AAMU seeking mentors

AAMU seeking mentors
(AAMU Release) Huntsville, Ala. ---- The few. The proud. The mentors. Alabama A&M University’s Office of Retention and Academic Support (ORAS) is reaching out to alumni and interested persons in the community to make a positive impact in the lives of college students, says its director, Dr. Leatha Bennett.

The “Changing Lanes” program was conceptualized less than two years ago as a tool to improve the collegiate experience of first-year students by involving AAMU alumni and other interested individuals in the former’s paths of matriculation. But, according to Howard Wright, ORAS program specialist, the “re-launched” mentorship project has been expanded to encompass upperclassmen, who will be paired with alumni and professionals in the surrounding communities. Freshman students, however, will continue to be mentored by faculty and staff.

“We are only asking our mentors to make a one-year commitment,” notes Wright, an AAMU alumnus, who adds that the list of prospective mentors will be drawn from churches, businesses, alumni and others who exemplify a keen interest in impacting students’ lives. “We prefer our mentors to be college graduates or to be involved in a profession affiliated with the student’s interest.”

The major thrust of the program, then, is to provide the student with an extra cheerleader and encourager. This can be accomplished, says Wright, through a brief, monthly face-to-face

meeting; by calling the student to see how he or she is progressing in the academic arena; by sending an e-mail; and/or providing the student an invitation to a social event.

Wright assures that ORAS has the capacity to handle a large number of mentor-protégé arrangements, and efforts have been made to inform students about Changing Lanes through the popular youth website Facebook.com. “Freshmen will be arriving around August 9,” says Wright, “I want to have the forms from interested parties in by the end of July.”

Forms and additional information are available by accessing the Internet at www.aamu.edu, then by clicking “Changing Lanes”. For all other inquiries about the program, contact Howard Wright at (256) 372-5493.