About Direct Connect

We want students to optimize their student support communities at SMC while utilizing the wealth they bring:

• Educational Wealth: Academic skill sets and strategies to succeed inside and outside of the classroom.
• Social Wealth: Rapport and network building with SMC agents & access to “need to know” information.
• Wellness Wealth: Practicing a healthy mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
• Cultural Wealth: Centering and celebrating identity, culture, and community.
• Advocacy Wealth: Contributing to a just, equitable, and inclusive learning environment.

"Critical Race Theory (CRT) shifts away from a deficit view of communities of color as places full of cultural poverty disadvantages, and instead focuses on and learns from the array of cultural knowledge, skills, abilities and contacts possessed by socially marginalized groups that often go unrecognized and unacknowledged. These forms of capital draw on the knowledge of students of color bring with them from their homes and communities into the classroom. This CRT approach to education involves a commitment to develop schools that acknowledge the multiple strengths of communities of color in order to serve a larger purpose of struggle toward social and racial justice." - Yosso, 2005

Student Counseling, Guidance & Resource Community  (Universal)

Community: SMC offers a variety of counseling and guidance to achieve your dreams. Counselors and services offer educational, financial, and career guidance.

Highlighted Services: Admissions and Records, General Counseling and Transfer Services, Financial Aid, Career Services, and Ombudsperson.

Teaching, Learning, and Growing Community (Academic)

Community: Thrive in your classes and meet all of your academic needs. Connect with academic support including faculty, tutors, or the Library staff.

Highlighted Services: Mentorship, Tutoring Services, IT Support, and Library.

Mind, Body, and Well-Being Community (Health and Wellness)

Community: At SMC we believe in and support student wellness. Connect with services that support your emotional, physical, and all of your basic needs. 

Highlighted Services: Basic Needs, Center for Wellness & Well-Being, & Health Services.

Identity, Cultural Pride, and Self Empowerment Community (Cultural)

Community: We believe in honoring all of our identities. Connect with services that celebrate culture, identity, and community.

Highlighted Services: Black Collegians/UMOJA Community, Latino Center, Veterans Success Center & Center for Students with Disabilities.

Student Advocacy, Allyship, and Inclusivity Community (Advocacy)

Community: Connect with services that promote student advocacy and uplift student voices!

Highlighted Services: Student Equity Center, Dream Center, EOP&S and Associate Students

Creating meaningful and long lasting connections will only enhance your experience during and after SMC. Learn how to access and connect to student support at SMC.

Understand the structure of each service to determine the best way to meet your individual needs. Identify and learn the “need to know” information to successfully navigate and accomplish your goals at SMC.