students to become better students by providing resources like time management, self-confidence, and strengthen student academic skills,” Lloyd said.

All services that were promoted at the exposition are available to check out at the El Camino website.

Editor’s Notes:

• Updated hyperlink information on Sept. 20, 2022 at 12:03 p.m.
• Fixed grammar error on featured photo caption on Sept. 21, 2022 at 12:48 p.m.