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Century College: IMPACT Program
- 1. Asian Student Association I.M.P.A.C.T. Program Empowering Student Success March 1, 2012 Herbert King Alana Zbaren Vanessa Xiong
- 2. MnSCU Diversity Award • MnSCU Diversity Award – 2011 – The award acknowledges programs and services that support access and success in higher education: – Recognizing students from traditionally underrepresented groups within higher education: • Students of Color • Low Income Students • First Generation Studentss
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Editor's Notes
- HERBERT’S NOTES:The awards acknowledge programs and services that support access and success in higher education for all Minnesotans, especially those from groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education, such as students of color, low-income students or students who are the first in their families to attend college.
- HERBERT’S NOTES:The Outstanding Student Organization Diversity Award recognizes student-led groups, staff, faculty or administrators’ initiatives that foster diversity and inclusion within the campus and larger community.
- HERBERT’S NOTES:ASA created the IMPACT program as an opportunity to expand its base of activities to reach out to underrepresented student communities. Facilitating student access to college aligns with ASA’s mission and indirectly with the premise of MnSCU’s Diversity award.
- HERBERT’S NOTES:We believe the IMPACT program clearly demonstrateda commitment to providing access to college introducing students to educational opportunities by:Inviting students to Century CollegeMeeting a successful community leader to inspire studentsProviding and Introduction to the campus experienceEngaging students on leadership and the importance of getting involvedConnecting students with their peersEmphasizing student persistence academically and
- VANESSA’S NOTES:In 1980 Blong Yang was working as a Minority Counselor at 916 Vocational Technical Institute where he recognized the disparity, as well as the potential for recruiting and retaining underrepresented students, specifically Asian students.He created the Asian Club in 1980 for the students, staff and faculty at 916 as a way to help facilitate understanding surrounding diversity issuesFrom 1980 – 1995 3000 Asian students graduated from Northeast Metro Technical CollegeIn 1995 when Northwest and Lakewood merged into Century College, students voted to turn the Asian Club into the Asian Student AssociationThis organization works to promote quality education for minority students through a helpful peer-to-peer understanding of diversity within the campus.
- VANESSA’S NOTES:The purpose of this organization is to strengthen the confidence of students in themselves, their education, and their future, to encourage students and staff to understand and appreciate the multicultural society in which we live in, to form a network with other clubs here at Century College and other surrounding organizations, to help students become more aware of the various opportunities available here at Century Community & Technical College and the surrounding community, to provide Asian awareness through cultural and educational activities, and to give students an experience of a lifetime being a part of the ASA organization.OR1) To strengthen the individual identities and confidence of Asian Students so that they may pursue their goals2) To inform Asian Students of the various opportunities available to them at Century College3) To help Asian Students plan out their career and steer them in making the right educational decisions in order to succeed4) To provide and continue improving organizational recreational activities on campus5) To reach out to the Asian Community in the Twin Cities area and help to inform them of societal decisions that may affect their lives
- VANESSA’S NOTES:Impact means:Collectively these words and the one day workshop provided students with an opportunity and an awareness of how they are able to make an impact in their academic future as well as within their community (school, clubs, sports, or the community at large).
- ALANA’S NOTES:The purpose of this one-day leadership workshop was to give prospective high schools students the opportunity to learn about:College life and culture through break-out informational sessions with Century College staffEducate prospective students about educational opportunities at Century College while empowering them to take control of their academic futureProvide support, encouragement and guidance in pertaining to institutional knowledge:Admissions process and terminologyHow to get plugged in on campus as a studentsHighlighting Century College’s campus through student-lead tours
- ALANA’S NOTES:During the programming creation phase, I met with ASA executives to discuss and then refine the goals and programming objectives for this event. Over the course of 6 weeks, we worked to streamline this event from a two day event, to a one day event as we were mindful of the high school students’ schedules.ASA wanted this event to truly be impactful for the high school students – and they were very intentional about keeping this concept woven throughout the schedule of events.Together we set for criteria for the applicants and then I worked with the Multicultural Student Center staff in order to generate a short list of high schools who typically have students who matriculate to Century College
- ALANA’S NOTES:For students who were interested in applying to this event, the Multicultural Student Center in conjunction with ASA established the following applicant criteria:Prospective students needed to be on track for high school graduationEach needed a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 as that is the current minimum GPA for Century CollegeAdditionally, each student needed to submit a 300 word essay answering one of the following questions:Why are you interested in attending this workshop?What does being a leader or being a leader within the Asian community mean to you?What are your academic goals after high school graduation?We developed these goals for students to meet as they were also indicators for the overall outcome and success of our event. Additionally, having a 2.00 GPA allowed prospective students the opportunity to apply to Century College on the day of the event, as we offered to waive their $20.00 application fee.
