Staff Blog: Anthony Arce

Full Name: Anthony Allen Cubos Arce
Year at UCLA: 2nd year
Major: Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (MIMG)
SPACE Site: El Camino College
Position in SPACE: 1st year Peer Advisor
SPACE didn’t pop for me when I was first introduced to the project. I was impressed by the work SPACE staff did, but I knew that this level of structure required a lot of time, effort, and care. Being a microbiology major on the pre-med path, I already had a full schedule. Additionally, I was primarily interested in other organizations that would help me on my way to medicine. However, through observing myself in class, interviews, and presentations and the talks with my mentor and my counselor, I found that I needed to work on my communication and interpersonal skills as well as my confidence. I was coming to this realization during spring quarter, which was around the time that SPACE Staff Support (now SPACE Internship) applications were going around. My mentor suggested this to me as possible avenue for building those desired skills. I decided to go for it because it’d only be a quarter commitment. Why not, right? Then, that first day of site came. It was so daunting: I had to outreach to students passing by, help make a class presentation, and engage students at site. At the end of that day, I was all tense and fatigued. However, with that, I was also pumped to take on the challenges and step out of my comfort zone. The more days I went to site, the more my approach and skills improved and the more I enjoyed site. The more all of this happened, the faster time flew.
SPACE site was cool. SPACE site was awesome. As my days in staff support dwindled down, I started to think further, deeper and value what SPACE brings to the different sites. When I talked to the students, I hear their stories and the struggles they have faced and will face because of who they are and where they’re coming from. Through the different staff support readings, I have also gained critical thinking skills and a different perception of the world. Sure, I have found countless connections of my future goals to what SPACE does: the access of medicine and the access to education, the control and thus power over certain knowledge and resources, etc. However, more importantly, I realize that these issues are all around us and affect us no matter what field we may choose to pursue. Being aware and knowledgeable, utilizing critical thinking skills, and taking action are prevalent, vital assets. And despite having learning so much about myself and the world around me from staff support, there was so much more to learn.