AS Senator Raul Preciado and his mentor, Christopher Burnett
M y entire life, I have been active in the schools I attended. I was always a recognizable figure and, at times, a role model for my fellow students. It does not always begin like that, of course, but my first year at any new place is always full of excitement, promise and possibilities for the future. I always found success in the past thanks to the help and support of my parents and teachers who were there to advise me during difficult times.
When I began college, things were very different. For the first time in my life, I was completely alone in a school larger than any that I had previously attended. While at first I was filled with feelings of optimism for the future, as I commuted to school day to day without any social or educational progress, my optimism faded. I was not enjoying my time at The Beach; my time on campus consisted of sitting in lecture halls and wasting time on a computer at the Horn Center. For someone who had spent the majority of his school life involved in clubs or student government, this was a disappointing start to college.
Things would change, however, when my Partners for Success experience began. When I met Dr. Chris Burnett, I did not know what to expect. While I had mentors in the past, all of those relationships developed informally; none of which had been specifically part of a program like this one.
During our first meeting, I learned that Dr. Burnett was previously a reporter covering politics in Washington. As a political science major, we found common ground. Politics often defined our weekly meetings. For me, this was not only something I enjoyed because I love politics, but our conversations were useful in my political science classes. One of the most important things that occurred as a direct result of Dr. Burnett being my mentor was my quick involvement in Associated Students, Inc. When I expressed interest in getting involved with student government, Dr. Burnett opened the door for me. Dr. Burnett is the faculty representative to AS Government and he introduced me to people there. That same semester, I was chosen for a position on the AS President’s Cabinet.
Since then, things have been different for me. Later that first semester I was approved by the AS Senate for a senator-at-large position. The following semester, I became the senator for the College of Liberal Arts. As a senator, I was able to help my fellow students by passing resolutions, such as one that I sponsored to increase security on campus. I gained valuable experience in writing legislation, as well as in debating, which will help me in the future. One of the best parts of student government is the wonderful people that I had the opportunity to meet. I went from the President’s Cabinet to a senate seat and hope to hold more positions in the future, all of which Dr. Burnett helped make possible.
Mentoring programs like Partners for Success are similar to many things in life, that is, “you get out of it what you put in. “ If you and your mentor share a connection and meet on a regular basis, the results will be positive. I cannot imagine what my college experience today would be without someone like Dr. Burnett to guide and encourage me when things did not look good. I feel the optimism about college that I had at the beginning has come back and, perhaps, is even greater now. A great deal of this is thanks to Dr. Burnett.
I was new to Partners for Success in September 2006 when I met Raul Preciado at the Outpost Bakery and Grill for lunch and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I first talked to him. Our first meeting was pretty much the standard initial meeting with anyone, whether it be a professional meeting, business lunch, or dare I say, a romantic date. You never really know how these meetings are going to go. They are just things you schedule and do as part of your professional and personal life.
Carol Menard-Fulthrop had given me Raul’s name and rudimentary personal information, so I was really flying blind with this.
I quickly realized that Raul also was flying blind. He didn’t know me, didn’t know a whole lot about Partners and he didn’t even know for sure why he was attending CSULB instead of some other school, such as UC San Diego, where he also had applied and been accepted.
I did learn in that first meeting, however, that we shared a big common interest in politics. At Jefferson High School in Los Angeles the previous school year, Raul had been president of his student council. During his senior year, a disturbance occurred at the school, and the media interviewed Raul. He seemed to be relishing his high school years, and he was wondering if he could play the same kind of role at a big school like Cal State Long Beach.
His larger role didn’t happen overnight, but I would like to think that over the past 18 months I played a part in making things work out for him. The reason things have worked out is due, in part, to a lucky coincidence. In addition to being new to Partners, that same semester I also was the new CSULB faculty representative to AS Government. Hearing that Raul had experience and interest in student government made for the perfect mentor/mentee connection.
I recall walking up the hill to the University Student Union with Raul after one of our meetings and introducing him to student government leaders such as 2006-07 AS President Shefali Mistry. Raul put in an application for a position to an appointed position on Shefali’s cabinet and then waited to hear about an appointment.
Although the appointment didn’t happen until spring 2007, Raul eventually got an AS position. Once inside the system, Raul made things happen for himself. He applied for an appointment as a senator and then, last spring, he ran and won a race to be one of two AS senators representing the College of Liberal Arts. In that position, Raul has earned the respect of his peers, being selected by them this fall to preside over meetings whenever AS Vice President Lucy Montano is absent.
At this point Raul really doesn’t need me like he did during those fall days 18 months ago. He is on his way to having a successful career, whether it be in politics or some other kind of public service.
Raul and I still have lunch every week. We attend weekly AS senate meetings together. We have forged a bond. We talk politics, AS as well as state and national politics, and we mix that in a bit with discussions about career goals and life in general. He has become a friend, much more than just a mentee. Establishing relationships with people like Raul is one of the most satisfying things I do as a professor. And for that, I have Partners to thank. I think I learn a lot more from the students I mentor than I give back to them.
I’d like to think I have made a difference in Raul’s life. I know he has made a difference in mine.