- ALANA’S NOTES:We also had students who attended this event due to recruiting efforts by Blong Yang who issued an advertisement over the radioWe had about 3 students who attended this event thanks to this advertisement
- Our Guest Speaker was Kazoua Kong Thao who is currently working for the State of Minnesota as the Affirmative Action Office Program Coordinator: Kazoua is also an active community leader having served on the Saint Paul Board of Education for the past 8 years, as well as being the first Hmong-American and Asian to be elected as the Board Chair in 2008 – 2009Kazoua’s resume also includes:Being the the founder and president of the Hmong Education and Resources Today, which is a non-profit organizationWorking as a teacher, and education and a charismatic speaker – speaking to audiences across the country on leadership, education, public engagement, diversity and equality for women and girls. Our program consisted of:2 breakout sessions in the morning with Century College staff lending their experience pertaining to admissions as well as student life opportunities on campus.These concurrent sessions ran about 40 minutes long, and then at the end of the 40 minutes the students would alternate rooms and presentations.In between the morning and afternoon activities ASA student leaders provided lunch and as well as a campus tour to all of the high school students.The third breakout session offered prospective students an opportunity to learn about, or hone in on a communication style: Leadership, communication and Networking Certificate ceremony recognizing high school students achievements and participation
- VANESSA’S NOTES:Objective - Conflict Resolution Analysis: Is derived from how a person interacts with others to overcome conflict within a group setting.Students were given a test to determine their leadership style based off of characteristics from animals:Activity:After taking this test and analyzing their outcomes, students were either:Dolphins: Agreeable personalities where they want people to get alongOwl: Not passive people – they like to address a problem or conflict right awayTurtle: More avoidance to conflict, and they would rather ignore the problem Shark: Has a tendency to be more aggressive or dominating within a group – they want to reiterate their ideas in group settingsFox: Similar to a Teddy Bear, but they are willing to compromise to resolve a problemOutcomes:Students were surprised at their results but open to all of the different possibilities of leadership approaches. Some of the students expected certain approaches and actually got what they thought they would get. This shows that students are aware about different leadership styles within group settings
- VANESSA’S NOTES:Objective:To successfully communicate and work together in order to complete a taskActivity:Helium Stick:Two rows of students facing one another and they were given 1 helium stickAs a group they were told to take the helium stick from chest height to the ground without having the helium stick fall to the groundTeams worked together to develop a way to cradle the helium stick in order to safely lower the stick to the floorOutcome:During the activity, students initially became very vocal and started talking over one another Eventually through much more thoughtful communication, students realized that not everyone could be a leader in this activityEveryone needed to cooperate with each other in order to successfully complete the task.
- VANESSA’S NOTES:Objective:To learn the significance of networking, and what it takes to network with othersActivity:Networking Packet:Covered basic definitions about networkingOffered information about how to connect with professionals- College resources- Family and friends- Community members- Social networkingLinkedINPlaxo.comSpoke.comDiscussed negative personal outcomes by posting inappropriate information on social networks like Facebook - As many recruiters are finding creative ways to gain information about prospective applicantsOutcome:Many students knew about Facebook and Twitter and other social networking cites, but they did not understand the difference between professional networking and connecting with their friends online. Students completed the activity feeling knowledgeable about social networking and how they can use it as a tool in future employment opportunities.
- ALANA’S NOTES64 % of the students surveyed found the morning breakout sessions useful or very usefulOver 50% of the students found the leadership activities useful or very useful81% of students surveyed felt they learned a lot about leadership and college62% of students felt the IMPACT experience was useful or very useful
- ALANA’S NOTES:POSITIVE PROGRAM OUTCOMES:This was our very first attempt at a program like this – integrating admissions information, campus life, and leadership components all in one dayWe had over 110 students who attend this eventWith 75 students who filled out applications on the day of the eventAREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT:Since this was our first time implementing this program, ASA and the Multicultural Student Center were very reflective about areas where we could improve, to better serve the needs of the high school students.At the end of the day’s event, ASA held a certificate ceremony for the high school students. Although the students enjoyed the recognition for their participation, the event seemed too informal. ASA would like to produce a more formal, intentional certificate ceremony for the students, where MSC staff are present on stage to help read off names, or issue certificatesIn the future, developing training actives for ASA members to learn what to do when dealing with high school students who may be disruptive to the larger groupIn turn, developing ground rules for the high school students, so they understand what behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable for an all-day event (This is a safe space, or a brave space and everyone should feel comfortable to share their ideas)Introduce Century College staff to speak on Financial Aid assistance, scholarships, grants and work study opportunities. Also, have representatives from our TRiO programs present ways for students who may come from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve a college degree
- ALANA’S NOTES:REFINE THE APPLICANT POPULATION:Although over 110 student participants was a phenomenal goal, the sheer number/volume of students was a quite challenging for the ASA members. Even though these types of programs are about access – ASA and the Multicultural Student Center would like to attract and intentionally recruit high school students who have a vested interest in their educational goals. (We want to look more closely at determining educational interest and engagement of applicants) As we had a few students who saw our event as another opportunity to get out school for the day.In turn, ASA would like to also review all essays and applications going forward – hopefully drawing parallels with students’ essays and their educational goalsFOLLOW UP AND OUTREACH:ASA and the Multicultural Center would like to find ways to reach out to high school counselors after the event to see what students are interested in coming back to campus for another visitMany ASA members expressed how some of the more quiet, shy or introverted high school students intentionally sought out ASA volunteers to have candid conversations about what it’s like to be a student at Century College.In this way, we can use a program like IMPACT to showcase our college, while at the same time, generating relationships that can help plant a seed in future college students.