By Olivia Montes
News Co-Editor
On Feb. 8, the Office of the President announced via email that, as part of their collective plan to “make real progress in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the College is in the process of implementing a near-peer tutoring program between WC students, Chesapeake Community College, and the mentoring organization Mid-Shore Scholars.
According to the President of the College Dr. Mike Sosulski, he and Interim Provost and Dean of the College Dr. Michael Harvey liked the idea of fostering a “mutually beneficial relationship” between the College and the Talbot County Public School system, and wanted to develop an initiative that further connected these communities together.
“We talked about the benefits of the one-to-one individual benefits of the mentors and the mentees, [and] I think it’s incredibly important…for us to be better connected to our community long term,” Dr. Sosulski said.
Being “a big supporter of college community partnerships,” Dr. Harvey is in the process of bringing this program to life, taking the example set by colleges and universities in urban areas and applying it to the surrounding Eastern Shore area — “a college in a rural community in a rural place.”
“[We are] a different place with different issues, challenges, and opportunities…[and] part of this broader community of the shore,” Dr. Harvey said. “Education is one of our academic areas…[and] I want to see how much we can help these kids really be strategic and intentional and leverage their resources.”
With this program, the College plans on “bring[ing] college students and K-12 students together to help prepare first-generation students and others for college success through tutoring, mentoring, and college preparatory experience,” according to Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Education Dr. Bridget Bunten.
“When you grow up in a family where someone has gone to college, so much already [is] understood as to what to expect the application process [to work.] What’s it going to be like, when you’re a first-generation student…who has any knowledge to share with you? That doesn’t prevent you from applying to college, but it means that it can seem impossible.”
Dr. Bunten said that, while no current timeline is in place, she hopes to continue to “brainstorm…goals for [the] collaboration going forward” throughout the semester.
Dr. Harvey said he expects to launch the near-peer mentoring program by the start of the 2022 fall semester, and intends to use the remainder of the spring semester to prepare a solid plan and encourage WC students to join. According to Dr. Harvey, the College has “the capacity to start the tutoring program” and the student power to accomplish this goal.
“The flip side of learning is teaching, and we have hundreds of students engaged in many different kinds of [groups] teaching other people,” Dr. Harvey said. “For us to have a very dynamic and diverse campus…we should do everything we can to make this community thrive.”
When asked about the potential future of the program, Dr. Harvey said, after the initial launch of the program, he plans to launch similar initiatives in other surrounding Maryland counties, including in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, and Queen Anne’s, and help many first-generation students receive the resources they need to succeed in higher education and beyond.
“This is not about helping us — it’s about helping young people mature in a way that is aligned with who we are and some of our skills,” Dr. Harvey said.
Any student interested in taking part in this program can reach out to Dr. Harvey.