NLC Receives Grant to Support Male Initiative

NLC Receives Grant to Support Male Initiative

Northeast Lakeview College (NLC) has received a grant from the San Antonio Area African American Community Fund (SAAAACF) to support innovative strategies to reach young men and promote their academic success. $2,000 has been awarded to NLC for Project MEN, a project that will use high achieving NLC students to mentor college-bound high school students so that when they enter NLC or any college, they will better understand how to navigate the system and persist.

A principle strategy in this effort is the Male Excellence Network (MEN) of NLC. The Male Excellence Network is a college-wide initiative of NLC created to increase the number of males who complete an undergraduate degree. MEN of NLC select faculty mentors determined to increase the persistence and graduation rates of young men in college. These mentors are college staff, faculty, and community members who provide the young men in the program with support and enrichment opportunities and promoting community service within the College and the College District and the community.

The Project MEN Mentoring Program amplifies and extends the MEN of NLC initiative. The Project MEN Mentoring Program will partner college-age men from the MEN of NLC with middle school students in NLC’s service area. The funds will be used to hire two peer mentors to assist NLC staff to conduct outreach and college preparedness activities. Each Peer Leader will mentor 7 to 10 students during the 2018-2019 school year during which time a peer-to-peer relationship will be established centered around preparing for college and discussing obstacles students will face while in college will students information they may not get from other sources as well as a person they can turn to for help once they get to college.

The mentors will be chosen from Northeast Lakeview College students participating in MEN of NLC. Prior to being employed as mentors, candidates will undergo a training program that equips them to prepare their charges for the college transition. Preference will be given to candidates whose background matches that of the students they will be mentoring. 

By the end of the school year in May, a minimum of 15 meetings will have been held between mentors and their mentees. Participants in the Project MEN Mentoring Program will attend the Empowering Males to Build Opportunities for Developing Independence (EMBODI) Conference as one of their last activities at the end of the 2018-2019 school year. EMBODI is a nationwide initiative of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority to address the crisis facing Men of Color.

The success of the project would serve as an incentive to NLC leadership to help fund such programs on a permanent basis.

About Northeast Lakeview College
Northeast Lakeview College, established in 2007 is the newest of the five colleges in the Alamo Colleges District. A center for educational excellence, Northeast Lakeview College combines innovative classroom instruction with hands-on experience to provide exemplary enrichment opportunities for students and the community. Northeast Lakeview College serves over 5,000 students from northeast San Antonio and surrounding communities – including Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe Counties.

About San Antonio Area African American Community Fund
The San Antonio Area African American Community Fund (SAAAACF) was established in 2008 to raise funds and strengthen involvement in philanthropy. SAAAACF serves San Antonio and the surrounding communities' African American population.

Photo Caption: Members of the (Male Excellence Network) MEN at NL Participate in 2018 Leadership Summit held at the University of Texas recently. The students are pictured with Dr. Archie Wortham (L) and Marlon Anderson (far R), both liaisons to the MEN at NLC group.