St. Cloud State University is partnering with the St. Cloud School District and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota to help expose youth to college life and encourage them to think about their education beyond high school.
The Dr. Potter Bigs on Campus Mentoring Initiative is a 12-month pilot program designed for 13 middle school students in an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) class to meet twice a month with professional adult mentors from St. Cloud State.
“With this initiative kids will see themselves in their mentors, they will see potential that they have that they might not have been able to envision before,” said Willie Jett, superintendent of St. Cloud Area School District 742.
Mentors engage with their mentees during their one-hour meeting by visiting with each other, bowling in the Atwood Center Underground, checking out the Recreation Center and Climbing Wall and touring campus.
Mentees will be brought to campus and accompanied by ISD 742 and Big Brothers Big Sisters staffers.
The AVID program caters primarily to students of color, low-income families or students who would be first-generation college students.
“The original idea for this program came from a community college in Michigan, and President Potter was familiar with it and their president. When he was approached about the idea by Big Brothers Big Sisters, he was more than happy to bring it here to St. Cloud State,” said Beth Knutson-Kolodzne, associate director for civic engagement.
Transportation for the entire year is being donated by Spanier Bus Service.
“Higher education is of vital importance in every community, and to be able to partner with Big Brothers Big Sisters Campus Initiative is exciting for us,” said Tami Spanier, owner.
The program is set to begin in September.
