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Liz Kay
Hello and welcome to the Providence College podcast. I'm your host, Liz Kaye. And I'm joined by producer Chris Judge of the Class of 2005 here on the Providence College podcast, we bring you interesting stories from the fire family. This week, we're talking with Andre's Heredia Belfort, a member of the Class of 2023. Andre is double majoring in political science and global studies and minoring in business and innovation.

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Liz Kay
As a junior, he was named a human civic fellow for his work in Providence Public Schools through the Feinstein Institute for Public Service. He also did a Washington semester in D.C. This helped pave the way for a congressional internship last summer, also in Washington, as well as one in Providence in the fall. Andre, it's great to talk to you today.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Thank you. I'm excited to be here.

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Liz Kay
So tell us, how did you get started working with middle schoolers in Providence?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, definitely. I think applying to my freshman year when I was applying to a community work study places, I definitely gave my search more towards education spaces, whether that is nonprofits or schools, where I've been passionate about education since I was in high school. So definitely to put that into practice in some way. So freshman year is when I started to fully work with middle school students, especially here in Portland Scholarship.

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Liz Kay
And for those who aren't familiar with it, can you tell us a little bit about community work study? What is that?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yes, a community work study is a program here. I think it's most colleges as well where the college places you with a community partner. So you basically have a federal work study award that you get to financial aid. And through that, you are like getting paid to work either on campus or through a community work city partner. So here in Providence College, we have a variety, a range of can we work there, partners, there can be hospitals, it can be nonprofits, schools in the area.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So they pair you up with one of those partners and places and you get paid to your fellow work study and you're providing service to the community.

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Liz Kay
Now, that sounds like a fantastic opportunity. And you mentioned that you were particularly interested in working in schools based on your experience in high school. Can you tell us more about that?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, I attended school in New York. I went to Christa Rainier High School. Which is it interesting. Has an interesting school motto. It's so you go to school four days a week and you one of the days of the week, you intern basically at a company and that company takes care of like a big portion of your tuition.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So in doing that, I got exposed to like a lot of different fields in accounting to that. I work at a hospital as well, and I think I realized that opportunities I got through that, through those internships to those schools were very important to me. Like I was able to pilot another internship that summer as well. Like when I first started at my high school, I had a little internship and I got and then I realized the importance of like education and internship experience.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So I like, yeah, I started talking more with my guidance counselors, I talk more with my Yeah. Advisors at my school and they, they, they stressed the importance of me of a college education. And I think that's definitely where I got like my passion for education because I realize how much education has helped me. In a way. It was I always thought about college, but didn't really think I could go to a place like Providence College, if that makes sense, that we wanted, you know, just thinking more like something more attainable around my area, my my home is the fact that my education in high school, when my age of extremes in high school, was

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
helping me pave the way here to go to college. I definitely when I got here, I wanted to give that back in some way, wanted to like give the same reasons as I got in my high school to students here in Providence who don't have those resources.

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Liz Kay
And tell us about the work you were doing. What were you doing with the students?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, nothing. I was a middle school program coordinator for Providence and there to handle, like the behind the scenes work of the programing. So we do a school year program where the students come in on one day a week and we have a variety of activities. Whether that is games or other enriching activities. But they also can come in Tuesdays and Thursdays or two hour days a week where they can come in and just get tutoring, experience, help build a mentorship program.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Or we paired some students up with like alumni of the program. And that way those students were able to hear advice about going to high school or even went to college because a lot of these kids didn't even think that far ahead, but definitely did a lot behind the C works in like trying to set up the programs, trying to make sure that the kids are arriving on time and communicate with the parents.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I did a lot of outreach with parents work and sometimes that stepped in and facilitated the activities when we didn't have certain like tutors or facilitators show up, I would step in and teach activity the day or no. One time we had a was like a financial literacy class and I stepped in for that and we yeah, we just talked about how like be financially smart and how, you know, that's something important, especially coming from like impoverished neighborhoods or how like money is important, how we can build generational wealth.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I remember which I taught like a little classic that for the students, but most of the work I did was behind the scenes. A lot of like this, I wish of parents making sure everything ran smoothly.

