PT Class V | RISD ISE

Class V: 2016 – 2017

Summary/Overview

Welcome to Project Thrive: Class IV’s yearbook page! We had an amazing time with the sixth year of our mentoring program! We invite you to learn more about the changes to this year and the magnificent people – both mentors and mentees – that made this year so special. Below you can find excerpts from our annual report, a list of mentors, and past events. We had so many amazing students in the program this year. ISE is pleased at the preparation that Project Thrive has provided students so that they can be successful and get the most out of their time at RISD.

Annual Summary

During the 2016-17 academic year, the program connected a selected 21 incoming first-year students and mentors from across the RISD campus. A programming series focused primarily on first-year skill development, social/cultural events and community building. The students enjoyed a one-on-one relationship with their mentor and often times would be out doing such as activities such as grabbing coffee at a local cafe, dining out in Providence, exploring local museums and even going apple picking! The mentoring relationships were dynamic and met the needs of the both student and the mentee. Some were very professional, while others quite casual. Through assessment and feedback, we are very proud of the positive impact this program is having on not only our students, but our community at large.

Program Design

Overview and Outcomes

The Rhode Island School of Design’s mentoring program was designed and implemented by the Office of Intercultural Student Engagement (ISE). The program is designed to engage and connect incoming first-year and underrepresented students to the RISD community, both academically and socially. While RISD remains the premier art and design school in the United States, ISE wishes to make sure that all students who are accepted and wish to learn here have a positive and impactful experience that facilitates a transformative education.

Project Thrive has been designed to provide students with a two-pronged approach to supporting their needs. The first is the pairing of each student with a mentor for the duration of the program. A mentor in the program could be a member of the RISD faculty/staff or an alumnus. Pairing each student with a mentor allows for the student to receive individualized attention and one-on-one support. The second part of the program is the creation of a skills development and cultural/community-building programming series. ISE has identified the most common struggles that underrepresented students at RISD face during their transition to college. The programming series allows for skill development and confidence building within these areas through a fun, casual, and inviting medium.

Having Project Thrive allows the institution to be pro-active in supporting the students that bring diversity to our campus – diversity that we strongly value. Rather than continually being reactive – sometimes when it may be too late – we are helping RISD to affirm its commitment to the inclusion and success of all students who choose to learn at this institution.

Program Organization

Project Thrive had the following organization and mentoring staff to ensure its proper functioning, maintenance of records, and superb services:

Emma Montague, Administrative & Programming Coordinator**

Michelle Zhuang, Programming Coordinator

**as of July 20 2017. Emma was promoted into the role from her former role as Administrative and Programming Coordinator in Intercultural Student Engagement. Emma inherited the wonderful Project Thrive Class V (and lots of other things!) from Chris Lauth, Assistant Director of Diversity Programs in April after supporting since she started at RISD Fall 2014.

Program Structure

The mentoring program for the 2016-17 academic year ran from August – April.

Mentoring

Each student who participated in the mentoring program was paired with a mentor, which could have been a member of the RISD, faculty, staff or alumni. Mentors and mentees were appropriately matched by ISE using data from both the mentee registration form and the mentor application. Additionally, this year ISE implemented the College Student Inventory (CSI) report, which provided additional information on student readiness to college and past academic and demographic information. The utilization of this survey provided greater information about students when determining mentoring assignments. ISE left the scheduling of mentoring meetings up to the mentor/mentee to find times and locations that was suitable for their needs. ISE strongly recommended that these meetings be arranged on a bi-weekly (every other week) basis. We felt that for the majority of students, this was the appropriate amount of contact.

Mentor/Mentee Selection and Pairing Process

To enroll in the program, students had to fill out the College Student Inventory (CSI) report and an online enrollment form that featured a series of questions that asked about their personality, work style, their feelings regarding starting college and some of their personal interests and hobbies. These questions aided us in pairing them with mentors who also had to fill out a similar questionnaire when they formally volunteered to serve as a mentor in the program. The Assistant Director and the Project Thrive Coordinator reviewed the forms and paired students based on their review and recommendations.

2016-17 Mentors

Staff: 87% (includes curators, student affairs, executive level staff, and academic technicians)
Faculty: 9% (includes solely academic support staff)
Alumni: 4%

Julie Talbutt, Associate Director, Student Affairs*
Jan Howard, Curatorial Chair and Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs

Ashley Montague, Area Coordinator, 15 West
Kim Almeida, Administrative Assistant, CSI*
Michelle Zhuang, BFA Illustration ‘17

Ned Draper, Director, Academic Budgets & Facilities Planning*

Karen Harris, Internship Manager, Career Center

Susan Andersen, Associate Director, Career Center

Virginia Dunleavy, Director, Dining and Retail

*Mentors who were placed on the alternate/reserve list allowing folks to join mid-semester, as needed. No students were sent to ISE to be added as student mentees for Class V.

Programming

At the beginning of the year, ISE arranged a formal reception as the official start of the program where the new mentoring cohort could all come together and meet their mentor/mentee for the first time. Additionally, they learned more about the structure of the program and met the ISE mentoring program staff. ISE also hosted a newly designed mentor orientation, which provided additional resources to mentees and answered any questions they might have had from the start. The orientation session was increased this year from an hour and half to a half day (5 hours). Included in the retreat was an orientation from Emma about the program, lunch, and a chance for the group to attend a Providence Art Day on the Alex and Ani Center space. This proved to be a successful model for training and the mentees appreciated the additional materials that were covered.

Throughout the program, ISE hosted a programming series that featured primarily social and cultural events that fostered community building. The tailored workshops facilitated skill development of the new students as they transitioned to college. This provided students with fun, engaging and thoughtful events to attend that not only fostered skill development, but also allowed for students to meet new people, make meaningful connections with their peers and other on-campus personnel. It also allowed them an opportunity for a well-deserved break from the daily grind of rigorous academics. The areas of skill development and awareness that the programming series sought to address included, but were not limited to the following:

Budgeting/Financial Aid (promoted by ISE, offered through Financial Services)
Wellness (Mental, Physical, Spiritual)
Academic Success
Social Pressure
Spiritual/Religious Awareness, Growth & Continuing Practice at College
Self-Advocacy
Time Management
Final Project Success
Museum Connections

Attendance to the programs by the mentees was expected and optional for mentors. Based on data from student evaluations, these programs assisted Class V in building community and addressing important issues that are integral to their transition to college success. Project Thrive programs that were part of the series are included below:

2016-17 Mentoring Program Series

September:

Meet N’ Greet – Mentees meet their fellow peers in program and the ISE mentoring program staff.
Waterfire & Tour of Providence – The Project Thrive Programming Coordinators took mentees on a trip downtown to see a Providence tradition – a full lighting Waterfire. In addition, students got to enjoy some of their favorite street foods.
Welcome Dinner - This event served as the official start of Project Thrive for the new cohort of students.
Project Thrive Retreat – Students learned more about RISD, identity development, and what they would like to see out of their Project Thrive mentoring community.
Study Group 1: Settling in and Personal Wellbeing

October:

Study Group 2: Writing for Others, Writing for You
Study Group 3: Connecting to Brown Resources

November:

Study Group 4: Navigating Work and Still Having a Life
Study Group 5: Night With The Museum

December:

Winter Warmer

January:

Group Ice-Skating!
Steps For Success: A Presentation by Career Services

MLK Celebration Series 2017 – Mentees were strongly encouraged to attend all of the festivities that were a part of the MLK celebration series; a large number of our mentees attended the opening reception which featured a community dinner and gospel performance.

February:

Closing Celebration