2008 Woodie Awards
STUDENT PROFILE: Erica Mena
AYESHA KAZMI
Issue date: 12/15/04 Section: Arts
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Like all other students, Mena is tirelessly bustling around finishing classes, writing papers, and taking exams during final days of the semester before winter break.
On top of her academics, Mena, a junior, English major, and an Honors Program student, ambitiously labors the extra miles to give back to UMass Boston.
Mena was not only elected to the Student Senate for this academic year, she also sits on the Student Events and Organization Committee (SEOC), works for the Admissions Office to recruit new students to UMB, and is also the editor-in-chief of the Watermark. "We did our first ever fall issue of the Watermark," informed Mena, "so that doubled our work for the year."
Since her arrival to UMB back in fall of 2001, Mena has realized that despite the adversity she faced throughout high school, college would be her time to flourish and shine.
Before to coming to UMB, "I had a terrible time in traditional high school. At 16 I dropped out and lived on the streets for a little while."
At 17, Mena gave high school another shot at a non-traditional high school where the requirements and curriculum were flexible. "You could literally do your own thing." The freedoms of a non-traditional high school shaped her views about education so that by the time she was ready to apply to college "the only place I considered was UMB."
Mena, like many students, tried out UMB during the summer before she started. From her first experiences, she recalled, "I wanted to stay around the people that I met that summer. This is the most supportive environment that I have ever been a part of."
As a non-traditional student attempting college at a later age, one of Mena's largest concerns was finding an environment where she would feel comfortable and supported. "I didn't want to be the only freak starting college at a much later age," remarked Mena.
"I didn't feel out of place at all," said Mena. "The stories the students have at UMB are so much better than any place else. Everyone here has a cool story-I mean, I've never met a boring person here."
Mena's main academic involvement has been in the Creative Writing Program. She feels that "there isn't a better place to do creative writing in Boston than at UMB." Under the creative writing program, Mena had the rare opportunity to work face to face with writers and poets like Martin Espada and other Pulitzer Prize writers.