The ninth annual Mentoring Month came to a close last week across the nation, but the spirit of the month will carry on all year at the 19 Twin Cities-area high schools in which Admission Possible AmeriCorps coaches are serving as mentors to students with dreams of going to college.Nankya Senungi serves as an AmeriCorps coach and mentor for seniors participating in Admission Possible’s free afterschool college access program at North Community and Columbia Heights High Schools.
Senungi’s students are in their second year of the two-year program and will work with her until the end of the school year in May. Senior Muno Ali said Senungi has made a real difference in her life. “I know that if I have a problem Nankya is always there, and I have no doubts in my mind about the advice she gives me,” Ali said. “She has influenced my future for the better.”
Without the mentorship provided by Senungi and 49 other Admission Possible AmeriCorps coaches, the future would look very different for the 1,400 Admission Possible high school students in the Twin Cities metro area and the 2,200 program graduates pursuing college degrees. Historically, students in the program have raised their ACT scores by 20 percent, and 98 percent of Admission Possible students have earned admission to college.
Mentoring has touched Senungi’s life, too. “My relationship with my students is very special - I treat them like I would think I would treat my own children,” she said. “I want to nurture their dreams and help those aspirations come true through college education.”
Mentoring Month is a national initiative of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health and MENTOR. AmeriCorps is just one of the numerous mentoring projects across the country that help young people transition from poverty to promise, and aim to broaden the possibilities of success for thousands of young people through service.
Admission Possible’s high school program manager and AmeriCorps recruitment leader Lara Dreier hopes Mentoring Month will highlight the value of mentoring to the broader public. “Mentoring has profound impacts,” Dreier said. “At Admission Possible, I see how the strong relationship that coaches form with their students opens doors for students, challenges coaches to grow and provides a brighter future for Minnesota.”
As Dreier works on recruiting next year’s team of AmeriCorps coaches, she’s encouraged by the volume of applications the program receives. “Many recent college graduates who have benefited from the support of professors and other adults understand the role that mentoring plays in educational achievement and are electing to commit a year of their lives to providing that critical support for others.” Applications for next year’s AmeriCorps team are open until March 8, and applications can be found online at www.admissionpossible.org/AmeriCorps.html.
Insightnews.com