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| Written by Alice Knotts | |
| Sunday, 14 March 2010 | |
 Thanks to the inspiration and determination of one exceptional college student, a brand new GEAR UP sponsored afterschool mentoring program called College Coaches is breaking ground this year at the Walla Walla High School (Wa-Hi).  The program’s basic goal is to prepare Wa-Hi students for higher education using small, academic mentorship groups to encourage both individual initiative and team accountability. Each small team of students is lead by a Whitman College student playing the role of the team's coach. Coaches advise their teams on classroom matters, facilitate group discussion, provide insight into higher level learning, cover test and note taking strategies, and teach good study habits. The academic coach/team approach to mentorship at Wa-Hi is the brainchild of Whitman College junior Emily Lorente who personally developed and pioneered the program. Emily’s inspiration for College Coaches came to her last summer (2009) while she was working as a mentor in the Whitman WISE (Whitman Institute for Summer Enrichment) program. In WISE, Emily had the opportunity to work with eighth graders transitioning to ninth grade in an effort to raise early interest in college by demonstrating the academic and social benefits of college campus life. Emily enjoyed working with WISE, but was disappointed to find there was no program in place at Wa-Hi to offer follow up for the participating students. Being an assertive person, and an excellent problem solver, Emily took it upon herself to come up with a solution to fill that need. She presented her program proposal to the Whitman College Multi-Cultural Center which, in turn, connected Emily with Wa-Hi’s GEAR UP Site Director who helped her take the next steps in making her dream a reality. As College Coaches continues to grow, Emily is working hard to strengthen, improve, and establish the program’s presence at Wa-Hi. As with any program, the first run at it has some experimental elements, but GEAR UP is confident College Coaches will evolve into a solid and productive program at the high school. | |
| Last Updated ( Monday, 15 March 2010 ) |
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