Student community service valued at $10.4 million
Nonprofit and government organizations and schools received the equivalent of more than $10.4 million worth of manpower through the community service efforts of Fresno State students during the 2005-06 academic year. Chris Fiorentino, director of Students for Community Service, said research by the Office of Civic Engagement and Service-Learning found 6,300 students participated in organized community service-learning. The numbers don’t count personal service in the community with religious and other organizations. And Fiorentino said he is trying to develop some way of measuring the impact of community service by staff and faculty to get a truer picture of the university’s engagement in service to the greater community. Fiorentino said the university curriculum included more than 124 service-learning classes and involved 25 departments. He said suggestions for service-learning opportunities are welcome from staff and faculty.  A video on student community engagement is at FresnoStateNews.com.   Click here for more information about program or call Fiorentino at 278.7079.

Lynnette Zelezny, right, with mentoring student Alison Mathis.

Two mentoring events scheduled in October
Mentors and their student mentees will gather at noon Wednesday, Oct. 4, at the Smittcamp Alumni House for the annual Meet Your Mentor event sponsored by the university’s mentoring Institute. Refreshments will be served. On Cct. 13, the institute sponsors Making the Most of Your Mentoring Experience for first-year students. Both are part of the commitment to expanded mentoring opportunities for faculty and staff, in addition to academically successful students. Albert Valencia, institute director and an associate professor in the Department of Counseling, Special Education and Rehabilitation, says, “Mentors are offered face-to-face support in our office and electronic support via e-mail and Blackboard. The goal is for mentors to assist targeted first-year students in their transition from high school to college.  Much of the mentoring assistance is based on listening to students and helping them to navigate this complicated maze called university life.”

A confidential survey of 120 mentors conducted in the spring found that mentors strongly agreed mentoring benefits outweighed costs; that mentors gained great satisfaction from helping others and enjoyed working with students; and that the time spent mentoring was a good investment. Fresno State’s 19-year-old mentoring program, says Valencia, “is one of longest, continually running programs of its kind in the United States … [and] continues to focus on providing mentors to a diverse population of undergraduate students including those from groups who historically have been underrepresented in institutions of higher education.”  Click here for details.

Summer Bridge Program shows success in preparing students
Fresno State’s Summer Bridge Program, which gives first-time freshmen students an orientation to college life and helps improve their math skills, is demonstrating success.  Grades, surveys and focus groups are used to help assess success of the program, which was established in 1985. Students are provided an opportunity to take a math 4R challenge exam that is equivalent to passing the CSU Entry Level Mathematics Exam.  This year, 75% of the students earned a passing score on the exam. In student evaluations, there was an overall high level of satisfaction with the program. Studies have found that students who participate in the Summer Bridge Program have a higher first-year retention rate than the overall campus and CSU system. Four graduate students were provided educational stipends to serve as Garabedian Counselor Interns for teh program. Victor B. Olivares is the Summer Bridge Program coordinator with the Division of Student Affairs. Click here for details.