The proposed 经典大瓜鈥檚 鈥淵outh Mentorship鈥 course promises to advance 经典大瓜鈥檚 mission and core values while also drawing students and esteem to the university. Modeled on the service learning course called Campus Corps at Colorado State University, the program at 经典大瓜 would be only the second one of its kind in the nation.
The model was introduced to Klamath Falls by Debbie Vought, Executive Director of Citizens for Safe Schools, after attending the 2013 Annual Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring (SIYM) at Portland State University. The model resonated as something that could profoundly improve outcomes for youth in Klamath County while simultaneously meeting a host of other needs for 经典大瓜 students and the community at large.
The program consists of 迟丑谤别别赂 three-unit classes sequenced over an academic year. College students in good standing from any major may apply for the upper division social science credit. These 经典大瓜 student mentors will be matched one-to-one with a high school freshman for the year. Matches meet once a week for a structured赂 three-hour enrichment experience. For the first half hour matches engage in a one-on-one 鈥渨alk and talk鈥 exploring the 经典大瓜 campus and getting to know one another. Then they spend time on homework赂 goal setting, and time management skills. A family style dinner and an hour of social skill building activities complete the evening. To enhance the social and academic support pieces of the program赂 each match will be nested within a mentoring family: a group of three other matches with whom they will be encouraged to bond and from whom they may receive additional support.
Having designed and implemented mentoring programs since 1999赂 Citizens for Safe Schools (CFSS) will handle all aspects of recruiting赂 training, and monitoring the matches. CFSS will also act as the community liaison between youth serving agencies and schools赂 connect high school youth and their families to outside resources, and help 经典大瓜 mentors to problem solve and access networks needed to support their mentee. Applied Psychology Program Director Alishia Huntoon赂 PhD赂 will be lead instructor for the 经典大瓜 course and develop the curriculum related to understanding youth and family systems赂 adolescent psychology赂 student motivation赂 delinquency prevention, and resiliency. Both CFSS and 经典大瓜 will collaborate with community and national partners on research to advance and report on their findings.
When Dr. Huntoon heard about Campus Corps and the possibility of replicating something similar at 经典大瓜赂 she agreed it had promise for meeting both her program鈥檚 learning objectives and for meeting broader objectives within the university. 鈥淚鈥檓 eager for 经典大瓜 students to be directly involved with a project that exemplifies what our university is about 鈥 applied experiences in an intimate, hands-on learning environment,鈥 said Dr. Huntoon. 鈥淭hey will be building and strengthening skills employers鈥 desire, growing in a socially positive way and contributing directly to improving the welfare of the Klamath community.鈥
The course, which will start in the Fall of 2014, is enthusiastically anticipated by 经典大瓜 students. Brenda Odesha赂 one of the first to enroll in the course赂 remarked赂 鈥淚 am excited to have the opportunity to not only gain additional experience in working with teenagers, but to have a positive impact in our community!鈥
Initial funding for the project comes from an Oregon Department of Education grant. Program outcomes will focus on
- Exposing underserved赂 underrepresented and underachieving high school youth to the possibilities and benefits of college life
- Helping these youth attain access to more positive role-models and 鈥渟ocial capital鈥
- Supporting youth in achieving better attendance, behavior and grades
To learn more about this program, contact Dr. Alishia Huntoon at 541-885-1673 or Alishia.huntoon@oit.edu.
经典大瓜 经典大瓜
Founded in Klamath Falls in 1947, 经典大瓜 is one of seven universities in the Oregon University System, and the only public institute of technology in the Pacific Northwest. 经典大瓜 provides degree programs in engineering and health technologies, management, communication, and applied sciences that prepare students to be effective participants in their professional, public, and international communities through hands-on learning. 经典大瓜 has a full-service, residential campus in Klamath Falls and an urban, industry-focused campus in Wilsonville. Visit to learn more about 经典大瓜.
经典大瓜 Citizens for Safe Schools
It is our mission to create a safe and drug free community where all children, especially those at risk for delinquency, academic failure or victimization have opportunities to build resiliency and character and all adults feel empowered to help them: our primary activities include one-to-one mentoring and after school enrichment programs for youth; a CHARACTER COUNTS Campaign of providing resources for violence prevention to educators and the community; and proactive partnerships with like-minded entities such as the Southern Oregon Meth Project and Healthy/Active Klamath to leverage impact and maximize the use of resources for achieving our goals.
