Read about student experiences in DucksRISE, and the impactful ways the program is positively effecting student post-graduation exploration, planning, and preparation.
Our Focus
The DucksRISE program is part of the Next Generation of Student Success Initiatives at the University of Oregon, focusing on achieving equitable outcomes for all UO students. DucksRISE participants engage in career preparation opportunities, connect with mentors, and build professional networks with others who share similar identities. A primary program goal is to implement equitable post-graduation outcomes for BIPOC, underserved, and underrepresented students at UO.
The program includes financial support for students as a means of addressing a prime barrier to participation in internships, and undergraduate research opportunities. DucksRISEwas made possible by the Strada Foundation’s Beyond Completion Challenge grant.
From our Students
Anna Hothai: "I'm excited to be a part of the DuckRISE program. My goal this term is to strengthen my art portfolio, and to find an internship that will allow me to create art. With DuckRISE, I hope to build confidence and make connections with people who work in the creative industry."
Tito Flores-Bautista: "DuckRISE has given me the opportunity to explore and determine career possibilities for me The best part is that I am surrounded with other students who support each other."
Esperanza Soliz: "I am thrilled to be apart of the DucksRISE cohort! I get to interact with people who are from the same ethnic background as me, which is a new experience for me at UO. I also love that everyone in the cohort has a passion for their career goals. We are all working hard to get the job we want to have, and being with a group of people who have similar passions for their education is really inspiring. We get to build off of one another and the connections we made through the DucksRISE program is sure to better us for the future. So, thank you for allowing me to experience this program first hand!"
Tra Johnson: "As a rising junior at the University of Oregon I truly feel as though someone other than my immediate circle is giving me the extra thought and extra effort in order to help make me feel apart of community at school. As a freshman I definitely felt displaced and unable to find a concrete crowd to grow up into, So I think that having this program is making my final years at school so worthwhile."
Julia Johannesen: "I'm so grateful to be a part of this program because the opportunities that DucksRISE offers will bring me one step closer to my career goals of working in PR and Advertising."
Naivi Vargas Garcia: "I look forward to building community and getting to know other peers who are in the same boat as me but also very excited to gain more knowledge and explore my career goals of Family and Human Service."
Pablo Manriquez: "As I'm preparing to graduate and start my career in the design field, DucksRISE will not only give me the opportunity to develop critical skills but will also support me along the way."
Career Paths
Many plan to attend graduate school and many mention wanting to use their advanced degrees and language skills to support their communities in the future.
Feather Crawford, Program Manager:
The members of the inaugural DucksRISE cohort are multi-talented and profoundly impressive undergraduate students who are actively creating the future they want with the choices they are making in the here-and-now. As the first cohort, they are uniquely positioned to shape DucksRISE and its mission. I am honored, humbled, and elated to lead this tremendously exciting program. Working alongside Sandra Castro, our dedicated and highly skilled DucksRISE Program Assistant, to bring into effect equitable post-graduation outcomes for BIPOC, underserved, and underrepresented students is a dream job. We are so grateful to our DucksRISE students and so excited for the adventures and triumphs in store for them!
Sandra and I are building DucksRISE at a very fast clip. You can see that through the rapid proliferation of acronyms. We’ve announced the DRRF (DucksRISE Research Fellowship). We’re holding after-class space for conversations around themes of race, class, gender, intersectionality, decolonization, and environmental justice at DRAC (DucksRISE After Class). We’re doing outreach to and working closely with academic institutions, businesses, and organizations across Oregon to develop a substantial, sustainable, and dynamic DRIP (DucksRISE Internship Partners) network.
Along with our brilliant inaugural cohort, I’d like to thank our partners at UESS, CURE and the Portland Internship Experience, our many allies and stakeholders across the UO campus, and the Strada Foundation, without whose transformational and visionary Beyond Completion funding, this would not have been possible.
Community Building
