Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program

By: Nicole McIsaac

Wrapping up its first chartered academic year as an organization on campus, Quinnipiac University’s Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program has hit the ground running.

Originally founded in 1991 at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York, the organization seeks to support high school students overcoming educational obstacles and introducing them into a higher educational setting.

Alondra Santos de la Cruz, a junior diagnostic medical sonography major and president of the Quinnipiac chapter, said her inspiration to introduce J.U.M.P to Quinnipiac came after conversing with her cousin who is part of the upstate New York organization. After leaving a diverse population and coming to a predominantly white institution, Santos de la Cruz said she was looking to surround herself with individuals of the same background while fulfilling her personal passions for herself and her community.

“That conversation with her is what really fueled me to bring that here and fulfill that vision for not only myself, but for the campus,” Santos de la Cruz said.

J.U.M.P works directly with middle school students who are underserved and underrepresented in their communities to push past educational barriers.

“Jump Nation strives to make sure that these students have a well rounded view of the world,” Santos de la Cruz said. “What they could be or can’t be, or what they want to be or don’t want to be.”

In their provisional year on campus without an organizational budget, J.U.M.P. has made strides in the community by visiting Amistad Academy Elementary School in New Haven, Connecticut. Creating an engaged environment for students to “soak information in,” the first of many community efforts focused on the topic of conflict and resolution.

Looking toward the future of the organization, Santos de la Cruz said she hopes J.U.M.P. can reach the surrounding areas of Quinnipiac and beyond.