{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/7659c6tw7p/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Margarita Eguizabal Oral History"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMargarita Eguizabal is a counselor in the Percy E. Sutton Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) Program of Queens College. Launched in 1966 by the New York State Legislature, SEEK is a state-funded educational opportunity program of the City University of New York that provides comprehensive academic support to assist capable students who otherwise might not be able to attend college due to their educational and financial circumstances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEguizabal speaks with interviewer Obden Mondesir about her experience as a student in the SEEK Program of Brooklyn College during the 1990s, which included working as a tutor. She later spent several years working as a counselor in Brooklyn College's SEEK program before transferring to Queens College in 2007. Regarding her career transition to Queens College, Eguizabal describes her role in implementing notable changes to Queens College's SEEK Program, including establishing caseloads for counselors and experiential service learning opportunities for freshman students. Additionally, Eguizabal reflects on advocacy efforts over the years to fight proposed budget cuts to SEEK, demographic shifts in the SEEK student population, and the range of issues (academic, financial, and personal) that SEEK counselors can help students navigate.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Source"]},"value":{"en":["Interview conducted as part of the Queens College SEEK History Project."]}},{"label":{"en":["Language"]},"value":{"en":["English"]}},{"label":{"en":["Coverage"]},"value":{"en":["1990s-2020 (temporal)","Queens, NY; Brooklyn, NY (spatial)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2020-01-27 (created)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Margarita Eguizabal (Interviewee)","Obden Mondesir (Interviewer)"]}},{"label":{"en":["Rights Statement"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["Audio"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSummary of Full Interview\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMargarita Eguizabal is a counselor in the Percy E. Sutton Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) Program of Queens College. Launched in 1966 by the New York State Legislature, SEEK is a state-funded educational opportunity program of the City University of New York that provides comprehensive academic support to assist capable students who otherwise might not be able to attend college due to their educational and financial circumstances.\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eEguizabal speaks with interviewer Obden Mondesir about her experience as a student in the SEEK Program of Brooklyn College during the 1990s, which included working as a tutor. She later spent several years working as a counselor in Brooklyn College's SEEK program before transferring to Queens College in 2007. Regarding her career transition to Queens College, Eguizabal describes her role in implementing notable changes to Queens College's SEEK Program, including establishing caseloads for counselors and experiential service learning opportunities for freshman students. Additionally, Eguizabal reflects on advocacy efforts over the years to fight proposed budget cuts to SEEK, demographic shifts in the SEEK student population, and the range of issues (academic, financial, and personal) that SEEK counselors can help students navigate.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"requiredStatement":{"label":{"en":["Attribution"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCC BY-NC-SA Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.\u003c/p\u003e"]}},"provider":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Queens Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/010/original/Aviary_QPLlogo_192x192.png?1578574261","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/302/886/small/eguizabal_margarita_20200127_portrait_resized.jpg?1770998250","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - eguizabal_margarita_20200127_edit.mp3"]},"duration":1855.47755,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/302/886/small/eguizabal_margarita_20200127_portrait_resized.jpg?1770998250","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-queenslibrary.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/302/886/original/eguizabal_margarita_20200127_edit.mp3?1771000276","type":"Audio","format":"audio/mpeg","duration":1855.47755,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Full Transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Today's date is","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1.0,3.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: The 27th.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=3.0,4.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Yes. Today's date is January 27th, 2020. My name is Obden Mondesir. I'm collecting this oral history on the behalf of the Queens College Special Collections and Archive, and I am with","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=4.0,17.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Margarita Eguizabal.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=17.0,21.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And, I guess the first thing I'm gonna ask is what year, what year you're born?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=21.0,25.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: What year was I born? '72 \u003claugh\u003e.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=25.0,27.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And, where?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=27.0,30.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: I was born in El Salvador.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=30.0,32.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And, what I want, what this oral history is about is collecting oral histories from SEEK faculty and students, talking about the history of SEEK. What I'm gonna ask is what led you to becoming a SEEK counselor?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=32.0,55.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Well, I went to Brooklyn College and I was a SEEK student at Brooklyn College. I'm the only one that's a SEEK student in my family, because even though I have an older sister who started college, no one told her about SEEK until she actually entered the school and learned about the opportunity that was there for us. So I actually qualified for the program in both ways, academically and financially.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=55.0,84.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And what year did you go to Brooklyn College?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=84.0,87.