NLC Announces Innovation Grant Recipients

NLC Announces 2018 Innovation Grant Recipients

The following projects have received funding from the Alamo Colleges District Foundation Innovation Grant Program. The Faculty/Staff Innovation Grant Program encourages faculty and staff to provide innovative instruction and/or co-curricular support that positively impacts student learning, persistence, and/or completion.  Each college within the Alamo Colleges District received $10,000 to be awarded to projects that meet these criteria. 

The list of funded projects and a brief summary of each are list below:

Project MEN Mentoring Program

Marlon Anderson, Director of Student Success

Amount funded: $3,200

A mentoring program partnering 2 participants in the Male Excellence Network with 3-5 African American students from Kirby Middle School. The mentors will assist these students to better understand how they can begin to prepare for the rigors of college and understand how to navigate the application and acceptance process. The goal of the program is to build not only interest in these young men in NLC but to expand their interest in pursuing a college degree.

Nighthawks Nest Advocacy Center

Tracy Floyd, Director of Student Success

Amount funded: $2,500

The Nighthawks Nest Advocacy Center will support student retention and graduation by addressing the socioeconomic barriers to college attendance. The Program will include such services as a food pantry, assistance with emergency funds, counseling, document submission for public assistance programs such as WIC and SNAP, assistance with emergency utilities. This project will also offer students the opportunity to participate in community service, service learning, and leadership roles. Student volunteers will learn the basics of community outreach and education as well as how communities organize various resources to provide a service.

Community Alliance Expo

Sabrina Hammel, Assistant Professor, Political Science

Amount funded:  $2,500

A service learning project with the goals of coordinating community cleanups at Montgomery Elementary School and at Serna Elementary School. The project will involve Neighborhood First Alliance and the county commissioner's office with an on-sight job fair. Northeast Lakeview College Student Success will be invited to the event to provide continuing education and workforce information and/or college information to those in attendance. Students will assist in cleaning local playground areas and coordinating fundraising efforts for the revitalization of the playground at the Church of Reconciliation and for providing a safe place for the students who attend Serna Elementary School. Northeast Lakeview students will participate in organizing all events as well as assessing the needs for each event.

Ambassador Program

Phillip Hicks, College Director of High School Programs

Amount funded: $800

The Student Ambassador Program is an opportunity for current NLC students to display their leadership. Dedicated ambassadors represent and serve the NLC community by providing campus tours to prospective students and/or community members, welcoming students and their families during New Student Orientation, visiting local high schools to speak with prospective students, and serving in various leadership capacities around campus. The goal of the Ambassadors is to develop the leadership skills of its students and provide them with an opportunity to serve.

Adopt-A-School Campus Visit Project

Phillip Hicks, College Director of High School Programs

Amount funded:  $1,000

Northeast Lakeview College will host local middle school classes for a campus visit during the Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 semesters. The goal of the program is to reach out to an underserved middle school within our service area and introduce the idea of college attendance. The target is Kirby Middle School's 7th and 8th-grade classes. Kirby Middle School feeds into Wagner High School, which has a very low college-going rate. Each class has approximately 200 students. The funds provided will pay for bus transportation to and from NLC. While on campus, students will participate in an introduction to college presentation, career exploration presentation, and a campus tour.