March
29, 2002
Make
a Difference: Help a Teen Change the World
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Photo: Ben Barnhart
Leadership
Mentor Brianna Armbruster '02 (left) works with Take the
Lead participant Janine Moreau in October.
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Ready to meet and
mentor outstanding high school students? Effect positive change
across the country? Receive intensive leadership training? Form
meaningful friendships with your peers? The Speaking, Arguing,
and Writing (SAW) Program in the Weissman Center for Leadership
is offering these opportunities to fifty select students ready
to become Leadership Mentors in MHC's third annual Take the
Lead program October 17–20.
A three-day program
of workshops and activities, Take the Lead builds leadership skills
in high school women who want to turn ideals into actions that
will change the world. Leadership Mentors are paired with high
school juniors who are selected from around the country. As mentors,
MHC students are trained to support the teens as the younger students
develop and implement action plans on issues of concern to them.
Past issues have included racism, school violence, and environmental
degradation. Last year, MHC Leadership Mentors hosted thirty-two
outstanding teens from as far away as Hawaii, honing their own
leadership skills while encouraging leadership in their mentees.
Mentors play an instrumental
role in the experiences of Take the Lead participants. Armed with
new leadership skills and encouragement from mentor Melynda Casement
'02, Take the Lead student Shanté Bassett returned
to Queens, New York, last October and formed a teen-run nonprofit
called Youth Getting Involved. Designed to combat negative stereotypes
about adolescents by getting high school students involved in
improving their communities, the organization will hold a "Get
Involved" fair April 13 at which teens will hear from businesses,
organizations, and guest speakers about community opportunities
for volunteering, working, and interning.
Janine Moreau has
also progressed with the Take the Lead project she started with
mentor Brianna Armbruster '02. At her high school, she founded
a group whose twenty members designed and distributed pamphlets
publicizing the need for a living wage in New Orleans. When the
issue appeared on the city's ballot in February, New Orleans
residents voted 67 percent to 33 percent to raise the minimum
wage to $6.15.
"The MHC mentors
are a critical component of this program," said Patricia
VandenBerg, executive director of communications and strategic
initiatives and director of Take the Lead. "The participants
always comment on how much they admire and appreciate their mentors.
And the mentors benefit too. Past mentors have shared with me
that they enjoy the weekend because they meet so many like-minded
peers, as well as inspirational MHC alumnae. They appreciate the
bond that this program creates. Some have even said that Take
the Lead is among their peak experiences at the College."
Applications for this
year's mentorship program are being accepted through Friday,
April 5, 2002. First-years, sophomores, and juniors who will be
on campus next fall and who are committed to developing their
own leadership capabilities and the capabilities of others are
invited to apply.
Applications may be
picked up and returned to the SAW Program in the Weissman Center,
Porter Hall. They are also available online at www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/programs/wcl/leadership/takethelead/application.shtml.
Students selected
to be mentors will attend a half-day training session October
5. They will host Take the Lead participants in their residence
halls during the long weekend in October and will attend workshops
on topics such as conflict resolution, community organizing, and
public speaking. Mentors will also work one-on-one with the teens
on planning action projects, and they will stay in touch with
their mentees via email following the campus event. Ten of the
fifty selected mentors will serve as alternates who will enjoy
many of the Take the Lead program benefits, including mentor training
and a gift certificate to the Odyssey Bookshop.
For more information
on the rewarding opportunities of Leadership Mentors, see http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/programs/wcl,
or call the SAW Program at x3028.
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