SACMEN Celebrates Ten Years

For Sergio Guerrero Sonora, 来到圣安东尼奥学院只是他必须完成的又一项任务. A graduate of Lanier High School, he planned to go to classes, do his homework, and go home and chill until the next day.

During his second semester at SAC, 当他加入圣安东尼奥大学男性赋权网络后，情况开始发生变化, known as SACMEN. 他对这个小组很熟悉，因为他的一位高中老师向他推荐了这个小组.

虽然他开始参加SACMEN会议，但他这样做是有保留的.

“When I first got here, 我觉得这有点奇怪，因为加入一个组织，和你不认识的人说话, it’s kind of not my thing,” he said, adding that it was  out of his comfort zone.

但一旦他加入，SACMEN的导师们就会确保他继续留在团队中.

很快，认为自己是个害羞的人的索诺拉发现自己与其他学生建立了联系. He learned skills  to help him be a more successful student, and he pursued networking opportunities in cybersecurity, the field he wants to follow once he finishes college.

索诺拉是数百名通过SACMEN在大学取得成功的有色人种男学生之一, which celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year on campus.

参与德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的male项目(指导拉丁裔教育成功), SACMEN的成立是为了帮助有色人种男性通过领导力培训和社交机会获得学术支持.

学术成功中心主任Geraldo Guerra是SACMEN的现任主任. 他与学生成功中心主任莫娜·阿尔达纳-拉米雷斯一起帮助创建了这个组织, who served as the first director. 他们的任务是解决有色人种男性学生毕业率在所有学生群体中最低的问题.

Guerra在SAC读书时有过一段很棒的经历，他说他想帮助别人.

“M8体育APP从来没有讨论过少数族裔男性的需求，”格拉说. 他补充说，没有人谈论他们面临的困难以及他们不愿寻求帮助.

从最初的一小群学生开始，SACMEN每年都在稳步增长. It also gained recognition outside of the SAC campus. In 2018, SACMEN received an outstanding program award at the 5^th Annual Texas Male Student Leadership Summit, 该奖项首次由德州有色人种男性学生教育联盟颁发.

In 2019, 当SACMEN从学生成功部门转到学术成功部门时，Guerra接管了这个小组. 他的第一个行动是采用“男性计划”的五大支柱作为SACMEN的核心价值观. The pillars are:

• Brotherhood
• Leadership
• College and Career Readiness
• Health and Wellness
• Identity

格拉说:“M8体育APP所有的项目活动都围绕着这五大支柱来巩固M8体育APP的行动.

Another change that came to the group was getting a place of their own on campus.  The SACMEN lounge, on the 7^th floor of the Moody Learning Center, provided a dedicated space for studying, mentoring, and brotherhood.

网络是SACMEN使命的重要组成部分-帮助学生不仅相互联系，而且与教师和工作人员联系, but others outside of SAC. One of the biggest opportunities came in 2019, when SACMEN was invited to join community leaders on a trip to Washington 与国会议员及其工作人员讨论对圣安东尼奥重要的问题. Organized by the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, 这是大学生第一次被邀请参加.

During the last several years, SACMEN also has also hosted pláticas during the school year, 邀请社区领袖在校园里吃午餐，就广泛的问题进行对话，并就学术和职业发展提出建议.

The sense of brotherhood is also a strong component of SACMEN. 第一次加入这个小组的害羞的学生学习如何成为领导者，他们, in turn, become mentors when new members arrive. 一些转到其他大学的前SAC学生回来支持这个组织.

Looking back over 10 years, 格拉说，SACMEN持续成功的原因是创造了一种归属感. “Creating authentic relationships. 和每个学生交谈要花很多时间，但这是值得的。.

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