By: Doane College, Crete, NE

This CAP team paired 11 college women and 22 Hispanic female high school students in the area in mentoring relationships. The mentors focused on college preparation through various activities, including a campus tour, service activity, and field trip to the Hispanic Center to meet career role models. In April the CAP team held a career day for rural students. The CAP teams had Spanish-speaking students on hand to communicate directly with parents about college and the application process.

The first activity mentor/mentee pairs attended together was a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event in January on Doane College's campus, followed by a meet and greet luncheon. Mr. Barry Scott was the guest speaker and he talked about growing up in the South, recited excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches, and discussed Dr. King’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Mr. Scott also attended the luncheon and encouraged the group to dream big and pursue what they love.

The second activity occurred in February. Mentoring pairs traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a night of teamwork, adventure, and fun at Laser Quest. The four pillars of Laser Quest are fun, communication, cooperation, and trust and they correlate with characteristics students need to pursue college careers. Mentor pairs played two games of laser tag and ate pizza together.

In early March, the mentoring pairs produced MTV-style videos at Doane College, through the sutdent activities council. After lunch, the mentoring pairs listened to the Director of Financial Aid at Doane College who talked about scholarships, grants, explained FASFA and the importance of submitting it as early as possible. The group was so engaged, the session lasted twice as long as scheduled.

In late March, the CAP team held an Equal Pay Day kick off event. Two corporate representatives from Wal-mart gave a presentation about the company and opportunities that are available for associate level positions and beyond. The presenters encouraged the audience to continue their studies, maintain high grade point averages while in college, and gave tips on how to have a competitive edge in the job market. A portion of the presentation focused on salaries and benefits for women in the management program.

On April 22, the CAP team held a "Professional Development Day" on campus for high school students in the area. Activites included:

• Speakers
• Break Out Sessions: mock interviews, student panel on how to succeed in college, and financial aid and scholarships information
• Lunch in the campus cafeteria
• Career Academy Program Charm School

The CAP team felt they more than exceeded their goals and they had more participants than they expected. Most of the mentees were Hispanic whose families worked at Farmland, a major meat packing company, and Farmland has agreed to provide funds for Doane College to continue with the mentoring program in 2009-10!
 

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