By Jonathan Morales

2021年5月27日

A 萨克拉门托 State master’s in Counseling student is one of just 30 scholars to receive a prestigious national fellowship that aims to train counselors who are better able to serve minority populations.

Alina Quintana是仅有的三名加州学生之一，他们都是科罗拉多州立大学的学生，从271名学生中脱颖而出，获得了国家认证咨询师委员会的少数民族奖学金项目资助，该组织本月宣布。

The grant, which comes with a $10,000 scholarship, is awarded to master’s students annually to increase the number of culturally competent addiction and mental health counselors available to underserved minority populations.

“It’s a pretty prestigious award and that's something that I was aware of going into the application, so I was very humbled, very shocked” to be selected, Quintana said. “And ready to do the work.”

Quintana’s experience as a first-generation, low-income, Latinx student inspired her to pursue a career in education. 她在加州大学戴维斯分校获得了奇卡诺人/奇卡诺人研究和心理学学士学位。

“I was learning among activists, learning among scholars doing really great work to remove systemic barriers,” she said. “They were all doing this in different areas. As a student, that was a really big motivation, seeing that type of work being done within a university setting.”

她申请成为系里的同侪顾问，这是她第一次涉足学生事务。 When she graduated, she was determined to “do work that was rooted in social justice.”

作为萨克拉门托本地人，她想在家乡做这项工作。 And after initially being unsure about the field of counseling, she realized many of the individuals she admired were counselors, which led her to apply to 囊状态’s program. Just one semester helped her realize “it was the best possible outcome for me.”

“When you are supporting first-generation students or students from marginalized communities through career services, it really is economic justice.” ——Alina Quintana

除了课堂工作，她还喜欢在就业中心担任职业发展顾问，这不仅是因为她为学生们找到了他们喜欢的职业，还因为这份工作本质上促进了公平。

“When you are supporting first-generation students or students from marginalized communities through career services, it really is economic justice,” she said. “Through career services, we have the opportunity to catapult these students from low-income backgrounds to the middle class, and that has a ripple effect on their family and ultimately their community.”

Quintana said her classes and faculty at 萨克拉门托 State have been invaluable both in preparing her for her career – for example, by helping her develop essential communication skills or learn how to apply for grant funding, as well as in helping her win the fellowship.

比塔·里瓦斯（Bita Rivas）就是这些教员之一。 An assistant professor and coordinator of the Counselor Education program, Rivas said Quintana “stands out as a leader in all the spaces she holds” and that her NBCC fellowship is indicative of her commitment to counseling and the individuals she serves.

“She is warm, authentic, and really challenged her group as she dived right into the vulnerable space that is working with peers and sharing your story,” she said. “She has been impressive in her balance of working and actively participating in classes and our program.”

预计2022年毕业后，金塔纳计划攻读博士学位，并继续为萨克拉门托的边缘化社区服务。