Students Find Sanctuary in Student Services Center
This semester, Santa Monica College (SMC) opened its brand new Student Services Center (SSC) on main campus. Modern in architecture and covered in pristine blue glass, hundreds of students walk through its sliding glass doors every day to take advantage of its multiple services. The new building is host to multiple on-campus programs, including Black Collegians, Financial Aid, and Admissions.
One program located at SSC is the International Education Center, which occupies the third floor and provides services to hundreds of international students from Asia, Europe, Latin America, and other parts of the world. One student at the International Education Center is architecture major Yusuko Toya, an international student from Japan. He credits the Center with helping him “meet friends”.
SSC attracts students that want a peaceful and calming place to work and study. Nicole Francia, an SMC student, admires this aspect of the building, and has been going to it often ever since its opening.
“It’s probably my favorite building to be honest. It’s quiet...the counselors are really comfortable to work with,” Francia said. “I just saw it one time and I walked in and everyone just looked peaceful. I ended [up] coming here before coming to my classes and studying here.”
As well as being a quiet place to study and relax, SSC also provides an array of counseling to SMC students. Student Kymia Ildardashty primarily takes advantage of this opportunity when she visits Students Services.
“This is my second time here,” Ildardashty said. Although she has only been to the services a couple times, she finds it to be very useful and a better setup than the previous system SMC was using.
While there are students that appreciate what the SSC has to offer, there are still some who think it needs improvements. Toya says the Center would be better if they helped him “learn more vocabulary.”
Student Elizabeth Enriquez stated, “I like that [SSC] offers many programs and resources for different people in different programs like, Black Collegians, the Scholars Program and EOPS [Extended Opportunity Programs and Services]. I’m a part of EOPS and Scholars. The only thing is, if possible, I think it would be better if there were more staff throughout the day because sometimes you really urgently want to see a counselor and you can’t and then they tell you to come back tomorrow.”
A member of the Black Collegians Program, Devin Pollum, appreciates the various accommodations SSC provides, but he also notices of the absence of the Wellness and Wellbeing Center.
“It’s one of those areas that need to be in the building too, because it is a student service and it’s all the way on the other side of campus.”
On Oct. 22, the SSC held its ribbon-cutting ceremony, and later that same day hosted the SMC’s 90th anniversary celebration.