Transcribe
Translate
Latino-Native American Cultural Center newspaper clippings, 1972-1988
More information
digital collection
archival collection guide
transcription tips
Part 5 REASSURANCE Esther Materon-Arum Coethe C. Adams Dora Cobos Marcee M. Turner "It's fun, saying to people, 'This is within your reach,' and then seeing them go out and get it." To watch Esther Materon-Arum in action at UI Special Support Services is to watch a graceful dancer. That's partly because Arum brings lightness and energy and exuberance to her work as coordinator of academic support programs. But even more so, it's because she makes difficult tasks look easy. To illustrate: One undergraduate with whom Arum works, Marcee M. Turner, entered the university wanting to major in premedicine and Japanese. More than once, people asked Turner, "How do you do that?" Arum simply said to her, "Why not? Let's get together and plan your four years." Later, when Turner's interests switched to sociology, Arum sat down with Turner's mother to assure her of the rightness of the change. With another student, prelaw major Dora Cobos, Arum played a role in her transfer from Nebraska to the UI. More important, since Cobos is in her late 20s, Arum frankly described the challenges she would face as a non-traditional undergrad and has helped Cobos adapt. Since Cobos is eager to enter law school as soon as possible, Arum also works to expedite Cobos's undergraduate work. Another student, biology major, Coethe Adams, arrived at the UI with medical school goals. When he met Arum during his first semester at Iowa, she asked about his ambitions and background, then looked at his schedule of classes and saw it was not right for meeting these goals. Arum helped schedule Adams's second semester at Iowa, then referred him to an adviser who could continue to ensure that his undergraduate education would prepare him for what lies ahead. These are not isolated occurrences. To Arum, such advice, assistance and influence is business as usual. But to the minority students she helps, it often means the difference between frustration and satisfaction. COBOS: I am lucky I have someone like Esther, whom I can look up to and who--she hates this term but I'm going to use it--is a role model. I've watched her skills, not only with myself but with others, and I respect the way she works with people. With Esther, there are no facades, no show. She's a straight shooter. And she has a genuine concern for people. TURNER: You can see she cares. Esther proves that if your self-confidence gets low, you can always bring it back up, because she believes in you. She passes on to her students the attitude that failure isn't the end. Everybody's human, she says, And you've never succeeded until you've failed. ADAMS: Of all the people I've dealt with here, she has been the one most willing to help. And she's directed me to people who were also willing to help. She has a genuine interest in people. TURNER: If someone says to me, "Well, I've thought about this, this and this--these are the only solutions to the problem," the first thing I say is, "Go see Esther. I'll bet she comes up with at least five other solutions you've never thought of." ARUM: I think part of that has to do with the way I grew up--with no solutions. I'd bang myself against a big wall most of the time. But having managed to escape this through scholarships and being lucky enough to travel extensively and meet people and observe how much variety there is in the world, I've seen that there [[italics]]are[[end italics]] solutions. It's fun, saying to people, "This is within your reach," and then seeing them go out and get it. From U of I brochure Spring 1988 Cont'd on back
Saving...
prev
next
Part 5 REASSURANCE Esther Materon-Arum Coethe C. Adams Dora Cobos Marcee M. Turner "It's fun, saying to people, 'This is within your reach,' and then seeing them go out and get it." To watch Esther Materon-Arum in action at UI Special Support Services is to watch a graceful dancer. That's partly because Arum brings lightness and energy and exuberance to her work as coordinator of academic support programs. But even more so, it's because she makes difficult tasks look easy. To illustrate: One undergraduate with whom Arum works, Marcee M. Turner, entered the university wanting to major in premedicine and Japanese. More than once, people asked Turner, "How do you do that?" Arum simply said to her, "Why not? Let's get together and plan your four years." Later, when Turner's interests switched to sociology, Arum sat down with Turner's mother to assure her of the rightness of the change. With another student, prelaw major Dora Cobos, Arum played a role in her transfer from Nebraska to the UI. More important, since Cobos is in her late 20s, Arum frankly described the challenges she would face as a non-traditional undergrad and has helped Cobos adapt. Since Cobos is eager to enter law school as soon as possible, Arum also works to expedite Cobos's undergraduate work. Another student, biology major, Coethe Adams, arrived at the UI with medical school goals. When he met Arum during his first semester at Iowa, she asked about his ambitions and background, then looked at his schedule of classes and saw it was not right for meeting these goals. Arum helped schedule Adams's second semester at Iowa, then referred him to an adviser who could continue to ensure that his undergraduate education would prepare him for what lies ahead. These are not isolated occurrences. To Arum, such advice, assistance and influence is business as usual. But to the minority students she helps, it often means the difference between frustration and satisfaction. COBOS: I am lucky I have someone like Esther, whom I can look up to and who--she hates this term but I'm going to use it--is a role model. I've watched her skills, not only with myself but with others, and I respect the way she works with people. With Esther, there are no facades, no show. She's a straight shooter. And she has a genuine concern for people. TURNER: You can see she cares. Esther proves that if your self-confidence gets low, you can always bring it back up, because she believes in you. She passes on to her students the attitude that failure isn't the end. Everybody's human, she says, And you've never succeeded until you've failed. ADAMS: Of all the people I've dealt with here, she has been the one most willing to help. And she's directed me to people who were also willing to help. She has a genuine interest in people. TURNER: If someone says to me, "Well, I've thought about this, this and this--these are the only solutions to the problem," the first thing I say is, "Go see Esther. I'll bet she comes up with at least five other solutions you've never thought of." ARUM: I think part of that has to do with the way I grew up--with no solutions. I'd bang myself against a big wall most of the time. But having managed to escape this through scholarships and being lucky enough to travel extensively and meet people and observe how much variety there is in the world, I've seen that there [[italics]]are[[end italics]] solutions. It's fun, saying to people, "This is within your reach," and then seeing them go out and get it. From U of I brochure Spring 1988 Cont'd on back
Campus Culture
sidebar