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: I started there in 1990. Right after that, I started tutoring for the program in itself. During that time we had remedial courses, so I did the remedial courses and I did so well after that that I just stayed helping the students. Then I got hired as a tutor and had just kind of risen through the ranks. I took some time off, a break, and then I came back and finished my bachelor's degree and finished my master's and then I was hired there as a counselor. I stayed there for about three or four years in that capacity, and then transferred to Queens College for a different opportunity. In terms of transportation, even though it seemed the same, yet, it's very different when you're looking at parking and everything else. So there was just a different part of me that was looking for something else as well. But, it was still doing the same particular and working with the students. So that's how I came here in 2007.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=87.0,153.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Mm-hmm. \u003caffirmative\u003e. What was it like, working at Brooklyn College first?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=153.0,161.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Well, I have to say, I was working under one of the, I would say one of the more influential directors there has been in the SEEK program, in terms of, when you're looking at the scope of all directors. Her name was Martha J. Bell. Martha Bell was someone who, you know, even though she had a Jewish background, she had a passion-- gosh, she was fervent about the SEEK program and how she ran the program and unified people. So I would say to you that definitely during 1995, which was one of my last semesters there, we were going through the year of Governor Pataki. He actually cut the SEEK program completely off the budget. That year we actually packed a number of buses to go up to Albany to lobby for the SEEK program. So as a student, I could definitely say that that is something that I saw, and that's something that I experienced. It is something that we have done here as well. You know, almost 10 years from that day, I was actually on another bus and I was having such a laughter because I was like, wow. 10 years from '95, we were on our way [to Albany] requesting more funds and for funds not to be eliminated from the programs, both SEEK and College Discovery. So, you know, that's my experience in that aspect.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=161.0,255.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: With your transition from working at SEEK at Brooklyn College to Queens, what are some of the things that you noticed?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=255.0,264.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Well, I would say every SEEK program runs a little bit different in every college. Like I said, I came from someone who was probably like, you know, a lead in terms of, Brooklyn College is definitely used to taking the lead being very innovative in the processes that we did for different students. So when I came here to Queens College, they were following, what they called there was at that point it was doing a FIPSE grant and just learning different ways to help students have better academic outcomes. So when I came here it was different. It was definitely very different. I employed some of the things that I had learned there to the success I think of the program, which is nowadays to some degree. There were things—methods and processes that we were using at Brooklyn that perhaps were not being utilized at Queens College.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=264.0,327.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Could you give me an example?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=327.0,329.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Okay. So for instance, one of the first things that I noticed is that they didn't have a caseload. At some point I did hear from other counselors, like Mr. Modeste, that there were caseloads [in the past]. At that time that I came, there weren't any caseloads. So the students kind of were just kind of going to anyone's whose door was open. So if your door was open, available, students stayed there. I would have a line literally almost going around the corner from my office. I said, \"I need a caseload.\" \u003claugh\u003e Because I can't have a student come into my office and they go shopping around to another counselor. So we built up the caseload, with other administrators. We worked the registration, which now has been worked on even more, so now it's even completely different from when I started.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=329.0,389.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: You know, those are some of the things. For instance, now we have very strong experiential service learning. We do volunteer. All of our freshmen, they're coming their first year. They're doing two semesters of volunteering. I started that here. I didn't see anyone really doing that. I started with my class and then the other counselors got involved. There's a point where, here in Queens College, we didn't have as many counselors, so there was a lot of work to do, among the ones that were actually here. I mean, there was a time where I think my caseload was above 300.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=389.0,433.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: 300 students?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=433.0,434.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: 300 students. So it was a lot. And there weren't that many of us. Nowadays we're blessed. We have a number of counselors, so I'm very happy that different projects have been distributed to different counselors. So we see different ways of doing it. And, yes, it's good because it's doing well--","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=434.0,456.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: mm-hmm. \u003caffirmative\u003e","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=456.0,457.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: You know, and they bring their own experience and their own energy to it and it's good. So we have at least those three things there. There were times where I remember when I just arrived, we usually do something for our graduating seniors and they used to call it the SEEK luncheon. But they weren't a lot of students attending. We were able to regain the confidence of our seniors saying, \"Hey, we're here for you.\" To the point where, after perhaps making some of the adjustments in terms of having their counselors and actually being in the case knowing that this person was here for you, that the students started to get into also into the rhythm of, okay, I get to hear from my counselor everything that's happening and I become more involved and then become more active.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=457.0,519.