Building Bridges to Portland’s Immigrant Community

For Lewis & Clark students eager to put their values into action, the Center for Social Change and Community Involvement has long been a hub for volunteerism and civic advocacy. Now, through the student-led cohort Bridge Builders, that work is extending beyond campus into partnerships with Portland’s immigrant and refugee communities.

Trust in Action

Jorge Orozco-Roller MA ’27At the heart of Bridge Builders is a mutual trust and collective leadership model where every member has a voice. Any L&C student can join the cohort and help decide which off-campus organizations to support, and students conduct the outreach themselves. By building connections with professionals across Portland, identifying volunteer opportunities, and expanding access to those experiences across the L&C community, members learn lessons far beyond the classroom. As Jorge Orozco-Roller MA ’27, the center’s graduate assistant program coordinator, explains, “You can only get that human experience and experiential learning component from directly volunteering and giving time to the people that need it.”

That commitment is grounded in trust. “A lot of these communities have been betrayed time and time again by individuals and systems,” says Orozco-Roller. “So for us to be able to give them our time is a great privilege. Gaining their trust and working with them is huge, because it helps us develop both professionally and morally while achieving a lot of really good things for people. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”

Paths to Service

Jatniel Sanchez BA ’28For many students, building trust with the community is deeply personal. Bridge Builder’s undergraduate cohort leader, Jatniel Sanchez BA ’28, was motivated by a lifetime of service across geographical, legal, and political boundaries. Born and raised in Venezuela, he previously worked with Costa Rican and Nicaraguan immigrants. But, he notes, “Immigration in America exists in a different context—it’s a different country with different laws and a very different environment. I wanted to explore what it’s like to work in that context through this cohort.”

When Sanchez led the group’s initial informational sessions, he discovered that students had varied motivations for becoming involved. “There were people who had been touched by families they had met, and others who had family members who were directly involved.” As students articulated their goals—and realized how many hands were ready to help—the cohort gained momentum to develop robust partnerships in Portland and throughout the state of Oregon.

Community Partnerships

While Bridge Builders participants are dedicated and knowledgeable, Orozco-Roller acknowledges that “We don’t know the answer to everything.” He adds, “There are already people out there doing the work with years of experience, and our job is to connect them with these bright, energetic, hard-working students who can help get their job done.”

One key partner is Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste, or PCUN, Oregon’s farmworkers union. Their work focuses on immigrant and migrant laborers’ human rights and amplifies grassroots community activism. Collaborating with PCUN, Bridge Builders students gain exposure to the legislative side of pursuing legal change for immigrant workers and their families.

The partnership has already created meaningful opportunities. One L&C student now volunteers as a legal interpreter with PCUN, spending four to eight hours a week translating for immigration or civil cases. “We also have a waiting list of about five bilingual students from all three campuses wanting to step up and do this job,” says Orozco-Roller. “Our role is to help train students in these skills and connect them with more opportunities off campus.”

Through Bridge Builders, five graduate students have volunteered at a Woodburn Town Hall session, while a dozen undergrads have volunteered with PCUN’s annual fundraising gala, contributed to a phone bank advocating for immigrant rights legislation in California, canvassed resources directly to community members, and helped organize seasonal toy drives and other resources.

In addition to PCUN, Bridge Builders is growing its network of community connections. The group is re-establishing its partnership with The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) and continually supporting Friends of Seasonal Service Workers (for which L&C hosted a winter coat drive). Sanchez regularly speaks with organizations who share similar values to discuss individual volunteer opportunities, including Unite Oregon. He also intends to build on Lewis & Clark’s wider commitment to the Albina Vision Trust in an attempt to build a database of volunteer options for members of all three campus communities.

A Cross-Campus Collaboration

As a student in L&C’s Graduate School of Education and Counseling, Orozco-Roller says Bridge Builders offers valuable hands-on experience. “Much of the programming is experiential,” he explains. “Part of this learning happens in getting to know people—and that means getting involved. What a textbook tells you might be completely different from what’s happening on the ground.” He adds that the cohort helps students develop cultural humility, advocacy skills, and a willingness to take action.

Orozco-Roller and Sanchez are also in conversation with students at Lewis & Clark Law School. They’ve been in contact with Annette Cruz JD ’26, president of the Latinė Law Society, to discuss sharing resources and creating opportunities for law students to support the legal clinics Bridge Builders partners with.

Maggie Musty, director of the Center for Social Change and Community InvolvementMaggie Musty, director of the Center for Social Change and Community Involvement, sees the cohort as a promising model for cross-campus collaboration. “What’s unique about Bridge Builders is how it brings students from all three Lewis & Clark schools together around shared interests and skills,” she says. “It aligns closely with the graduate school’s social justice mission and creates opportunities for direct service. There’s also lots of enthusiasm for students to provide free legal interpreting services, creating a natural tie with the law school. It’s been exciting to see these collaborations unfold both intentionally and organically—driven by the passion our students have for supporting the local immigrant and refugee community.”

Advocates for the Future

At a time when conversations about supporting immigrant and refugee communities have grown increasingly contentious nationwide, Orozco-Roller maintains “the time to take action is now.” But he adds that action doesn’t mean changing the world all by yourself. “Real change has always been a community effort.”

Through that shared effort, Bridge Builders is already making a tangible difference. Students help organize holiday toy drives, coordinate transportation for off-campus volunteers, support community events, and provide legal translations services. Just as important, the work offers hands-on learning. “Some people leave college without a lot of marketable skills or experience,” says Orozco-Roller. “This is a way to gain those things while making an impact.”

For Sanchez, who joined Bridge Builders as a sophomore, the experience has revealed the transformative potential of collective leadership. “College is a transition into the real world,” he says. The cohort is a good opportunity to not only perceive an issue, but also to perceive hope in this world. Above all, human beings are human beings everywhere. Regardless of laws or rules, people still need food, essentials, and someone who makes them feel welcome.”

And participation isn’t limited to any particular background or skill set. “It doesn’t even have to be us,” says Orozco-Roller. “Just get involved with something you care about, approach it with humility and respect, try your best, and learn.”

After graduating, Orozco-Roller plans to remain involved with PCUN as a counselor. The ultimate goal, he says, is to inspire students to carry this work forward after their time at Lewis & Clark. “Counselors, lawyers, and educators are advocates that represent other voices,” he says. “Lived experiences like these give them the chance to say, ‘I’ve seen it. I’ve been there. And I’ve gotten to know the people and cultures I want to serve.’”

Center for Social Change and Community Involvement Bridge Builders at L&C