UWG
News Item
Contact: University Communications & Marketing
Phone (678) 839-6464, FAX (678) 839-6645
ucm@westga.edu
EXCEL Center seeking mentors
March 24, 2003
CARROLLTON, GA - The EXCEL Center at the University of West Georgia is currently recruiting students for its HOPE and First Year Experience Mentoring Programs.
The center is seeking sophomores, juniors or seniors who have a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 and want to make a difference in new students’ lives by acting as a “big brother” or “big sister.”
“The EXCEL programs initiated in the 1997-98 year. This year there are 25 mentors and we are expecting to grow next year,” said Annie Gilliam, assistant director of and coordinator of the Minority Achievement Program.
The HOPE Mentoring Program is focused on helping students keep the HOPE Scholarship while the First Year Experience also includes helping the student to be active in campus life.
“It has been found that incoming students who have interactions with positive upperclass students have a smoother transition into college life and do better academically,” Gilliam said.
Mentors in both programs contact their assigned students weekly, notify their protégés of upcoming programs that might be beneficial to their success, and help their protégés understand West Georgia campus culture.
Mentors also meet once a month to talk about their protégés’ needs and to organize programs.
“The EXCEL Center always tries to match mentors and protégés by major or interests. We let the protégés fill out a form to choose what kind of mentor they prefer,” said Gilliam.
For more information, contact Gilliam at 770-836-6414.
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