TMA Washington College Mentorship Council Project

This TMA AmeriCorps VISTA position would work to meet two existing needs of Maryland¿s Eastern Shore: the need for coordination and support for Washington College students serving as tutors in the Talbot Mentors Program, and the need for coordination, capacity building, and resource sharing across many small, community mentorship programs serving students throughout the shore. This network of community leaders and educators would become, under the leadership of the TMA AmeriCorps VISTA member, the Eastern Shore Mentorship Council (ESMC). The ESMC¿s mission will be to coordinate and build capacity across individual programs to better serve and empower public school students within the Upper Eastern Shore¿s many rural and underserved Title 1 school districts. ¿ The founding charter and current mission of Washington College both center on civic engagement and emphasize the moral obligation of higher education to use its tremendous resources to lift up the communities around them. The ESMC, supported by Washington College and shaped and stewarded by this TMA AmeriCorps VISTA member, will deepen the collective¿s ability to organize and advocate together on behalf of underrepresented students and communities. The outcomes of these concerted efforts will center community voices on our campus, attune college research efforts to local questions and opportunities, improve college access and success, and build a regional network of mentors and educational professionals dedicated to empowering students from underserved communities of Maryland¿s Eastern Shore. Altogether, the work of the TMA AmeriCorps VISTA member will contribute to the collective impact of our many small, rural, mentorship programs by addressing shared concerns and developing each program¿s individual capacities through deep collaboration and partnership.