02-02-2025 Edu - Flipbook - Page 1
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, February 2, 2025 1
EDUCATION
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Distance learning
At Coppin State, each incoming new student is paired with an upper-class mentor to assist them in their first year.
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For new students or those struggling academically,
colleges step up to assist
By Gregory J. Alexander, Contributing Writer
S
Starting college as a freshman – or
transfer – student is never easy.
Something as simple as trying to
locate the chemistry building can
cause some anxiety, not to mention
staying on top of your studies. Luckily for new
students at Coppin State University, they all
have an upper-class mentor to help guide them
through their first year in college.
According to James Stewart, Ph.D., associate vice president for student development
and achievement at Coppin State, thanks to a
private donor donation, the Our House mentoring program has been expanded from once
serving about 100 incoming students to now
serving each of the approximately 600 students
that began studies at Coppin this past fall.
Additional curriculum and training was also
partially funded through the “Maryland’s ABCs
for Student Success: Advising, Belonging, and
Coaching” grant awarded to the University
System of Maryland by the U.S. Department of
Education.
Stewart says that the private donation
allowed the school to hire 40 upper-class mentors, who are compensated, and additional professional staff to support the mentors.
“The mentors and mentees are matched
electronically,” Stewart explains. “Incoming students are sent a survey to determine what is
most important for them in a mentor, as well
as their interests and hobbies. We then try to
match them with a mentor who may share a
common bond such as being an athlete, veteran
or being a member of the LGBTQ+ community.”
Stewart says that mentors help with the
transition to college by connecting incoming
students to other students, goal setting, finding
an on-campus job if desired, and helping with
preparation for exams. “By spring semester,
most mentees are fine on their own, but it’s reassuring to know that their mentor is still there
when needed,” he says.
Mentors hold office hours in Coppin’s Eagle
Achievement Center where students can meet
with advisors and tutors, as well as receive assistance at the Math Lab or the Writing Center.
“Mentors are very accessible, and if one of their
mentees shares that they are struggling with a
writing assignment, they can walk down the
hall together and make an appointment at the
Writing Center,” Stewart shares.
Mentors receive extensive training and must
be in good academic standing and be seen as a
positive role model. “We are very selective, and
Ask Margit
we cast a wide net so that our mentors represent
different backgrounds and life experiences,”
says Stewart.
At Towson University, students needing
extra assistance in their entry-level business
courses in the college of business and economics can draw on the experience and knowledge
of fellow undergraduate students who have
passed microeconomics and statistics and serve
as supplemental instructors. The supplemental
instructors attend all the microeconomics and
statistics classes and offer office hours throughout the week for current students.
Seth Gitter, Ph.D., professor of economics at Towson, says that students who are at
risk of failing or withdrawing from one of the
introductory economics courses are contacted
by the school and are sent graphs showing
that students who attend the three-hour additional instruction provided by the supplemental
instructors on average earn a B in the class vs.
those who don’t who typically earn a C.
“We tell them that they don’t have to go
each week. Even attending every other week
will be a benefit for their studies,” Gitter says.
“Also, students make connections and friendStudent success,
continued on page 7
Creating
a path
Universities
help students
juggling multiple
responsibilities
By Carol Sorgen, Contributing Writer
M
ia Henson always dreamed of
becoming a nurse, but when she
was “young and impatient,” she
wanted to finish college as soon as
possible. Nursing took a back seat
to earning, first an undergraduate degree, and
then a graduate degree in social work. “But my
passion for nursing never died,” says Henson,
now 40.
Last year, Henson learned that Coppin State
University would still accept the nursing prerequisites she had taken years earlier. “Once
I found that out, it was a no-brainer,” says
Henson, who enrolled last summer in Coppin’s
accelerated second-degree program for individuals interested in becoming registered nurses.
This 15-month pathway is designed for students
from a variety of educational and professional
experiences.
Lori Harvin, D.N.P., M.S.N., chairperson of
the baccalaureate nursing education at Coppin’s
Helene Fuld School of Nursing, explains that
the program provides all the requisite courses
nursing students in the traditional program
taken, only on a quicker path. “The students
attend classes in summer, spring, and fall, and
then graduate in December,” she says, adding
that traditional nursing students do not take
Adobe stock
classes in the summer.
Coppin has offered this accelerated program
for more than a decade, with approximately 100
students having pursued a nursing education
from backgrounds as diverse as teaching and
business. The students’ ages generally range
anywhere from their 30s to 60s.
Harvin notes that there is a critical need for
nurses, made even more apparent during the
pandemic. “The population is getting older and
sicker, older nurses are retiring, and others are
moving into more administrative or educational roles, leaving the profession with a shortage
of bedside nurses,” she observes.
Now that Henson has earned her nursing
degree, she is looking forward to her new position with Johns Hopkins Hospital’s department
of neuroscience, followed by working in the
intensive care unit (ICU), and eventually planning to earn her doctorate and segue into the
field of mental health.
“Nurses are in great demand, and this accelerated second-degree program can help you
achieve your professional goals,” says Harvin.
University of Baltimore Offers Certificate
in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
University of Baltimore’s new 12-credit
graduate certificate in Diversity, Equity and
Inclusion (DEI) is designed for students seeking
a broad focus on DEI, both in employee matters
as well as in the policies and programs provided
Creating a path,
continued on page 7
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
mbweisgal@gmail.com
How do I become an
educated voter?
With all the controversies surrounding our elections, you have to question
how we learn to be educated voters.
There is more to voting than knowing
the names of people running for the
various offices. There are also questions,
many of which will fund local projects.
How do you learn to be an educated, informed voter? Two of our
elected officials spoke to me about how
they learned: Odette Ramos, Baltimore
City Councilmember for Baltimore's
14th District, and Kweisi Mfume, U.S.
Congressman from Maryland’s 7th
Congressional District.
Odette Ramos (Odette.ramos@baltimorecity.gov) grew up in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, coming to Baltimore in
1991 to attend Goucher College.
“I don’t remember having a formal
education about elections. I know public
service was always important to me. My
earliest memory was sitting down with
my dad to watch Geraldine Ferraro speak
before the Democratic Convention in
1984.” Ferraro was the first woman vice
presidential candidate and served in the
U.S. House of Representatives (D-NY)
for six years, then as Ambassador to
the U.N. Commission on Human Rights
under President Bill Clinton.
“My parents would take me and my
siblings with them when they went to
vote, so both parents showed me different aspects of voting. Then, in seventh
grade, a teacher took me with her to testify before the Albuquerque City Council
to create the city’s recycling program,
and when the bill passed, I thought I
could do anything. Later, in college, as
student government president, I worked
on Question 6, a campaign to make
abortion safe and legal in Maryland.
When I wanted to get involved in politics, I worked for Delegate Jim Campbell
and then U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski.
My next connection was with Mary Pat
Clarke during her 1995 campaign. She
became my mentor.
“Now, during elections, I stand outside MERVO (Mergenthaler VocationalTechnical High School) to greet voters
and promote the candidates or initiatives
that are important to me. This year, more
than ever, I saw parents bringing their
kids when they voted as I do. It reminds
me of when I was a child going with my
parents to vote.
“Right after COVID, a student at
the Academy for College and Career
Exploration (ACCE) in Hampden was
upset about school lunches and invited
me to speak with her government class.
The students came up with an initiative
to change school lunches. I was able to
put a resolution before the Baltimore
City Council so students could have
the experience of testifying about it. Dr.
Sonja Brookins Santelises, CEO of the
Ask Margit, continued on page 7