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Liz Kay
So you definitely said that your experience in high school kind of inspired this passion for you, for education. But I noticed you didn't say you were an education major. So tell us more about what you're hoping to do.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think everybody have asked me before if I wanted to be a teacher and I didn't want it to be a teacher. Although my experience at Breakthrough Providence facilitating and tutoring were very beneficial for me and the students, I think that's also I didn't want to be a teacher. I think my role is more behind the scenes.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I'm do that over this. I can make a bigger impact through policy. So that's why I'm a political science major. I think my goal is to work on education policy and more of the the behind the scenes work and how we can make education more equity, more equitable for all students. Yeah.

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Liz Kay
And now you've gotten this great opportunity through the Nieman Civic Fellowship. What's not been like so far?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, definitely new. And still fellowship has been a very good opportunity to connect with other student leaders around the country. The use of fellowship is a kind of a fellowship where they choose to do leaders around the country who attend the same type of work in the community, whether related to social injustices, education, inequality, prison reform, the can go on and on.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
But they take these students who like done important work with social change around around the country and then they try to support them in a way where they can build their own project or build a new project through that year to have the fellowship. And with that, they have a conference in Boston each year, which I just attended last week.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
And you were able to connect with other city leaders to see what the work they were doing and how they were implementing it in their schools and communities, which is very cool. And and we got to listen to other speakers who, who graduated from the program and to see what they do now and how they're making change now outside of, like, their school committees.

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Liz Kay
Well, that seems like a great follow from what your your spring semester in D.C. And then again, all the work you've been doing, the summer and fall. Please tell us about your Washington semester. What track did you take? An American?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, my passion semester program was amazing. The track we was Foreign Policy. Yeah, we took a track in the semester program, but I felt like I did so many other things, so they didn't fully focus as much in my track. But yeah, they focused on foreign policy and globalization, so I took a few classes on globalization and crisis and how globalization will affect our world now and in the future.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So it's a of that. And yeah, I think a big portion of the program is where I was able to have an internship. So I worked in a lobbying firm. My first judgeship was where I worked at a lobbying firm on the Hill where it was they were introduced to a variety of like clients. Whenever our clients were.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I know it was telecommunications. We had clients in defense, I think it was from all of the places. But yeah, we had a few clients in different, diverse fields and I was exposed to the legislative process there and how, you know, lobbying can affect policies and how lobbying for certain companies can affect certain outcomes. So that's where I think I focused a lot of my time there through the program was of my internship and and in the classes I took as well with professors.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
We also have an internship class where we had like a professor but more like a mentor and he kind of like got us in, got us in the right way of like what we would do after college. But it is grad school where they work for us, but that was a really interesting class to have. We got to have like a mentor in American.

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Liz Kay
And then how did you transition to the other side when you were working in the Congressional internship?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Originally, I wanted to work for a congressional internship, so when I got the lobbying position, it was it was very different for me because I didn't I wouldn't say I was fully passionate, but it definitely wasn't something I was looking for. It kind of just like fell on my lap and I took it and then I ran with it because it was amazing experience.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I met really cool people. I met really insightful people, but I think transferring to the other side of a congressional seat was what I wanted, and what I needed is definitely what I wanted to work for, what I wanted to work, hopefully after graduation. So I definitely was always prepared to transition to that side. It was a lot more.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
The work I wouldn't say was easier, but the work I did was a lot more fulfilling for me was I was a lot more passionate about the work. I did a lot of work in terms of immigration and education, which is something I'm very passionate about. As I talked before. So the work was a lot more fulfilling and I was able to put all my heart into it like I spent so many hours and internship and just because I enjoyed the work there, just because I enjoyed talking to the people in my internship.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So it was I feel a more easier I would say that work was easier, but for me transitioning was more easy because I loved the work I did there.

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Liz Kay
And whose office where I.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Was working for Congressman Adriano Espaillat. He represents New York's 13th district congressional district.

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Liz Kay
And this fall, where have you been working?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
And then this fall, I'm working for Congressman David Cicilline, who represents the first district of Rhode Island.

