WSU program seeks student advisors for DPS

The Wayne State University Educational Talent Search Program is currently looking for WSU students with a standing of sophomore or above to work as student advisors or peer mentors in the Detroit Public School system.
“We work with students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed,” Jonas Hill, the program’s assistant project director, said.
The program targets middle and high school students and prepares them for high school and post-secondary education, respectively.
“Wayne State students can make a difference because the student advisors that we hire are the nucleus of the program,” Hill said. “They are the ones that provide direct intervention to the students.”
The WSU student advisors would assist DPS students by helping them prepare for college admissions and exams, taking standardized tests, and financial aid.
“We generally want students that are education, sociology or psychology majors but will take students in other majors who are genuinely interested in working with kids and helping students get a better education,” university program counselor Cathy Howard-Lindemann said. 
WSU students who apply need to have presentation skills, according to Howard-Lindemann, because they will be conducting workshops in classrooms to help assist students. 
“We provide workshops around self- esteem, preparing them for high school and study skills time management,” she said. “The teachers don’t have time to do that. They barely have time to get the academics in.”
The Talent Search program, formerly the Higher Education Opportunity Committee, and as part of the federally coined TRIO programs, helps all potentially disadvantaged students, including those in the Detroit Public School system, overcome race, socio-economic and first generation college enrollee barriers, among other disabilities. The goal is to increase the number of students from diverse backgrounds who complete high school and enroll in college.
“We also provide tutorial services in their core subjects, we provide career exploration and typically our workshops are age and grade appropriate,” Hill said. “We wouldn’t teach a sixth grader interview skills or how to dress; that would be for high school.”
The program also targets high school dropouts to encourage them, according to Hill.
“We provide academic career and financial aid counseling, and encourage students to retain high school status, and pursue post-secondary education to their school of choice,” he said. 
The program provides training in four areas: academic enrichment, personal development, career development and college preparation.
The program also helps students be competitive, gets them thinking early about careers and why they should be in school, Lindemann said. 
“A lot of the students don’t know that college is a possibility for them,” said Lindemann, “No one talks to them about it, and by the time they’re seniors, it’s too late.”    
Alvin Boykin, a student assistant at the program, said that he enjoyed working for it when it was the Higher Education Opportunity Committee.  
“The interns are actually placed to a particular school,” Boykin said. “You kind of put on workshops and have students sign up for the program and make sure that your students graduate. And you try to convince them to pursue secondary education.
“It doesn’t have to be college, but the idea is to get them to pursue.”
Interested WSU students can find out more at their Web site at www.federaltrio.wayne.edu.