Student Profiles
Jocelyn Solórzano
Jocelyn Solórzano
Campus: IU Bloomington
SAA Program Motivates Student
“The whole program was a great motivating experience,” says IU Bloomington senior Jocelyn Solórzano about the leadership experience she had through IUB's Student Alumni Association. In 2009 she completed an interactive workshop with the idea for Going Green for Grandpa, her not-for-profit organization.
During that time period, Jocelyn’s grandfather was going through Alzheimer’s. “LeaderShape helped us focus on what causes are important to us,” she says.
Jocelyn came up with the idea to make bags with eco-friendly fabric with all proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Association. A typical bag costs $5, but custom bags are $7.
She makes custom bags based on the client’s requests, which can be anything from a specific color of bag to the coloring of the words. Jocelyn says they are good quality bags, because a lot of hard work and care goes into them.
One bag “usually takes 45 minutes on a good day,” she says. “I have to stencil each letter, make sure the stitches are straight, and the handles are on tight.”
Getting the word out regarding Going Green for Grandpa was just as hard as making the perfect bag.
“It’s just me,” says Jocelyn. “I had to use Tweeter and Facebook. I also used my connections from the workshop. One of my connections at the IDS [the student newspaper at IUB] got my story in the paper. It would be harder if I didn’t have those connections.”
LeaderShape, the program she participated in, was conducive to making connections because the interactive program enabled participants to break off in smaller groups called clusters.
“I liked the clusters and that we worked together with other student leaders. I bounced ideas off of them and got encouragement,” says Jocelyn, a triple major in journalism, Spanish, and biology.
“It gives you that extra push you need, and it is a great networking base,” she says.