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: So now that has, I think, mutated. It went from graduate luncheon to graduate gala to now what they call pinning ceremony. You know, it's a family atmosphere. We welcome all our graduating seniors and we get to enjoy it, I think more. Yeah. So those are some of the things that I brought in, that we are doing. We now have a national honor society that we've had within the SEEK programs. It's called Chi Alpha Epsilon. When I came here, they had a chapter, but it was not an active chapter. We started it again with new students, a new cohort, and now one of the counselors runs that particular project as well. So there were things like that, that sometimes people don't think as important or may not see them, how much they impact the student, when the student can see themselves being valued for what they have been able to achieve.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=519.0,591.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Sometimes, believe it or not, they may not have as many people out there in their family members or in their community who are always cheering them on. There may be different factors going on. They may not even be a lot of family behind them. So having the people that you are working with, like your counselor's, telling you that \"You can do this and just come on, one more semester, this is what you have to do. You're gonna get through this.\" It's different. So then they feel that, and having things like the Chi Alpha, having things like the pinning ceremony nowadays and just knowing that they have that person they can reach out to, their counselor and in the caseload, you know, it's like you're accountable as well as a student to be able to show up to this person. This person is sending you emails, so you have to be able to speak to them as well. So these are things that are also helping the student realize there's a part of me that is not, I'm not just going to school and coming out, but I'm going to school and there's a program and there are people who are expecting to see me and see me become active and involved in all these different areas.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=591.0,658.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Cool. As a student, what was your experience or your relationship with your counselors? You were saying that as a counselor you have to make sure that you're there for the students. Was it the same for you when you're going to school, when you were attending Brooklyn College?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=658.0,674.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: I would say so. My counselor, I remember, Mr. Herrera. It was a little bit different because I was so involved within the program itself, I was helping them. Yet at the same time I was being counseled and I was also helping other students at the same time. So I think I took on a little bit more initiative in terms of knowing things, because then I would be able to help other students as well. So I think that's what caught the attention of the director a little bit more in terms of what I was doing. Because I was being helped, but at the same, through helping others, I was learning more of the material, or experiences that one would have with students, you know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=674.0,724.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And what did you receive your degree in?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=724.0,729.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: My bachelor's is in sociology and my master's is in counseling. I have an advanced counseling certificate as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=729.0,736.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. I know that a lot of the counselors usually have a degree in sociology or psychology. I guess in regards to Queens College, could you discuss some of the staff that you've worked with? I know that, there's Frank Franklin mm-hmm. \u003caffirmative\u003e, that was the director of SEEK at Queens College for a very long time. What was it like, working under him?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=736.0,765.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Well, Mr. Frank Franklin was definitely a very genuine, kind person. I think when I first arrived, he was also a bit on the laid back kind of side area. I was a little like, okay, what do I do? What can I do? I was coming from an atmosphere that was more, how can I say, just very different in the way they were. They would create things, you know, and move, move, push, push, push, push, push. Mr. Franklin was more like, let me hear, let me see how can we make this better, but more laid back. It was definitely a welcome moment of, okay, so let's see what we're doing, how we're doing it, why we're doing it, how can we implement it here? He was always open, you know, what would you like to do?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=765.0,816.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: How can we do this? How can we be better, how is that gonna better serve our students? How can it be effective? Who can we help or, or who can we get to cooperate with us and things like that. So in that aspect, I think it was really different, you know, working with him and his work, different people, you kind of had to move around that. So it was good. It was really good because he was actually very open to new ideas and doing things a little bit different. Like I said, the caseload was definitely one of those. Of course I took the initiative in trying to build that caseload for the existing counselors during that time. So it's definitely different in the aspect of different managerial styles, but definitely welcoming in the aspect that they allow you to do and bring in and they're open to new ideas.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=816.0,876.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. Tell me about the students. Like what's it like working with SEEK students or the SEEK population? Are there any students that come to mind since working at Queens College since 2007?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=876.0,896.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Well, I'm not sure if the student is very different from general population. There are definitely some differences, but it would be dismissing the fact that there are also general population students who are first generation students that didn't make our program, or it didn't qualify for our program. So I don't think there's a very big difference except that in the services that we provide to the students, I think it makes a very big difference in their career in college. In terms of from the counseling, and as a counselor, I know that I could sit there with them and talk about career. We could talk about personal issues. Definitely the academic part is, you know, that's our bread and butter in terms of discussing what type of courses you're taking, program, planning, thinking about graduate school as well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=896.0,952.