The Undergraduate Discovery Workshop is designed to educate undergraduate students on the necessary steps to take to reach career goals, as well as gain research, scholarly and creative opportunities. These workshops will use a variety of exciting methods to engage students. After successful completion of the workshop students will have an opportunity to be paired with a R.E.C.O.N. Mentor if they choose.
Showing posts with label mentoring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mentoring. Show all posts
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Monday, December 10, 2012
Foster Youth Mentor Gains New Appreciation for Student Experience
From UC News:
Take a look around the campus of the University of Cincinnati, and chances are, you’ll find a number of students, faculty and staff who are going the extra mile – either to make their own dreams come true, or to help someone else achieve theirs.
As the program coordinator of UC’s Higher Education Mentoring Initiative* (HEMI), Annie Schellinger sees both ends of the spectrum. Along with a number of other dedicated staff and faculty at CECH, Annie oversees the critical initiative that matches mentors as well as other academic resources with foster children who desire post-secondary education.
“Foster care children face a particularly daunting set of challenges to obtaining higher education,” Schellinger says. “For instance, there isn’t a system in place to tell a student, ‘It’s time to take the ACT. Here’s how to apply for scholarships. This is how to be successful in college.’ So our program helps to give them someone who can guide them in the right direction and combat those barriers.”
Make a gift to HEMI and help strengthen the program today.
And low graduation rates are just one challenge facing foster children, pointing to the immense need for a program that helps make their transition easier. In fact, according to the 2004 Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care:
Foster Youth Mentor Gains New Appreciation for Student Experience
UC’s Higher Education Mentoring Initiative (HEMI) matches high school students with mentors who can help them reach their goal of post-secondary education - including many of UC’s own faculty and staff.Take a look around the campus of the University of Cincinnati, and chances are, you’ll find a number of students, faculty and staff who are going the extra mile – either to make their own dreams come true, or to help someone else achieve theirs.
As the program coordinator of UC’s Higher Education Mentoring Initiative* (HEMI), Annie Schellinger sees both ends of the spectrum. Along with a number of other dedicated staff and faculty at CECH, Annie oversees the critical initiative that matches mentors as well as other academic resources with foster children who desire post-secondary education.
 |
| Annie Schellinger |
“Foster care children face a particularly daunting set of challenges to obtaining higher education,” Schellinger says. “For instance, there isn’t a system in place to tell a student, ‘It’s time to take the ACT. Here’s how to apply for scholarships. This is how to be successful in college.’ So our program helps to give them someone who can guide them in the right direction and combat those barriers.”
Make a gift to HEMI and help strengthen the program today.
And low graduation rates are just one challenge facing foster children, pointing to the immense need for a program that helps make their transition easier. In fact, according to the 2004 Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care:
- 25 percent of foster youth are incarcerated within the first two years of emancipation;
- 20 percent struggle with homelessness;
- And foster youth have disproportionately high rates of early pregnancy, are more prone to sexual and physical victimization, mental illness and substance abuse.
Friday, October 12, 2012
Shades of You Mentoring Program - Fill out the Survey Today!
From Shades of You:
Interested in getting more involved with Shades of You? Wish you could have one of our Executive Board members as a personal mentor? Let us know asap!
We are implementing a new initiative where we pair general members with executive board members to allow more personal connections. During our times together we would like to expose you to more of what we do behind the scenes as well as help you to gain leadership experience, general advice, and help you to meet more people.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please fill out this Survey Monkey by Friday October 12th at 5pm. Remember to let all of your friends know as well!!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G9G5C2R
Interested in getting more involved with Shades of You? Wish you could have one of our Executive Board members as a personal mentor? Let us know asap!
We are implementing a new initiative where we pair general members with executive board members to allow more personal connections. During our times together we would like to expose you to more of what we do behind the scenes as well as help you to gain leadership experience, general advice, and help you to meet more people.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please fill out this Survey Monkey by Friday October 12th at 5pm. Remember to let all of your friends know as well!!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/G9G5C2R
Thursday, September 27, 2012
"Motivation, Hope, and Somebody in Your Corner" - A Mentoring Story
From UC News:
Johnson, 21, grew up in Over-the-Rhine at a time when the neighborhood was still among the poorest in Cincinnati. There came a point when he had to choose between taking his chances on the streets and seeking the promise of better things through higher education. What’s more, he had people counting on him – three sisters who needed their big brother to give them hope.