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Liz Kay
And so we'll be continuing that in the spring.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Still debating the spring is spring is an interesting time for a senior. So this is trying to see what my best course of action would be. I would love to continue the internship because this chapter is amazing. But yeah, so to work on my classes and I have another job as well. So figure figured that out. So that's still in the air right now, but I would love to return for the spring.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So we'll see.

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Liz Kay
What we are talking in mid-November, which is basically course registration crunch time. When you think back to, you know, your seven semesters, six semesters at Providence College because you had your semester in in D.C., what have been kind of the highlights for you? What have been the classes that you feel have really affected your path?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I think my goals in these classes have done a lot of that, like kind of affected my path, which is one of the classes I'm currently taking immigration course right now with Karasick Bucco, and I find that to be very insightful course. And I think also a course that ties into what I want to do in the future with that is that immigration policy.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
But yeah, of course it's like I'll take it and go with cities. I think have opened my eyes a lot, not just because of the course material, but because of the professors I've taken with. The both courses in political science have amazing professors and they really they open your eyes to a lot more that the, you know, reading texts alone.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So I've had amazing professors like yeah I say Cristobal go and attach a Scruggs Nick Longo and last year I took a course my research methods course if it was were just Joe Cammarano, who was the chair of the State Department and Casey Stevens. And and yeah, I talk about these courses more because of like what the professor's brought to the table.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I would say these professors have great amounts of experience before a problem is college. And it just it's really interesting to see how they bring that here to PC to share with the students. I think the most I've learned in the class is we have a professor simply telling us about their past experience or their stories of the work they've done, which they've all done.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Amazing work. I know. Well, professors specifically, Jim Toll from the overseas department. He works on a farm. I think he mentioned how you worked on a farm. And he tries to live off the grid sometimes and he wants to build a more sustainable life. But just hearing like stories like that just kind of inspires you to like why we don't make change and do better.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Because I have a lot of professors that mangle bosses and political science are just like change makers. They're just really trying to make the world a better place. And although it sounds cheesy, it's like it inspires you. So I definitely feel like my professors here have definitely been a big part of my education here.

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Liz Kay
It's wonderful. Are there other experiences you feel really kind of shaped your experience?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, yeah, definitely. For the clubs on campus in the so some of the other things I've been a part of in my freshman year, I joined Horizons, which is a multicultural club we have here where we kind of built community with a lot the students of color on campus. And freshman year we went on retreats and they do this every year with the freshmen, that with the new freshmen menses, their first remembrances are paired up with upperclassmen mentors.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So we did that during their freshman year and that was a very nice an eye opening experience because we had upperclassmen who've been here in the school for like, you know, more than one or two years. And they were able to tell us, you know, how to navigate a private college, how to navigate upon storms, especially students of color, especially just like first generation, which a lot of the students who were in the program was with like I'm first generation.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So coming to college was a completely new experience that I couldn't talk to my family about. So, you know, programs like Horizon definitely opened a space where I can not only talk about that, but also just like get receive advice and just try to acclimate better to on campus. So I definitely attribute a lot of my success to Department College to like a lot of programs I'm part of, whether that is Horizon Transitions as well, which is a pre orientation program.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I've then before coming to PC. Yeah, I think there's also I built a lot of community here on campus through those clubs and even being part of BMC, which the Board of Motor Coaches atmospheres have had, has helped me a lot. You know, Latinos relationships and just even just try to promote more diversity on campus in and create events that that students can come in and be more engaged with each other, I think has taken a lot of my experience here.

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Liz Kay
P.S. Now, Andres, you mentioned being a first generation student and the college just recently celebrated from first generation college student day. We were asking everyone to provide advice for other first generation students. What advice would you share with others who are coming behind you?

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I think college is it is a good experience because you have a lot of different, you know, people your age around you. But sometimes it gets it gets overwhelming when you're trying to compare your experiences to other students on campus. So especially as a first generation student, you would your your experience would be different. And that's one thing I had to realize that it's okay, it's Mexicans will be different, but I, I will make my own.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I would take account of my own experience. And I want to kind of like conquer my own experience. I think that's the biggest thing is like I want to want to be the be the person in charge of my own experience. And that own my own way, I think is very important. I think I would tell that to a first generation students here who are who are coming not just to promise college, but to any colleges, though, that it might you might struggle.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
But just remember that you need to pay your own way so that you can leave a legacy for that, for your future children and kids. Yeah, I think the biggest advice is that it's okay to pay your own way and it's needed obviously just to break that barrier.

