Gisela Uribe'26 after a tour of Marquette University in Milwaukee with SEL.

Gisela Uribe’s high school in Round Lake, Ill., was big; her graduating class had 600 students. Still, she was active in multiple student activities, including Spanish Club, the TRIO program, and Student Council. But it was her membership in the College Ambassador Club, which helps Round Lake students explore college options, that landed her at Beloit.

“Beloit came up as a possibility based on my interests,” she says.

Gisela’s priorities were to experience college life by living on campus, taking small classes, and having easy access to professors, all while staying close to home. With Round Lake only being an hour drive from campus, Gisela, who is the youngest of five, could still be a present role model for her nine nieces and nephews.

These days, her campus jobs have helped her connect with new people and learn outside of the classroom setting.

“I love the variety my jobs give me,” she says. “They are all different from each other and introduce me to people I might otherwise not know.” She considers Angi Olesen, her boss in Beloit’s Student Engagement and Leadership (SEAL) office, one of her mentors.

Gisela, right, with friends at the Buccaneer Boathouse during RA and OL orientation, summer 2023.

Gisela has also built on the student activities that meant so much to her in high school, serving as an orientation leader and as a peer mentor with Student Excellence and Leadership (SEL), Beloit’s version of Round Lake’s TRIO program, which supports first-generation and low-income students throughout their time in college.

She’s also excited that academics are “picking up” now that she’s a sophomore. In fact, she’s identified two intended majors, as well as a career path.

“In a course with sociology professor Kate Linnenberg, we discussed the role of social factors in determining health outcomes,” she says. “That resonated with my own experiences as a member of a marginalized population. I want to do something to improve this picture.”

Gisela in her Beloit swag.

Thanks to Kate’s guidance and an introduction to Beloit economics professor Disha Shende, Gisela now intends to major in data analytics and sociology, with the hopes of becoming a healthcare administrator.

“Beloit College has the resources you need to succeed in life,” she says. “Faculty and staff will invest in you, as well as fellow students and tutors. Take advantage of their investment in you to invest in yourself.”