Melissa Sanchez is the new director of the Multicultural Innovative Community for Academic Success and Achievement, also known as MI CASA. The MI CASA program holds events to guide students with life after high school and events related to culture, such as Latinx History Month.
Sanchez said the program serves as a place on campus for all students to feel welcomed to ask for help. The program’s office is located in L-309.
“Sometimes students feel like they need a reason as to why they need to reach out for help,” Sanchez said. “But to that we say, ‘You don’t need any reason to come in here, just come on in.’”
Sanchez was a former Los Rios student before working in the Los Rios District. Sanchez previously worked as a financial aid clerk at Folsom Lake College, as a student support specialist for the MI CASA program and also as the interim director of Upward Bound in the TRIO Services, a program on campus that specializes in helping students in their social, academic and professional goals.
Sanchez became the interim director of the program in October before becoming the director of the program in January. Sanchez said starting out as the program’s student support specialist was one of the ways she was able to accomplish one of her greatest achievements.
“I think just the collaborations I’ve been able to do that,” Sanchez said. “When I was a MI CASA specialist that my goal, my ‘dream job.’’’
Sanchez appreciates the collaboration she’s been able to do with her colleagues and the campus’ students.
Sanchez said she has been a part of the higher education field for five years now.
“I’ve seen students fresh out of high school entering MI CASA and now graduating,” Sanchez said. “They’re now in nursing school doing all kinds of cool stuff.”
Bernardette Velazquez, the Latinx student support specialist, said Sanchez added what MI CASA was missing.
“We’ve had so much fluidity, we’ve had more concrete answers and we’ve had more guidance,” Velazquez said.
Karen Gonzalez, the student support specialist for the program, said working with Sanchez has been great because of how inclusive she is.
“She likes to look inside the box as well as outside the box,” Gonzalez said. “Look at all different perspectives, how is this going to affect the students, how is this going to affect the teachers, the faculty and staff, everyone.”
Gonzalez said Sanchez advocates for everyone a part of the MI CASA program, that being the faculty and students.
Sanchez said she wants to work towards helping students, through MI CASA, for anything they may encounter after they finish their second year.
“I feel like that’s something we want to make sure that we do for students through college tours, workshops, preparing them to transfer and building partnerships with four year universities like Sac State,” Sanchez said.
Velazquez said she admires Sanchez for her leadership.
“She’s revolutionary,” Velazquez said. “She’s not shy about asking the tough questions, she’s not shy about asking ‘Who is this really benefiting?’ or ‘Who is this really affecting?’”