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Liz Kay
And you mentioned earlier that you never thought you'd be able to come to a college like Providence College. I'm curious both what you meant by that particularly, but also, so what what led you to Province College then.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, see I think one is when it would be a big thing I think. Yeah, I come from a single family, single mother household. So it was definitely when I was like in college, like money was a big thing and she, she stressed how like she wanted me to stay local because of how expensive it would be to go to a college out of state.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So that's one reason why I didn't think I would go to a public college. But again, going back to my high school experience, the support I had there, which is like what brought me to be passionate about education, it was immense. The support I had there was amazing. One of my college counselor advisors actually was an alumni of Promise College and she put this on my radar.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So I'm like, Maybe that was really on my it wasn't really on my radar until she told me about Providence College. So she remembers she told me one day about the program and how in a few weeks, which is very good, the city in a few weeks there was a program coming up called Pathways to PC, which is happening right now.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
And I just I just came from which is a program where we bring high schoolers senior year in high schoolers who come from well what the coaches do and backgrounds we meet them on campus and kind of get them you know a tour and kind of get them get the feel of campus and and stuff. So we provide them activities and they usually stay overnight with the host and host just like, you know, they go throughout that the host is day trying to see the right word for the yeah they kind of mimic what the student here upon his call would do so they would go to class, you know, go to activity or club

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
and then and there's panels usually and and I did that program here problems college and I think that's when I kind of like really fell off of the school. I think I saw how beautiful the campus was that day and I saw that how like it can be a possibility for me coming here. So I definitely I came, I went back to my guys concert the next day and I told God we like the campus and she told me to apply and I told her it's very expensive.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
And she said, Don't worry about it, they will figure it out. So I applied and I got in and yeah, I'm very grateful. I financially was able to work with me and provide me a good package. I was my mom was able to afford it and and it was, you know, going to cost so much less. I'm here so definitely again to my support and high school and through the support I see, I think I was able to get come here.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
There was a warning and she was a one person at the beginning was a I'm not sure she's still here she's she's working at alumni relations, but she made sure I got a good financial package and she made sure I got I came here I've met her a few times throughout the years, but each time I always saw her like I'm you're the reason I'm here.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
So definitely want to say that.

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Liz Kay
Well, I think we're all glad that you made that choice. Thank you for coming here so you've mentioned a few things. You've definitely talked about education being your passion, but and also immigration policy. So I'm curious what you're thinking about for post-grad.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, yeah. That's a very good question to ask and a very daunting question to ask you. Post-grad, I definitely would want to return to D.C. or New York. My immediate thinking of working in education policy or community development, which the me most passion about or immigration, as I mentioned, and I'm looking to go either in the public sector or the private sector or public sector would be nice to work under a federal agency, whether it be Congress, Department of Education or Department of State or private sector.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
I am open to working in nonprofit, in private sector or consulting, so I give you a lot there, but instead some still debating. But hopefully I think the goal is to to try to make it to the public sector and try to work again in Congress to make change through their policy making.

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Liz Kay
I think the the good news to take from all that new hope, you just list an awful lot of things, but it means you have a lot of choices in a lot of different avenues you can take, you know, not narrow. And hopefully that means that like you have, you have your choice when the time comes to pick what or what you be doing.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, yeah. Hopefully. Yeah, I think like with my majors it's one thing is to be a pro and con is that is very broad in a sense political class glossaries. But you know, like I said before, I kind of pay my own path, which is the really cool thing about it. I can make my own way. I can do what I do what I will be happy.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
That's what I seem to be looking for, a job that makes me happy. I'm giving back to the community and is fulfilling.

00;21;42;02 - 00;21;45;22
Liz Kay
Well, Andres, it's been wonderful talking with you. Thank you so much for joining us today.

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Andres Heredia-Belliard
Yeah, I think it's a wish for having me here. We appreciate it.

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Liz Kay
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