After being laid off from her job, Marcia Viney decided to enroll at Sinclair, despite the fact that she hasn’t been to school in more than 30 years.
Viney, an African-American student in the Dental Program is determined to graduate this time. To help her attain her degree, she joined the Urban African-American Mentor Program (UAAMP).
“What we found is that our African-American students are coming to Sinclair, but they are also leaving very quickly, and we don’t want that to continue. We want our African-Americans to stay at Sinclair and complete an associate’s degree or workforce credential,” said Linda Pastore, UAAMP coordinator. “We feel very strongly that it is important that our African-American students become the future leaders of the Dayton community.”
The mentor program is designed to help second-year African-American students attain a college degree or credential with the help of a mentor. The students are assigned two mentors, one faculty and one staff member.
“I continue to press forward, and I am determined to graduate,” Viney said. “The mentors are here to help me stay focused and push me toward my goals.”
Krissy Mayes, a graphic design instructor for distance learning and Tom Huguley, a communication instructor, are both Viney’s mentors.
“Her goal is to graduate, and I ask her that every time I see her,” Mayes said. “I think that UAAMP helps her know that there are people here to help her and push her to finish her goals. With school, work, kids, grandkids and a husband it is hard to stay focused, but she is handling it all well.”
Since its inception in the fall of 2009, UAAMP goals are to help students boost their GPA, complete their courses and graduate, said Dona Fletcher, UAAMP coordinator.
“I am an African-American college graduate because someone supported me,” Fletcher said. “I was the first one in my immediate family to go to college and it was a strange and scary place for me. It was good to have someone there for me and support me when I felt like I didn’t belong there. To have that support and go-to person, who I knew cared about me was very important.”
Loretta Barton, a Nursing student at Sinclair, is one year into UAAMP. Barton graduated in 1980, and returned to college to complete her Nursing degree.
She said that her journey back to college hasn’t been easy, but feels that UAAMP is right for her.
“ I have been through a lot of struggles,” Barton said. “I am an older student, but I knew that I needed to do something. UAMMP helps me see that by taking small steps, I can do what I need for me.”
Vann Rogers, who is an Allied Health professor, is Barton’s mentor. Barton said that Rogers is one of the first black teachers who has motivated her to work toward completing her degree.
“It helps to have the student in the class,” said Rogers. “UAAMP can only help her on her journey. As a black mentor, if they can see that I have had my struggles and made it through them that tells them that they can make it too.”
To join UAAMP, students must be in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 2.0 and have completed a minimum of 19 credits.
For more information, contact Fletcher at 512-5149, Mortenous A. Johnson at 512-5181
or Pastore at 512-2347.