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Dainma Martinez shares personal experience with CUNY CARES
2:16:58
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95 sec
Dainma Martinez provides a detailed account of her experience with the CUNY CARES program, emphasizing its importance and the need for its implementation across all campuses. She shares personal struggles and how CUNY CARES provided crucial support.
- Martinez describes how CUNY CARES helped her avoid losing her home and provided social services
- She highlights the program's assistance with HRA, food stamps, and general support
- The importance of comprehensive support systems for students is emphasized
- Martinez also touches on issues with academic advisement and its impact on graduation rates
Dainma Martinez
2:16:58
So CUNY CARES, we are a big part of a number for CUNY CARES.
2:17:03
Personally I can also testify for CUNY CARES, it's something that should be implemented into all campuses, it's something that should be implemented in general to fund to have fundings towards.
2:17:13
As a great example, I almost lost my home, I almost lost not being able to pay my rent because of knowing that I had to choose either working harder towards school and or either going to work.
2:17:27
I took care of my family, I took care of my mother and my father from since I was a young child technically and once my father passed away and I had to be the sole provider for my mother, CUNY Cares was able to provide me with the social services I needed.
2:17:41
They also provided knowing that we needed HRA, we needed food stamps, we needed just help in general that I cannot take on on myself.
2:17:49
You would think that as a as somebody who is 25 can do things by themselves, not in this society, we cannot do things alone.
2:17:56
At the end of the day and the world, when I first stepped into college, I thought I can do it alone and that didn't work out right.
2:18:02
So having CUNY cares, having advisement, that gives us the motivation to continue to strive.
2:18:07
You speak about why does certain things seem that with the graduation rates ASAP, things like that.
2:18:14
It's not the program.
2:18:15
We have to look inside of the program, inside of the advisement because why do we have certain advisors telling students take these certain classes when you don't see it anywhere in your Degree Works, you don't see it anywhere happening and that is holding students back, that is not allowing students to graduate or be able to feel successful because now they're thinking is it me?