Now a fourth-year organizational leadership major at the University of Cincinnati, Johnson knows he made the right choice. The path to success is laid out before him thanks in part to support from the Striving to Transform, Enrich, Empower and Reward (STEER) program.
STEER matches mentors from the local professional community with second-year, African-American students at UC in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences and Lindner College of Business, as well as those with majors in criminal justice. Mentors provide nurturing experiences to support and motivate mentees; help them achieve academic excellence; broaden their career exposure; and facilitate relevant on-the-job experience.
Aaron Alexander, a senior purchasing manager at Procter & Gamble, was one of Johnson’s STEER mentors. Alexander says he has watched Johnson learn how to set goals that are realistic yet stretch his capabilities and to view unforeseen changes in his plans as personal challenges instead of insurmountable roadblocks.
“Da’Shawn has a thirst for knowledge that continues to impress me,” Alexander says. “Other students can learn from his example that hard work and dedication pay off.”
Through STEER, Johnson landed an internship with the Children’s Defense Fund’s (CDF) Freedom School this summer. In July, Johnson attended a CDF conference and worked at a Freedom School program hosted at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center downtown. He mentored sixth- through eighth-graders, working to instill a passion for education in them and proving how someone just like them can escape the streets and follow his dreams.
“This was a different summer program from what I was used to growing up,” Johnson says. “When we first got there, none of the kids loved to read. All they wanted to do was play games. But eventually they all started learning how to read better and how to like reading.”
Johnson says his efforts got the attention of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, and he was even featured on a WLWT report. The experience has helped give him confidence that he can be a difference maker in other people’s lives. When he completes his studies, Johnson wants to gain some experience in the professional world, perhaps at a nonprofit organization, before eventually starting his own recreation and education center for inner city youth.
“Growing up in Over-the-Rhine was very hard,” Johnson says. “I thought if I can overcome that situation, I know the kids I’m working with can too because most of them came from the same background as me. All it takes is a little motivation, some hope and somebody to be in your corner. Most of these kids, they don’t have anyone in their corner.”
And maybe some of those children he’s helped will follow the path he made out of the streets and toward a brighter future.
“There’s no way I would have been able to succeed on this level or be able to help kids the way I’m able to if it wasn’t for A&S and STEER and programs like it,” Johnson says. “This school offers a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience.”
For information about STEER, contact Director of Student Retention Initiatives Carol Tonge Mack at carol.tongemack@uc.edu.
'Motivation, Hope and Somebody in Your Corner'
Undergraduate’s work with a professional mentor – thanks to the STEER program – helped him escape the streets, find inspiration, land an internship and follow his dream of starting an urban youth recreation and education center.
Date: 8/27/2012
By: Tom Robinette
Phone: (513) 556-8577
As someone who almost succumbed to the treacherous culture of the streets, Da’Shawn Johnson wants to ensure others don’t stray down that path.By: Tom Robinette
Phone: (513) 556-8577
Johnson, 21, grew up in Over-the-Rhine at a time when the neighborhood was still among the poorest in Cincinnati. There came a point when he had to choose between taking his chances on the streets and seeking the promise of better things through higher education. What’s more, he had people counting on him – three sisters who needed their big brother to give them hope.
Now a fourth-year organizational leadership major at the University of Cincinnati, Johnson knows he made the right choice. The path to success is laid out before him thanks in part to support from the Striving to Transform, Enrich, Empower and Reward (STEER) program.
 |
| Da’Shawn Johnson (middle row, sixth from left) mentored sixth- through eighth-graders as part of his Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School internship. |
STEER matches mentors from the local professional community with second-year, African-American students at UC in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences and Lindner College of Business, as well as those with majors in criminal justice. Mentors provide nurturing experiences to support and motivate mentees; help them achieve academic excellence; broaden their career exposure; and facilitate relevant on-the-job experience.
Aaron Alexander, a senior purchasing manager at Procter & Gamble, was one of Johnson’s STEER mentors. Alexander says he has watched Johnson learn how to set goals that are realistic yet stretch his capabilities and to view unforeseen changes in his plans as personal challenges instead of insurmountable roadblocks.
“Da’Shawn has a thirst for knowledge that continues to impress me,” Alexander says. “Other students can learn from his example that hard work and dedication pay off.”
