Mentor Monthly - May 2021

May 2021

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is celebrated annually in May in the United States to highlight the history, heritage, and contributions of Asian Pacific American communities. Home to 48 countries, Asia is the largest and most populous continent.

For ideas on how to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with your mentee, Click Here!

SENIOR EXIT WORKSHOP

On Saturday, May 1st, the Take Stock team held the TSIC Senior Exit Workshop. During the event we discussed the following: Resources for TSIC students, how to be successful in post-secondary education, understanding the Florida prepaid scholarship, and post-grad requirements of TSIC students.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT...

STAFF UPDATES

There have been a few staff changes this month! While some staff members are changing responsibilities, the Take Stock Team is still comprised of the same people.

Chief Programs Officer: Anna Corman

Anna, former Director of TSIC, has taken on a new role at HEF as Chief Program Officer – she will oversee all direct-service programs, including the Take Stock in Children program. This role will allow her to support all of the great work that HEF is doing to serve students, teachers, and families in Hillsborough County.

Director of TSIC: Joanne Sandoval

Joanne Sandoval, one of our College Success Coaches, has been promoted to Director of the TSIC Program. In the last year and a half at HEF, Joanne has proven herself to be a thoughtful leader and dedicated to helping her students succeed. Joanne holds a M.Ed. from UF in Student Personnel in Higher Education. Before her time at HEF, Joanne worked in different student and academic affairs roles at several higher education institutions (Saint Leo University, University of Florida, and University of Chicago). Much of her work has been specifically working on retention efforts for low-income students. With her experience and passion, I’m more than confident that she will do a fantastic job in her new role!

Mentor Coordinator: Elisabet Rivera

Elisabet Rivera has been promoted to the role of Mentor Coordinator. Elisabet has been at HEF for 2 years now and has proven to be a valuable member of our team as well as a wonderful advocate for her students. Elisabet holds a B.S. degree from USF in Elementary Education. Before her time at HEF, Elisabet served in AmeriCorps where she was placed at the HOPE Community Center as a College Access Coordinator, where she helped students prepare and apply to college. Elisabet will maintain her assigned students & schools but in her new role, she will also lead our mentor recruitment, training, and engagement efforts.

MENTOR OF THE MONTH

Donna Weiner

How did you become involved with mentoring through the Hillsborough Education Foundation?

Mentoring was suggested to me by my friend (and mentor to another student), Joanne Sudman. She knew that I am a retired high school teacher, and she thought mentoring would suit me. It has!

What has been the most rewarding part of mentoring?

The most rewarding part of mentoring is that I can offer my mentee another perspective on life.

What do you believe is the key to being a quality mentor?

The key to being a quality mentor, in my opinion, is NOT foisting your values on your mentee. Listening to your mentee is another key to being a quality mentor. Looking at the world from my mentee's eyes is just as valuable as my mentee looking at the world through mine.

When you are not working with students, how do you prefer to spend your free time?

My free time is spent volunteering at Temple Beth Israel, the Jewish congregation of Sun City Center. I desktop publish the monthly newsletter, I am Membership Co-chair, I am Sisterhood Programs Co-chair, and I am on the tech team, which broadcasts weekly services via Zoom and YouTube.

What do you hope your mentee(s) will learn from you?

I hope my mentee learns from me to NEVER GIVE UP! There are work-arounds for every problem encountered. Keep your eyes on the prize, have grit, and get it done!

MENTOR SURVEY

It is hard to believe that the school year is almost over. Thank you for another AMAZING year of mentoring!

As always, one of the most important things we do at the end of the year is to get your feedback. Hearing back from our mentors helps us tremendously as we prepare for the upcoming school year, as well as gives us a clearer picture of what we can be doing better. As our eyes and ears, your opinions are invaluable to us!

Please take the time to take this brief survey about your experiences as a mentor this past year, your plans regarding the upcoming school year, and suggestions for the Take Stock in Children team. The survey should take about 8-10 minutes and will remain open until Monday, May 24^th. We ask that you give honest responses.

Click Here to Begin the Survey

Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to the Take Stock in Children program – we could not do it without you!

OUTSTANDING SENIOR

Ankit has been awarded this school years, Outstanding Take Stock Senior! Ankit will be graduating from Plant City High School with a weighted GPA of 10.08 and unweighted GPA of 4.0. Ankit earned a perfect PSAT score of 1520 and a near perfect score on the SAT of 1560- with a perfect 800 on the math section! His amazing performance on the PSAT earned him a spot as a National Merit Scholar.

Ankit has been involved in a ton of extracurricular activates. He was the President of the Interact club, VP of the Science club, Secretary of National Honor Society, member of HOSA (Health Occupation Student Association), and member of the Robotics club. Ankit has also earned 275 community service hours!

Ankit will be attending USF in the fall as a first-generation college student. He has been awarded a full-ride scholarship to USF. Ankit plans on enrolling in their accelerated Medical program. He has dreams of having a career in Emergency medicine.

As our outstanding senior Ankit was awarded a certificate, a gift card and a brand new Mac Book Air computer!

Watch a feature ABC did on Ankit by clicking here!

TSIC WEB PORTAL IS LIVE

For the majority of the year, the TSIC portal has been off-line, as Take Stock State has been working to update the website. The TSIC portal is now live!

While certain features of the website are not yet available, the mentor portal is ready to be used. To log in, you should use the same username and password you normally use to access the TSIC App.

The new and improved website allows you to message your mentee with the App chat feature, right from your computer! To access the web portal, click here!

SUMMER PLANS

TSIC and mentoring slows down in the summer. Our TSIC team will be taking some much needed time off in June to rest and recharge.

We are working on plans to do a few in-person community service events in July for students & mentors. We’ll update you all as soon as possible!

While no official mentoring takes place in the summer, we encourage you and your mentees to stay connected through the TSIC App.

Universities to Return to 'Pre-COVID Operations'

That includes social and athletic activities. Florida’s state universities are expected to return to pre-coronavirus operations during the upcoming school year, including at athletic and social events, top system officials said Wednesday.

An early evening news release signed by Syd Kitson, chairman of the university system’s Board of Governors, and Marshall Criser, chancellor of the system, said the 12 public universities “expect to increase classroom occupancy to pre-COVID capacity by the 2021-22 academic year and return to pre-COVID operations. Further, we anticipate returning to full in-person participation in athletic and social activities on our campuses, including fan participation in stadiums and arenas.”

The announcement did not provide further details. After the coronavirus pandemic hit Florida in March 2020, university campuses shut down and students were required to take online courses. Campuses reopened this school year, though universities used a variety of measures to try to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

To read more, click here.

Source: Florida Politics

Lawmakers agree to fund $1,000 direct payments to teachers

The House and Senate agreed to $1,000 one-time bonuses for teachers during the state’s budget conference. The money for the direct payments will come from Covid-19 relief funding earmarked for education in the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While some negotiations over the state’s nearly $100 billion budget for the next fiscal year are still ongoing, an agreement was reached on the state’s education budget during a meeting Friday.

To read more, click here.

Source: Florida Politics