Student Success Story - Parker Wesolek
Name: Parker Wesolek
Major: Bachelor of Science, Rehabilitation Studies and Services BS
Graduation: May 2025
Hometown: Portland, OR
SSRI Unit and Position: SALT Center | Office Aide & Peer Mentor and SALT Center User
Post-graduation plans: moving back to OR, job lined up at a daycare as a RBT Registered Behavior Technician
If you were greeted by Parker upon entering the SALT Center, you would instantly feel welcomed and like you’ve known her for years. Parker finds immense joy in welcoming people and making them feel seen, saying “I feel like I’m a very bubbly, upbeat person…I just talk to everybody and get to know people... And you get to learn people's names, and they get really excited.”
Parker is graduating in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Rehabilitation Studies and Services. After graduation, she plans to move back to her hometown of Portland, OR. There, she’ll start her job as a Registered Behavioral Technician, a position that lines up with her studies and her future aspirations. Not only that, the position is at the daycare she went to as a toddler!
Parker’s Focus
Growing up, Parker always knew she wanted to go to college, and chose to come to Arizona solely for the SALT Center. Parker found the SALT Center “could not have been a more perfect fit.” She knew college would be a challenge, but coming here only increased her innate inner strength. Through her personal and academic trials, she has been tested, and ultimately persevered. She credits overcoming these challenges to the SALT Center and the community she found. "I got really sick my sophomore year and I had to take medical leave … my [Support] Specialist was just amazing, she went above and beyond for me … She made me feel like I can do this, I can do this, I got this."
In her positions as an Office Aide and Peer Mentor, Parker has been able to take what has been offered to her and pay it forward to students coming to seek support. "It's really hopeful to … grab these students kind of before they go down the 'I don’t need help, I can do this on my own' path, so they don’t mess up their first year... It’s been really rewarding."
Building Confidence
It wasn’t without the ups and downs that Parker had come to be able to handle what life has thrown her way. The tutors, Learning Specialists and all of the staff at the SALT Center have been core to Parker’s success. "SALT has given me a lot of confidence in my academic self, but also like my personal strength and my own personal skills. I feel like it's really brought those out of me."
The growth opportunities that the SALT Center has provided to Parker make her confident in the next chapters ahead, both professionally and academically. Parker was able to develop lifelong skills she’ll take with her - how to be a professional, how to interview, and how to go to a master’s program at a different university that does not offer support like the SALT Center. Parker’s many years and experiences at the SALT Center have prepared her for that next step, by instilling that confidence that burns so brightly in her, and giving her the tools and strategies to succeed.
Belonging and Community
The sense of community and belonging was what has brought Parker back day in and day out to the SALT Center. "It's just like, these are my people like this is like my home. Like I just… I can't express how much the SALT Center has changed my life."
Not only do the peer and professional staff at the SALT Center make it so transformative for students, but the space itself is warm and welcoming. Having students like Parker at the front desk to greet students makes all the difference.
The SALT Center is a fee-based academic support program that inspires students with mild to moderate learning and attention challenges to succeed in higher education. Through the provision of comprehensive academic support services, the SALT Center encourages student engagement, self-awareness, and growth. To learn more about all things the SALT Center has to offer, visit salt.arizona.edu