Through STEER, Johnson landed an internship with the Children’s Defense Fund’s (CDF) Freedom School this summer. In July, Johnson attended a CDF conference and worked at a Freedom School program hosted at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center downtown. He mentored sixth- through eighth-graders, working to instill a passion for education in them and proving how someone just like them can escape the streets and follow his dreams.
“This was a different summer program from what I was used to growing up,” Johnson says. “When we first got there, none of the kids loved to read. All they wanted to do was play games. But eventually they all started learning how to read better and how to like reading.”
Johnson says his efforts got the attention of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, and he was even featured on a WLWT report. The experience has helped give him confidence that he can be a difference maker in other people’s lives. When he completes his studies, Johnson wants to gain some experience in the professional world, perhaps at a nonprofit organization, before eventually starting his own recreation and education center for inner city youth.
“Growing up in Over-the-Rhine was very hard,” Johnson says. “I thought if I can overcome that situation, I know the kids I’m working with can too because most of them came from the same background as me. All it takes is a little motivation, some hope and somebody to be in your corner. Most of these kids, they don’t have anyone in their corner.”
And maybe some of those children he’s helped will follow the path he made out of the streets and toward a brighter future.
“There’s no way I would have been able to succeed on this level or be able to help kids the way I’m able to if it wasn’t for A&S and STEER and programs like it,” Johnson says. “This school offers a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience.”
For information about STEER, contact Director of Student Retention Initiatives Carol Tonge Mack at carol.tongemack@uc.edu.
Monday, January 9, 2012
UC Partnership Seeks Mentors to Transform the Lives of Foster Youth
From UC News:
UC Partnership Seeks Mentors to Transform the Lives of Foster Youth
January is National Mentoring Month and recruitment is underway in a unique UC partnership to build on the educational success of area foster children who are aging out of the foster care system.
UC Partnership Seeks Mentors to Transform the Lives of Foster Youth
Recruitment is underway for mentors to help area foster youth achieve the possibilities of a higher education.
Date: 1/6/2012 12:00:00 AM
By: Annie Schellinger
Phone: (513) 556-4368
By: Annie Schellinger
Phone: (513) 556-4368
January is National Mentoring Month and recruitment is underway in a unique UC partnership to build on the educational success of area foster children who are aging out of the foster care system.
The Higher Education Mentoring Initiative (HEMI) – a partnership represented by UC’s Partnership for Achieving School Success (PASS), Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development, Hamilton County Job and Family Services and the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners – is recruiting mentors to serve 15 high school students in Hamilton County foster care.
This marks the third year of the HEMI partnership to assist, encourage and support the academic achievement of foster students through high school and college.
The partnership served 37 students last year. All students have graduated high school and most are pursuing higher education at various schools including but not limited to UC, Cincinnati State, Great Oaks, the College of Mt. Saint Joseph and The Ohio State University
“As HEMI approaches the third year of the program, we’re continually seeking adults to spend roughly two hours a week to mentor a foster child through their junior and senior year of high school and through their pursuit of a degree or certificate,” says Annie Schellinger, UC HEMI Program Coordinator.
To be considered for the mentor program, participants must fill out an application, undergo a background check and complete an interview process. This includes providing a copy of a valid drivers’ license and proof of insurance.
Mentors must attend either a six-hour training program that will take place on Jan. 28, after they have been cleared for the initial screening process, or they must attend a two-part training program in early February. To obtain an application and for more information, contact Annie Schellinger, UC HEMI Program Coordinator, at 513-556-4368, or e-mail annie.schellinger@uc.edu
The selected mentors will meet the foster students at an event in March, after undergoing the training program.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Mentoring Opportunity for African-American Students
From Tamika Odum, sociology instructor and Program Manager at the UC Women's Center:
As you may have heard, the College of Arts and Sciences developed a mentoring program for African-American students on campus two years ago. The program is called PR1ZE Faculty/Staff Mentoring Program and we received $10,000 from the Diversity Council to expand the program.
Initially the program was set up to serve African-American students in A&S only to help increase the retention and graduation rate. Students are connected with faculty or staff in their departments or fields of interest.
With the new funds, we would like to expand the program to other African-American females in other colleges. IF you think you can benefit from mentoring with a faculty or staff member, please let me know. I’m sending a personal invitation to you to join us for lunch on May 19th; this will be an opportunity to learn more about the program.
Lunch will be provided by Chick-Fil-A so RSVP is very important. Please RSVP by Monday May 17, 2010 to Tamika.Odum@uc.edu. If you have questions please let me know.
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