For first generation college students seeking guidance from various programs on campus, a grant made available by Walmart and the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) will provide mentoring and have a positive impact on the campus, Kristie Daniel-DiGregoria human development instructor and project director, said.
After a $4.2 million grant was made available last year to the IHEP, EC was identified as 1 of 15 campuses nationwide that received a $100,000 Wal-Mart Minority Student Success Award.
The yearlong faculty driven program will build on the college’s success of enrolling, retaining and graduating first generation college students, Donna Manno, program coordinator said.
“We’ve identified five programs that are already existing on campus that we are going to solicit participation from to go through a year-long period of professional development,” Manno said.
The programs whose faculty will be trained with the “On Course” principles to improve student achievement will include the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Program (MESA), the Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOPS), First Year Experience (FYE), Project Success, and also the Puente Program.
By helping more students, those successful students become even more influential as role models for other members of their families, workplaces, and communities.
Recognized as one of the programs that exemplifies those ideals, the Puente Program’s Maribel Hernandez is optimistic of her own future prospect of learning.
“For me, I feel that this experience will make me a better professional and a better overall instructor. I’m looking forward to learning new ideas, maybe some new activities, and hearing some student success theories that I may have not thought about. All with the goal of bringing that back to the classroom and enhancing it even more,” Hernandez said.
As one of the only community colleges that was awarded this grant and the only institution in California to receive it, EC is quickly developing a reputation for demonstrating innovation and best practices implementing the course principles Daniel-DiGregorio said.
“So, by receiving this grant, this is one more example of how El Camino College is distinguished from other colleges for going above and beyond to find new ways to help students succeed”, Daniel-DiGregorio said.