The Goshen College Academic Success Center (ASC) renovated their facilities in the Good Library with help from a $3 million grant from the US Department of Education. The facility was  finished on Monday, August 19, just when classes started. This allows them to expand their services and staff in a new environment, and create a space where students feel welcomed.  

The grant was given to support achievements of Hispanic/Latinx and commuter students, connecting them to careers. “We want to make sure that the students have a solid foundation,” said Michelle Blank, director of academic success. 

Isacc Hernandez, a connections adviser, said  “We were just the five of us.” Hernandez, Blank, Jesse Loewen, Dawn Paul and Areli Bautista worked together at the ASC before, and now have some new roles with the renovation. Hernandez and Bautista are connection advisers,  Loewen works with student athletes, and Blank focuses on accommodations and testing. In addition, Adela Hufford is the director of orientation transition and retention, and Juan Pacheco Lozano serves as student success coordinator, also working with parent engagement, “So each has an area that we are leaning into, to make sure that the support is being offered throughout the entire institution,” Hernandez said. 

A notable addition this year is Hernandez and Bautista’s roles, as they work with all the first year students, guiding them through the transition to college. They provide academic advice, assist with non academic issues, and help students with appropriate resources to succeed. “We try our best to let students know that if their needs are not met within our department we want to make sure that they go to the right direction,” Bautista said. They had a lot of involvement before the academic year started, on new student orientations and welcome week, to be the primary contact in case the students had any questions. 

Some challenges that Hernandez mentioned was handling the new case load — 100 students compared to his previous 20 to 30 — but he and Bautista have a system in place that has been working, “I think overall as we started we are fortunate to not have too many challenges yet,” Hernandez said. Bautista added that providing detailed attention to a larger number of students can be challenging, but they really want to be able to get to know the students and learn from them, “it’s not just checking boxes, we are really intentional about getting to know the student.”   

In addition to working with first year students, the Academic Success Center also works with any students who need help, whether they are failing a class, or just struggling to get their grades up, if they have financial aid questions or they don’t feel like they find their spot, or learning disabilities like dyslexia and anxiety. Blank said, “It’s all about students finding their own success.”