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: There's always that additional that if they're going through hardships, either financial, personal, whatever it is, that they can come to you and share. You can either refer or find ways to help them deal with that issue. So I think that's what our students get as being part of our program, you know. Different from any other; yes, there's a lot more of our students that seem to be first generation students and don't have anyone to ask or, have an idea of what it would be to go to college. So their questions sometimes to other people might sound like, well, we should know this, this is college. Well, no, it's not. This is not, you know, this is their first opportunity into looking at it. So we tried not to take that for granted that, you know, they may not have someone to ask that, this is gonna take more time, but it's okay. Mm-hmm. \u003caffirmative\u003e, we're here for them.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=952.0,1022.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Could you think of any examples? Where have you experienced that? Where someone asks a question where it's like, oh, I can just walk you through this.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1022.0,1029.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Oh my gosh. All right. Well, thinking about it, samples. I'm sure I can think of a million things. \u003claugh\u003e. Hmm. Let's see. I mean, just at this moment, I really can't say I can think of one directly. But I do know that many of our students, they come back and share what it meant for them. I could definitely share that. There's a person that works here. One of our students, there's several of our students that work here, and particularly mine, they're around main offices. One of them works in the financial aid office. I remember that she was already a mom and she was going through a lot of challenges getting babysitting. I said to her, well, look, you're at this number of semesters from finishing up. If you need someone to take care of the baby while you're there, well, let me know.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1029.0,1098.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: I'll find someone, I'll figure something out for you. We'll work this out, but we're going to get you to come through, you know. She remembers that to this day. She said, I didn't need to because I was able to find someone. But she said, just the idea that you were willing to do that for me, I knew that I had to work harder at it. She works now, she's been working in financial aid here at Queens College for a number of years. So there's several experiences. I just, you know, can't think of one right now.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1098.0,1132.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: That's fine.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1132.0,1133.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Did you know that, at a certain point in SEEK, that they did have a daycare center for the students?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1133.0,1143.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Yes. As a matter of fact, believe it or not, I believe that there are a number of projects or programs that are out now in Queens College that have to do with some of the things that the counselors in the program started really early on. That was definitely one of those that I heard Mr. Modeste speak about. Mm-hmm. \u003caffirmative\u003e. Then it was taken by the college and made available for everyone in the general population as well. Which is a good thing. I know that the mentoring program that we have right now is one. Prior to that there used to be a gentleman that used to work here, Tom Gibson. He was an academic coordinator for the program. But at least when I came in 2007 he started doing something with the mentors. From that they made that Project ExCel [a part of the CUNY Black Male Initiative (BMI) that provides men of color with services and support that contribute to academic and professional success in college]. And they were looking into, you know, coordinating it with the BMI and things like that. So yeah, I know that there are some programs that definitely had what seemed to be a continuation from what the SEEK program has started and kind of made it, you know, part of the general college population.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1143.0,1231.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: And earlier you mentioned that in '95 [Governer] Pataki cuts funding from SEEK and then, 2005 you go in protest. Could you tell me about like what happens in 2005?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1231.0,1247.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Well, definitely there was-- this talk of cutting the budget down and, we had different colleges meet. We actually went up with NYPIRG and--","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1247.0,1261.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: What could you tell me?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1261.0,1262.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: NYPIRG [New York Public Interest Research Group] that's in the college here, they're the group that works with, the actual entire name I don't know, but it's NYPIRG, I could definitely send you the information. They were going as well. And we took a couple of students up to Albany to talk to some of the legislators about continuing to support our program and to show them with statistics, you know, how many of our students are benefiting from [SEEK] and how well they're doing, you know, it's not like they're just here and not doing well, but they're here and actually doing really well. Without that additional help and moneys into the program, then we don't do as much, you know, in terms of tutoring, hiring tutors, faculty members, counselors, and sometimes just additionals. Like sometimes we'll have additional money for MetroCards and our students are very happy to have a MetroCard and take that burden off themselves, you know, because it's not something we do on a regular basis. When there is additional [money], the Office of Special Programs has allowed us to give to our students those MetroCards and they find it very helpful. So, remind me the question again?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1262.0,1353.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: It was, I guess what was happening in 2005 where you had to go to Albany?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1353.0,1359.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: That's it. Every time I think about when the budget is coming, everyone's always very hesitant, are they gonna take money away? Are they gonna give any money? Sometimes it's like, okay, we're taking this amount, so we're asking, we tell our students that we are active participants, in keeping our program going by actively voting, actively talking to our legislators and assembly people that have something to say about the budget that we actually have in our program. So those are some of the things that, that were happening. And that's why we went up cause there was a proposed budget cut.