In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Project MALES mentoring program dedicated their holiday as a day of service. To start the semester, the Mentoring Program hosted its annual mentor retreat on Monday morning, January 20, 2020. Undergraduate mentors (new and old), graduate student coordinators, and staff attended the retreat for a day-long mentoring session and training.
Dr. Emmet Campos and Dr. Victor Saenz began the session with an official welcome and shared with the group the importance of the Project MALES mission and how much the mentoring program has grown. Dr. Campos also gave an introduction to the new consortium program coordinator Rico Gonzalez.
To warm everyone up, graduate student coordinator Victor Hugo led the session through an ice breaker which helped the mentors get to know each other a little more. Victor’s ice breaker was then followed up by a workshop led by graduate student coordinator Chris Estrella.
Chris’s workshop included an activity that helped mentors and staff learn more about aspects of their own identity as well as those of their peers. After a lunch break graduate student coordinators Sascha Fischel-Freeman and Delina Zapata led their own individual workshops.
Sascha’s workshop educated students mentors on how to facilitate a room. Sascha gave tips on what to do in preparation for a mentoring session, and a blueprint for creating an agenda. Delina’s workshop helped students learn how to manage a classroom. Delina gave tips on how to manage the energy in the classroom, and the best techniques to grab the attention of mentees during their sessions.
Mentor program coordinator, Rodrigo Aguayo, provided an overview of Project MALES mentor program, mentor expectations, and closure of the retreat.
We are thankful for the commitment and dedication of our mentors, guest speakers, and mentoring staff who serve our middle and high school boys and men of color at the schools we serve in Austin ISD and Del Valle ISD. Please stay tuned as we will be profiling our mentoring sites, mentoring events, and activities throughout the semester and summer.
