May 2021!
The Mentor Resource Hub (MRH)
Tap into our Mentor Resource Hub (MRH) where you will find our program's extensive collection of Mentor resources, including:
COVID-19 Resources for Scholars; Mentor Program Calendar; Mentor Staff and Lead Contact Info; and Scholar Internship, Job, & Scholarship Opportunities
Use the password: mentors4OP to login.
May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month!
This month, we are celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage month! We continue to stand with our AAPI community and recognize their resilience, achievements, and impact on American history and society. Our Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are multifaceted and powerful. We encourage you to dedicate this month to learning more about the various AAPI communities as well as their histories and cultures. Use the link below to preview some new films and shows featuring AAPI stories that will be released this month.
May Theme:
Mental Health Awareness
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and in this issue of our Mentor Newsletter, we would like to highlight the importance of mental health and mental hygiene, as well as spotlight resources available for our Scholars. According to the Student Voice survey, conducted by Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse and presented by Kaplan, 65% of students reported having fair or poor mental health a year into the pandemic.
As we near the end of the academic year, finals season and as we continue to shelter-in-place (as we have for over a year), it is understandable that many of our students are reporting mental health challenges. To address this need, OP is hosting a Fireside Chat with a Mental Health Professional of Color TODAY, 5/4 at 4pm. Open to both Mentors and Scholars, this session will discuss the pandemic's effects on students' mental health as well as provide students with the tools to navigate and combat stress, anxiety and loneliness. Additionally, all students that attend will receive FREE exclusive online (video, phone, and/or messaging) counseling through BetterHelp, the world’s largest therapy provider, through August 2021. Join today's event using the Zoom link below and encourage your student to do the same!
Check out our "What We're Listening To" section to learn more about "how the pandemic is affecting college students' mental health." If your student is experiencing mental health challenges, please reach out to mentors@oaklandpromise.org for support and additional resources.
General Announcements:
New Mentor Portal Coming Soon
Next month we will be announcing the launch of the OP Mentor Portal! The Portal will give you access to your “Profile” (your contact information, employer, education), your Scholars (contact information, enrollment status, Scholar Docs submission status and more) and Resources (link to the Mentor Resource Hub, Mentor-Scholar Activities, videos, articles and more). The Scholars will also have access to their own Portal where they will be able to view, submit and track documents, including Scholar Docs, surveys, Mentor-Scholar Activities, Job and Internship Activities and more!
With launch day fast approaching, we are in the final stages of preparing the portals for Mentor and Scholar testing and feedback. We will also be creating tutorials and user guides to help you get the most out of the portal experience. We look forward to sharing this new tool with all of you and your Scholars next month.
CREWS Recruitment
The CREWS Program is currently recruiting for the 2021-22 cohort of CREWS Leaders! There are a total of 12 yearlong, stipend positions open in the following CREWS Teams: North UC's (2), South UC's (1), North CSU's (2), South CSU's (1), Community Colleges (3), Private CA (1), Out of State (Public & Private) (1) and HBCU's (1). As a CREWS Leader, Scholars will have the opportunity to expand on their professional development skills while also serving their awesome Oakland community! CREWS Leaders will build the College Completion team’s capacity by participating in First-Year Program planning and much more. We hope you encourage your Scholar to apply! Mentors are encouraged to coach and support Scholars through the application process.
To apply, applicants must:
- Be a 2020, 2019, or 2018 OP Scholar intended to enroll for the 2021-22 academic year
- Maintain a 3.0 cumulative & term GPA
- Complete an application (which includes a resume, a cover letter, and two (2) recommendations)
See the application link below! The deadline to apply is Friday, May 21st. For more info, students can attend an Info Session where the current CREWS cohort will be present to answer any questions. For questions, students should email Isabela at isabela@oaklandpromise.org.
Annual Survey Update
Thanks again to all who completed our Annual Survey! We have begun our deep dive into your responses, as they will help us to continually improve and refine our program. We are working to select interview subjects from among our respondents to gain more insight about the responses we received. As always, we will incorporate this feedback into our program curriculum, resource offerings, communication strategies & platforms, and more. We hope to continually offer relevant programming that is responsive to Mentor input. Thanks again to those of you who took the time to complete the survey.
OP-Hosted Career Panels
We are happy to have completed the final of this season’s three OP-hosted career panels. The first of them, back in February, was focused on careers in Health & Medicine. Next was the March panel, during which Scholars got the chance to hear from professionals in Law, Law Enforcement & Public Service. Lastly, in April was our Arts, Media & Entertainment Career Panel. They were attended by a combined 150 guests. We are proud to have had an OP Mentor sit on each of our panels. Special thanks to OP Mentors Allyson Purcell (February), Veronica Rios Reddick (March), Karina Anglada and Adam Planas (April), each of whom offered time and wisdom to our Scholars. We’d also like to thank Allyson and OP Mentor York Prado, each of whom helped secure fantastic panelists for the events. As we look for more ways to support our Scholars’ career development, we will consider how we might build on similar efforts in the future. Next academic year, look out for more information about how you can get involved in supporting our Scholar’s career development.
AB288: Protect Student's Aid
In recognition of their significant impact on our Scholars, our organization is increasing its focus on legislative and policy-centered outcomes. To this end, Oakland Promise formally endorses State Assembly Bill 288, also known as the California Ban on Scholarship Displacement Act of 2021. If passed, any higher education institution that receives state-funded assistance or that enrolls students who receive state-funded assistance would be barred from responding to a student’s having received a private Scholarship by reducing their need-based financial aid award. We are also partnering with the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) who advocates for significantly strengthening the Federal Pell Grant Program. This can be done through measures including, but not limited to, doubling the maximum award, recalculating Pell eligibility, and indexing the Program to inflation. If you, or someone you know is interested in working with Oakland Promise to help achieve legislative aims that better serve our Scholars, let us know by emailing mentors@oaklandpromise.org.
