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Subscribe] FinalCall.com News - Refer This Page National News North Carolina program works to increase numbers of minority male college students
The gender imbalance on college campuses throughout America is high and even higher for non-White students, according to the North Carolina Community College System. Instead of just analyzing statistics, hundreds of students, educators and mentors gathered for the 4th Annual Minority Male Mentoring Conference in Durham, N.C. to dialogue, strategize and build upon a program that has inspired males to tote backpacks and embrace books. “We want people to see there are young professional minority males, and we do have an investment and stake in education,” explained conference organizer Monty Hickman, who is also associate director of financial aid with the community college system. “We want them to know that education is for everyone, and everyone has a place in education.” Data shows men comprise just 35 percent of Black college students, which in turns decreases the number of male professionals. “Many of our young men have the tools they need and they have the desire,” Mr. Hickman said. “They just don’t have the direction to put them on the right path for leadership.” The three-day conference held April 7-9, was a meeting of minds focused on helping Black, Latino and Asian males increase their presence on the college scene and succeed in classrooms once enrolled. “Changing the Image of Education: A Call to Action!” was a conference designed to promote having public and private institutions develop support systems for minority men at the state and community levels to improve college graduation and retention rates, enhance workforce preparedness and strengthen familyand community involvement, said organizers. They said a consistent support system, like the Minority Male Mentoring Initiative (3MI), is greatly needed. “Just to know that someone else went through the same pains and the same struggles that you went through—it gives you confirmation, it gives you motivation to move on with your life,” said Gerrold Williams, a student at Halifax Community College. “I really feel like we need mentor programs in the high schools, and with me being a college student, I want to grow up to be a mentor so that I can go back to the high schools and help students out.” “When you come here it gives you a lot of empowerment, a lot of motivation, a lot of inspiration to go back home and inspire the other youth. 3M has taught me how to prioritize. I seek to understand, and then to be understood,” said Michael Spriggs, a student at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, Ga. The conference featured presentations, workshops, issue forums, health screenings, exhibitors, and an awards banquet recognizing outstanding achievement. Concurrent sessions covered mentoring, fatherhood, community involvement, professional development,student leadership and student success.Nearly 600 conference attendees also heard strategies presented by several national and local experts on minority male engagement. The 3MI began more than four-years-ago with a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission for five community colleges: Wayne (Goldsboro); Durham Technical (Durham), Mitchell (Statesville), Piedmont (Roxboro), and Southeastern (Whiteville). The primary objective was to increase graduation and retention rates of minority males attending community colleges. Program participants attend retreats, community service activities, personal growth workshops, drug and substance abuse education seminars, spend quality time with faculty mentors and are given start-up scholarships to attend college. The successful program has been funded at $475,000 by the General Assembly to expand to 15 additional community colleges. One-hundred sixty-five students participated in six pilot programs over a two-year period and had a graduation and retention rate of 90.1 percent. The overall average for curriculum student retention and graduation in the program for 2003-2004 was 65 percent, which surpassed most college averages, said conference organizers. “They don’t look down on us, they lift us up,” said Eric Turner, a program participant who went from drug dealing to becoming a student government leader at Wayne Community College “This program is about giving minority males what they need to inspire them to succeed,” said Martin Lancaster, North Carolina Community College System president. “This is a good start that will have long-term impact.”
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