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El Centro Chicano y Latino is open Mon - Fri, 10am - 5pm.  

Academic Programming

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Study Nights

Study Nights are a series of study sessions taking place on Sunday nights in the Centro Community Room.

These events usually occur during the middle and end of each quarter, just in time for midterms and finals. Here we hold space for students to eat a meal, study, and take a break from academic stress with different activities, all while being in community. Academic help from tutors is also available for students during Study Nights.

Frosh Scholars Program

What is the Frosh Scholars Program?

The Frosh Scholars Program, co-sponsored by El Centro and the Office of Undergraduate Advising and Research (UAR), is a fall and winter quarter program that helps freshmen make a successful transition from high school to college by matching them with Stanford graduate student mentors and by offering workshops on essential life skills such as time-management, mindfulness techniques, financial literary and public speaking. By meeting with their mentors and attending the workshops, Frosh Scholars will learn how to navigate a mentor/mentee relationship, access campus resources and cultivate new academic and life skills by the end of the winter quarter. Many of our frosh students are the first in their family to attend college and thus they face unique challenges in making the transition to Stanford. For that reason, we have designed a program that ultimately aims to empower freshmen who are Latino or from other diverse backgrounds to be more Reflective, Resourceful and Resilient so that they can successfully bounce back from the mistakes and failures that are part of any educational journey. These three Rs serve as our program’s motto and they also remind students that the key to being a successful student at Stanford is to enjoy the entire learning process instead of solely focusing on achievement.

What Frosh Scholars have said about the program:

“Getting to know [my mentor] and getting his advice on various topics really helped crystallize the Frosh Scholars lessons for me while allowing me the opportunity to know someone who has travelled the undergraduate path and knows its ins and outs.”

“Every Stanford student comes in as a high-achieving high school student. The Frosh Scholars program transformed me into a high achieving college student.”

“If there’s one thing I learned from the workshops that will leave an everlasting imprint on me is that although you may not be the smartest or the best, you can be the best you that you can be and that there are people and resources out there who want to help you be that person. You just have to get out there and see for yourself.”

What mentors have said about the program:

“I think the biggest benefit [of the program] for myself was seeing someone who has experienced similar circumstances as myself and feeling that I now had the perspective to offer useful advice on how to cope and thrive here at Stanford.”

“[The Frosh Scholars Program] made me realize how far I've come since I was their age, and hopefully, they were able to see what is possible for them after finishing undergraduate studies.”

“The program was perfect! Wouldn't change a thing.”

Honors Thesis Mentorship Program

Project Description

The honors thesis mentorship program matches undergraduates who are engaged in the preparation, research or composition phase of writing an honors thesis with a doctoral student (preferably in a related field) as a mentor. The purpose of the program is to provide encouragement and support for the undergraduate student and to keep them focused on the importance of engaging in original research and writing. Ideally, mentors will be matched with their mentees for the duration of project, from the time that the student begins work on their research project until they have completed it. This may mean that an undergraduate and graduate student will work together for up to three years. In the event that an undergraduate may require a different mentor, this can be done, though this would be most conveniently done at the beginning of a new academic year. Still, exceptions can be made.

Guidelines for Mentees

We choose doctoral students as mentors in order to provide some extra encouragement during the process of research and/or writing of an undergraduate's honors thesis.

You may ask your mentor to discuss your project or look at a draft of your thesis (providing that they have the time to do this), but you are strongly advised to closely follow the recommendations given by your official honors thesis advisor and/or your thesis committee for revisions. Know that you must always defer to the authority of your official advisors.

We hope that the example provided by your mentor will provide inspiration as you begin work on or complete your honors thesis.

How to Enroll in the Program:

If you are interested in being matched with a graduate student mentor, please fill out this form.

Resources:

For a full description of honors programs, thesis requirements, funding and other resources please visit these pages:

Guidelines for Mentors

Your role is to meet at least once in person with your mentee during the year to provide encouragement and support for the student who is engaged in either research and/or writing of their honors thesis.
It is recommended that you emphasize the importance of choosing to write an honors thesis, for reasons including

  1. to demonstrate to potential employers that a student is capable of defining a project on their own and seeing it to completion.
  2. to produce a scholarly essay that can be used later to submit as supporting evidence for an application to graduate school.

You may discuss your mentee’s work with them, but you are strongly advised to make sure that the student is following the directions given to them by their faculty or official honors thesis advisor. Any advice you offer should be general in nature and should support the recommendations of the official advisor and/or thesis committee.

If you are interested in becoming a graduate student mentor, please fill out this form.

Concerns and Suggestions

El Centro is coordinating this program in an effort to support undergraduates in the writing and completion of an honors thesis. Any concerns or suggestions regarding this honors thesis mentorship program should be addressed to Margaret Sena.