Rosen College鈥檚 award-winning held its Fourth Annual Mentorship Ceremony on Friday, April 22. During the ceremony, senior Ryan Burke was honored with the Peer Mentor of the Year Award and a $1,000 scholarship. Senior Andre Forrest received the Mentee of the Year Award and an automatic promotion to the peer mentor position in the Fall 2016 term. In addition, Allyson Smith, 鈥�09 and Samantha Westley, 鈥�13 received the Alumni Mentor of the Year award.
The event鈥檚 theme was 鈥淭he Grand Revealing鈥� to symbolize the relationships and support system fostered within the program. Deborah Weissberg, an instructor at Rosen College, served as the evening鈥檚 keynote speaker and former POMP member and CEO of BlurtBox, Julien Meyer, 鈥�14, gave closing remarks.
POMP, which pairs upper-level undergraduate students with peers who are looking to enhance their college experience, continued its record of outstanding academic results in Fall 2015:
From Spring 2012 to Fall 2015 (not including summers), 95 percent of students who participated in POMP improved their 麻豆原创 cumulative GPA with an overall retention rate of 97.4 percent. The program also attained a 47 percent overall success rate in helping students who were on academic probation obtain good standing by the end of the term in which they participated in the program.
When POMP began in Fall 2011, it started with a group of 11 members. It has since more than quadrupled its membership to 61 as of Spring 2016. Giving mentees an opportunity to lead and eventually become peer mentors has proven to be a winning formula and bi-weekly meetings keep all participants engaged throughout the process. The regular interaction also builds relationships that help foster a support system between the mentors and mentees, which has been critical to the program鈥檚 success. POMP鈥檚 slogan is 鈥淧artnering to reveal the hospitality leader within鈥� and over the years, the mentoring program has truly transformed into a leadership program.
Each semester, students hear presentations and participate in activities that aid in their personal, professional and academic growth. During the Spring 2016 semester, POMP members volunteered at the National Academic Advising Association Region 4 Conference. This event provided an opportunity to practice their public speaking skills, gain experience in conference planning and exposed them to academic advising at the university level.
In 2014, POMP helped form the first Rosen College Knight-Thon team. is 麻豆原创鈥檚 largest, student-run philanthropy benefiting the Greater Orlando Children鈥檚 Miracle Network. In its first year, the team was comprised of three POMP members and raised about $2,000. This year, nine POMP members participated and the team of 10 raised about $7,000, earning them the Rising Knight Award for the highest percentage increase in fundraising.
For more information about joining Rosen College鈥檚 Peer Outreach Mentoring Program as a mentor or mentee, please contact Vanessa Cogswell.