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1359.0,1404.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Mmhmm","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1404.0,1407.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Significant. But I think we did very well that year. We actually did manage to either through the influence of others, you know, cause there were different schools that went up at different times, not to get a budget cut, but to actually get a budget raise.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1407.0,1429.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: So you mentioned that at one point you had like 300 [person] caseloads. Was that in relation to the budget or just there was an influx of students and not as much staff at that particular time?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1429.0,1443.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Honestly, I think it had to do a little bit with both. I think it was the budget that the Queens College SEEK program had. And they always have to request to our central Office of Special Services for additional people to work in. So there was a bit of both, you know, getting approval for additional people and getting the budget to be able to pay those additional people. Because that money comes from the central office [CUNY Office of Special Programs], you know, so I think it was a little bit of both because God knows that throughout these years, we've definitely been able to acquire a number of additional counselors, which has been extremely helpful.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1443.0,1490.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Mm-hmm. \u003caffirmative\u003e. And that's good to hear. I guess what one of the questions is, describe the demographics of the students that you worked with. Talking to people like Mr. Modeste and Alan Townsend, they mentioned that it changes, from the, dramatically from the seventies to I would say the eighties. I'm wondering, is that the same case for you since 2005?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1490.0,1531.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: I have to say yes. I think there are, there are times that you get like a flow of an ethnic group, and then it kind of begins to— you just get different flows. So there was at least two to three years that we had a lot of Asian students come in. And so we, there was different things that we had to do to work with them. Because there was nothing wrong with them academically. It was a language acquisition issue. So you work with the needs of that population. So I think sometimes you'll see different flows of different ethnic groups, and sometimes their needs are different. You know, they're not all the same. Like I said, our Asian population, they were academically strong to some degree, but the language acquisition wasn't there.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1531.0,1591.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: So working on that was challenging because we have very limited time to help them. I've seen that happen. I've seen, nowadays where we're trying to be intentional of including African American students, males. There's a more intentional process of getting them to perhaps come in, see that there's an opportunity, that there are others that look like you, that are in the program, that are succeeding in the program. I don't know if you spoke to Mr. Walter Dogan, you should definitely speak to him because he's the admissions, he started I think a year before me, but he also could definitely tell you a little bit about the influx since then because he is the admissions counselor. So I know that we have, he has gone to churches, you know, any place that we would tell them about [SEEK].","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1591.0,1661.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: We brought in counselors from the high schools to see what our program is all about, so that they can see that it's a real program and their students are getting real support. And there's nothing wrong with our students or our program, you know, that everyone here is succeeding and just doing exactly what they need to do, in terms of being in the college atmosphere, you know? So, yeah, there are different influxes and right now, like I said, there is more intentional into the male, African-American, the black population, so that they can come, stay and succeed, graduate, and move on to other things.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1661.0,1714.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: You know, late sixties, seventies, some of the things I've heard discussed is that being part of the SEEK faculty, there was a particular stigma being on the Queens College campus, just because in the beginning, that was the only opportunity for any real diversity into the school. So when you come in, in 2007, did you feel any of that at all?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1714.0,1747.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: Hmm. Personally, I don't think so. Maybe because, at that moment, they had done already a lot of the legwork and, there were already a number of faculties through these departments. I know that there are sometimes people who still don't know the program, so when you say SEEK, they're like, \"what is that?\" It can be because either they're new to the system or simply they're just in their own world and not really looking what's going on elsewhere in the college, you know? So I think I don't take that personal and I do what I have to do with my students in that aspect. I don't think I had that. By the time I came in, there was a working relationship with many of the offices that I work with in terms of bursar, admissions, financial aid, so we were able to help our students as well, you know, with them. So there was already some collaboration with them.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1747.0,1819.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay. Cool. All right. Are there any anecdotes that you'd like to share that illustrates what we've talked about in the last 30 minutes?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1819.0,1836.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Margarita Eguizabal: No, not at this time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1836.0,1845.0"},{"id":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886/transcript/90119/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Obden Mondesir: Okay.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://queenslibrary.aviaryplatform.com/collections/150/collection_resources/166428/file/302886#t=1845.0,1855.34694"}]}]}]}