Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us May 26, 2005 Mentor program breeds success Local volunteers team up with students to offer support, assistance on the road to college By Jeremy Judd Tidings Correspondent By The Numbers 20 percent of AHS students who received local scholarships were involved with ASPIRE 60 students were placed with mentors this year in Ashland, another 40 have stopped in for assistance 98 percent of seniors involved with ASPIRE statewide said they intend to continue their education after high school, compared to about 70 percent of students overall 30 percent of ASPIRE mentors statewide have advanced college degrees A two-year-old program to encourage Ashland High School students without college ambitions to pursue higher education blossomed this year. Ashland High School counselor Steve Smith enrolled the school in the Access to Student Assistance Programs in Reach of Everyone program two years ago. The program has grown from only a few advisors and students to about 60 students and 24 advisers. ASPIRE is essentially a way to extend a school’s counseling department at a low cost to the school. Students who receive advice from volunteer mentors may be better off than students that seek out a counselor for help with scholarship and financial aid packages. “As it turns out, the mentors are getting more specific than the counselors do,” said Smith. “We’re getting these mentors with a stronger base of information than we have. Volunteer mentors are recruited by an ASPIRE on-site program developer to work with students toward applying for scholarships and financial aid. Mentors come from a wide variety of backgrounds. At Ashland High, a farmer, lawyers, a potter and two retired high school counselors volunteer their time. They counsel two or three students for two to four hours a week. “Wherever I am, I find people,” said Ann Magill, who coordinated the ASPIRE program at the high school this year. “They seem to come out of the woodwork.” Smith served as on-site coordinator during ASPIRE’s inaugural year, but this year retired AHS librarian Ann Magill stepped in to run the program part-time in a position funded by an AmeriCorps grant. “She left the library and gave up her retirement to come here,” Smith said. “That’s why it was so great this year.” Magill will retire next month, but Smith hopes to receive another AmeriCorps grant to fund a full-time coordinator for one more year. After that, it will be time to “… get the mentors to step up and run the program,” Smith said. Opening doors Dulcie Winter, an 18-year-old graduating senior, said she wouldn’t have considered high education without the ASPIRE program. Through the ASPIRE program, Winter was paired with Ashland resident Susan Roudebush. In the fall, Winter will be a first-generation college student. Winter said that she had had a “wonderful experience” working with Roudebush in the ASPIRE program, whom she met with several hours every week. Roudebush helped Winter manage her time and her life. “[She] had a lot of knowledge and a lot of wisdom to share with me and I’m glad I had a change to take it,” Winter said. “It was so nice to see that there were people out there that were generous and cared.” Winter made too much money at her part-time job working at the Rogue Regency Inn to qualify for government aid. But with the help and encouragement of Roudebush, Winter is going to college in the fall with $21,000 in financial awards. She will enroll in Southern Oregon University this fall and wants to become a neo-natal nurse. “I think the ASPIRE program opens doors and opportunities for Oregon students who would otherwise not recognize or broach those doors,” said Roudebush. High school students can enroll in the ASPIRE program regardless of what grade they are in. About 30 AHS juniors have expressed interest in the program this fall. South Medford High School will implement ASPIRE next year; Eagle Point and Butte Falls introduced it this year. To get involved in the ASPIRE program, contact Magill at 482-8771 ext. 213 or [email protected] Squires contributed to this article. Jeremy Judd is an intern at the Daily Tidings. To comment on this article, contact City Editor Myles Murphy at can be reached at 482-3456 x 3024 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Ceramic Piggy Banks FREE Entertainment Guide Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products Backpacks Online Pharmacy Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations Hammocks Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Bonus Casino Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams