By Raymond Alonso
Feeling lost or are clueless on what you will do during your 1st time at Wright? There are many resources this college provides and many are accessible & free, and the First Flight Program is one of them. The First Flight Program is a mentorship program that helps first-year students to help guide to their goals. Not only that, but to build relationships with their mentors, peers & other staff. According to the program’s description on the CCC website, “Mentoring is a developmental relationship that provides help from one person to another in making significant transitions in knowledge, work, or thinking for the benefit of personal, professional, and career-related growth.” You would be paired up with the most suitable mentor possible, forming a bond between the mentor and the mentee. The mentors can be either staff, faculty, or admins depending on the student’s goals. According to Shanice Barry, the head of the program, it has been around for 2 years, since Spring of 2022. She states that it’s an excellent opportunity to meet people & a safe space to talk to about college. She has been considering accepting all students rather than only first-year students, but it is still undecided. Some of the mentors and Shanice were interviewed, and have success stories with their mentees that they would like to share.
(Erin Lambers (left) with her mentee, Javier Vasquez (right). Photo Credit: Adrian Panopio)
Erin Lambers’s success story begins with her mentee Javier Vasquez, a student who graduated from Wright last. During his 1st year, he had an interest in majoring in biology, but he was timid. Then he would join the program and a year later, ask questions and for advice from her mentor, reach out to people, check out programs, and seek opportunities that Wright had to offer. After Wright, he would go on to apply to the Diplomacy Lab research, which is run by the US Dept. of State.
Here’s his testimonial and a few responses to a few questions: During your first time in the program, what was it like? “It was very interesting as I had never worked closely with a professor before. During the whole program I felt very comfortable and was open to gaining as much knowledge and help as possible from Professor Lambers.
What were your expectations? “I did not have many expectations going into this program since it was just getting started. I just wanted to remain open minded to the whole experience.
At what point have your skills improved during your mentorship? “I think from the very first meeting I already saw my skills improving. Being able to communicate directly with my professor and opening up was the first hurdle I overcame. I think once we spoke and put a plan in place it was by the second meeting that we saw further improvements and by the end of the semester I had accomplished probably all of the goals we had set for me.”
“First Flight Mentorship Program was an amazing experience that allowed me to stay on track and grow as a person. My mentor was my biology professor, Professor Lambers, who is a great mentor and professor. One of our main focuses was improving my organization and I learned to navigate my personal life and school life with structure. I was able to stay on track and have a great semester no matter the challenges that came my way. The First Flight Mentorship Program was a great opportunity, and I would like to thank Professor Lambers for helping me along the way.”
The next one comes from Tineka Scalzo, who’s one of the library staff. Her success story begins from working with 2 students. One of them, Elias Morales, was Tineka’s successful mentee. He started in May of 2023 & was a struggle, being shy and lacking communication with Tineka, but as the 2nd year went on, he improved. He regularly met with her and things went smoothly for both of them. Elias then found out about the library’s hiring. He told Tinkea about this and took the opportunity. He currently works at the library. Tineka’s experience of college, she didn’t ask for help and would feel embarrassed if she didn’t know the answers to problems in class. states that the program is a valuable way to grow relationships with people, and her advice is to ask for help, there are always resources & offices that will help you.
And lastly, Shanice’s success story. Her mentee is Aaliyah Turner, currently studying at Wright. Much like the previous stories, her 1st year, in Fall 2023, had some rough starts, but as time went by it was a cakewalk for her. These are her responses: “My first time in the program, I felt very comforted at the fact that I have a mentor, someone I know at Wilbur Wright, that I can talk to about my life and to help me with school difficulties. It was like what I expected: someone that can help me navigate through community college.
“My skills improve in communication (being more social), motivation, and time management.”
“Dr. Berry is a Great mentor, who helped my steps at Wilbur Wright to be a lot easier!”
Like the many resources and programs, it’s free to join. Whenever help is needed, the First Flight Program is there to guide whatever goal you’re achieving. There are plenty of mentors who are willing to help you whenever you need it, don't hesitate to reach out to them.
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