Adrian Tecua Rivera

Adrian Tecua Rivera
6 Captains Ct. #6 Madison, WI 53719
[email protected]

608-692-6073

1._Volunteer Service (church, community, school): List your most significant service activities during the past four years.
My family and I enjoy volunteering our time at our church. We value serving our community in various aspects of identified needs. Our congregation is small, but thankfully, we have been able to accomplish positive things in the Madison community.
Last winter we were able to accommodate homeless individuals and families in our Church. Our church was not previously set-up or equipped to host people inside of Church overnight, but we were to put something together and help Homeless people who would have otherwise gone without shelter during the coldest nights of winter. With the help of myself and others from our congregation, we were able to provide overnight accommodations, including a hot meal. I also help in hosting various church activities. The events hosted by Church are mainly to help families among our community as well the other families around our community. Most of my labor in this kind of events is to help prepare and serve food. My family and I also make monetary and in-kind donations to the church intended for those in need.
2._Extracurricular Activities (church, community, school): List those most significant to you during the past four years.
In addition to volunteering service at church, I also participate in the church’s extracurricular activities, including participation in a male’s only group. This group meets at least one per month. In this group as part of Church, we like to read a book and put our lives in parallel to the book we are reading in the moment. Throughout this group we have been able not only cultivate our souls but been able to identify who we are. Most of the people who congregate in my Church are people just like me, who benefit from instruction in their lives and grow a better strong relationship with God. We also all share a Latin American heritage and are immigrants from this region of the world. Throughout this group of males in Church, we have been able to network with each other and support each other in employment searches and sharing our stories of emigrating to the United States. I have also been able to establish a good relationship with a lot of the people that trust me, and they ask me for a personal advice. All of this interaction with the congregation of my Church has been the fuel of my engine to keep helping my community and keep volunteering.

3._Honors and Awards: List the most significant honors and awards you have received during the past four years.
I have been appointed to the Dean’s List of Madison College for the Fall 2014 and Spring 2015 semesters. This list contains only students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

4._Employment: List your most significant paid employment positions during the past four years.

In December of 2013, I began my internship with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship /USA. The Purpose of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is to establish and advance communities of students and faculty on college campuses to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord: growing in love for God, God's Word, God's people of every ethnicity and culture and God's purposes in the world.
I started my internship at the Information Technology Department of InterVarsity with the Help Desk. The internship was intended to last for one year. During this year, I was able to grow professionally and spiritually. Before working for InterVarsity, I had never worked in a professional environment, where you have to address people by their last name or have to be careful the way you express yourself around co-workers. One of most important lesson of my Internship was to acknowledge the concept that I was working toward my dream. When I very first applied for the position, I wasn’t confident I could perform what was asked of me. After a few of months of work, I began to believe I was part of this wonderful organization and was being compensated for my work. I learned new skills that helped me grow with the organization and my education. I also learned new ways to socialize with others. The organization is small enough that it is possible to get to know people in all of departments with in the organization, but is big enough that is known among the nation’s most notable’s universities. When I began working for InterVarsity, my knowledge was limited and had no experience doing this new. I did experience some setbacks and failures, but my mentor took their time and patience to help me understand the tasks at hand. In these moments of need, I learned that patience and understanding was the key of my success. The way you treat your neighbor is the same way your neighbor is going to treat you back. Among my duties was a way to develop skill to study the bible. Working for Intervarsity helped me to develop different skills as well the ability to work in the field of information technology. With respect to need for assistance, I need to supplement this internship with working in restaurant a few nights per week. I am the first in my family to attend college, and they are unable to provide me with financial assistance. Not only has Intervarsity provided me a job, but they also allow me to work with my schedule to have another job in addition to my class scheduled. I appreciate my co-workers treating me like a family member of Intervarsity and their willingness to help me at work and understand me. A month before the Internship was scheduled to end, my supervisor, Pete Juvinall, extended my contract for over two more years. I accepted this offer and will be employed until at least 2017. They shared with me that they extended this offer because of my positive attitude at work and the progression of my faith.