Student testimonials

The MVP program was similar to AERIE and was a living learning community that offered mentorship opportunities.

“I couldn’t understand why being around people that looked like you was important to some people. I had never experienced what it was like to actually be around a group of other people of color and to feel that kind of comfort. It feels kind of weird that this school of 90% white people would be the one to provide me with this kind of experience, but it has been really good.” - First-year student

“Without the MVP program I would have felt lost, especially in the beginning. This program is how I made my first connections.” - Second-year scholar

“In my meetings with my advisors and mentor has indeed made me feel as though I’ve got a good system of dealing with anything that might happen to me in the future, and that’s a very good feeling and I’m glad I have these resources to help me along.” - First-year Scholar

“I am excited to be a mentor this year. I am excited to be able to help incoming freshmen get used to campus and college life. I also think I will have fun and be able to gain good experience mentoring people that will help me later on in life. I’m excited to see how this year develops and how I will grow as a person and a mentor.” - Second-year Scholar

"I loved the community that we have and liked living next to my MVP peers. I wish we could expand this program more to convert it into something bigger to guide students of color during their first years at UWL" - First-year Scholar

"This was such a great opportunity that I was given and I am glad I was apart of it. I got to meet and connect to people who I don't really know. As this is a PWI, recognizing I was not the only POC made me at ease. I really improved who I was through this opportunity." - First-year Scholar

"If I did not have MVP then I would not know about all the MSO’s and made many multicultural friends out of it plus it really made me want to branch out and I got to have experiences that I probably wouldn’t go to!" - First-year Scholar

"MVP was an amazing experience for me. I come from a hometown with little to no cultural diversity so being with other likeminded people was extremely comforting!" First-year Scholar

"As a freshman, I thought that having MVP it allowed me to be more comfortable already having a set community that I could turn to. I believe that a lot of students of color could benefit from this opportunity." First-year Scholar