Mentor Recruitment
Our Mentor Recruitment cycle is just about wrapped up! We project that the number of Mentors requested by those who are awarded and accept the Scholarship will be somewhere around 315. Currently, the Mentors who have been fully recruited (all the way up to and including signing a Mentor Agreement) could Mentor 280 incoming Scholars. We are glad to have made this much progress. Given the uncertainty around total volume, any and all additional sign-ups are welcomed and appreciated. THAT MEANS YOU!
If you will have fewer than two OP Scholars to begin the upcoming academic year, you are eligible to take on an additional graduating high school senior, and have recently received a personalized opt-in survey. If you’d like to Mentor a 2021 OP Scholar, please feel out that form. If you did not receive that form, or need help finding it, please contact mentors@oaklandpromise.org
Monthly Mentor Huddles
Thanks to everyone who was able to attend our Community College Resources Mentor Huddle. It was great to be in community with everyone and share best practices with one another. In case you missed it, you can find some resources that we discussed down below!
We invite you to join us on May 20th at 12pm for our last Mentor Huddle before the Summer which will be themed A Year in Review: What's Next. Add our May Mentor Huddle to your calendar using the link below!
May Monthly Survey open until 5/10!
Check your inboxes for the May Monthly Survey sent to you yesterday, 5/3! Through the survey, you will have a chance to share any information about your interactions with your Scholar throughout the previous month (April). The survey is a great opportunity to let us know what is working in your Mentor-Scholar relationship, and what additional supports OP can provide you with.
The survey will remain open through May 10th!
Mentors of 2020 Scholars can also request support via their Activity follow-up surveys.
Reminders for your Scholars
Spring 2021 Scholar Doc Update
As an update, the Spring 2021 Scholar Doc period has closed, and quarter students should have received their checks in the mail by 4/30. If your student has not yet received their check, please have your student email advising@oaklandpromise.org as soon as possible.
For 2020 OP Scholars: Safeway Technology Immersion Program
If your student is interested in programming, software engineering and/or business technology, then they don't want to miss this awesome opportunity for 2020 OP Scholars! Through this 3-week program, 2020 students with a passion for technology will gain the skills and network to pursue a career in technology - no prior experience necessary! Additionally, the program will conclude with a graduation ceremony and $500 stipend for OP Students.
Applications are due May 17th, 2021. Please encourage your student to apply and attend our information session on May 10th at 2pm.
Afro-Latinx Líderes Avanzando Fellowship
The UnidosUS Afro-Latinx Líderes Avanzando Fellowship is a one-year leadership program geared at college juniors and seniors who identify as Afro-Latinx and are passionate about racial equity and driving meaningful change in their campus community and beyond
Applications are due June 4, 2021. Please encourage your student to apply and contact Washington Navarrete at wnavarrete@unidosus.org for more information.
Wind River Summer Internships
Wind River is still hiring! The Alameda-based software company has 18 summer internship spots across a number of fields, and wants to fill them all with Oakland Promise Scholars! The opportunities are open to students at 4-year universities with a projected graduation year of '22 or '23. If that's your Scholar, encourage them to apply! The jobs are in computer science, sales, marketing, human resources, and customer service. Make sure your Scholar is aware of this exciting opportunity! If your Scholar has any questions, they should email jeremy@oaklandpromise.org.
Supporting our Entrepreneur Scholars
We have so many amazing OP Scholars who are entrepreneurs that have been working hard this year. At OP, we want to showcase all of the incredible work that they do!
If your Scholar (or their family) has a small business, they can apply to have their business featured on the @oaklandpromisescholars Instagram page! We want to show their business some love and advertise it to the greater Oakland community. Encourage your Scholar to apply today!
OP Black Excellence Grant
In partnership with Harlem Children's Zone, the Oakland Promise has launched our Black Excellence Grant, to support Oakland Black/African-American Scholars in achieving their post-secondary goals. Oakland Promise believes in an Oakland community without barriers to equity, and we hope this grant can provide additional financial support to our Black youth. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis -- encourage your Scholar to apply today!
OP Youth Organizer Grant
Students can still apply to our Oakland Promise Youth Organizer Grant! This grant is open to Oakland youth of any age seeking to start or continue efforts of community service and leadership within Black or other underserved communities of color. Any youth in Oakland engaged in activism in service of the Black and/or underserved communities of color, or to youth-led nonprofit organizations or initiatives are encouraged to apply. If you know any Oakland youth who fit this criteria, encourage them to apply today!
Mentor Reminders
Stay Connected with the Community
Our OP Mentor Facebook Group is the place to receive the most up-to-date Mentor Program announcements and connect with the OP Mentor community to share mentoring tips, questions, internship/job opportunities and more.
Use our OP Google Group to post an internship opportunity with your employer, to find other Mentors who can help expand your Scholar's network, or to share resources across the community.
Join today!
We want to hear from YOU!
What moments stand out for you? How are you growing as a Mentor?
Each Mentor-Scholar relationship is unique, and sharing it can help others - including New Mentors - learn about what to expect, how to manage their expectations, how to celebrate successes, and more.
Mentor Leads Needed
We are seeking 1-2 Mentor Leads and/or Co-Leads to support the following teams:
BCC & Other Community Colleges, HBCU, NorCal, SoCal, CSUEB, UCSC and Laney/College of Alameda.
Mentor Leads are helpful, committed and experienced folks who want to support their Mentor teammates.
Apply today below!
This Month, We're Listening to..
"How the pandemic is impacting college students’ mental health"
PBS News Hour, "Rethinking College" series, January 9, 2021
