Mount Saint Mary’s University Community Student Ambassadors Program https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2021/mount-saint-mary2019s-university-community-student-ambassadors-program https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

Mount Saint Mary’s University Community Student Ambassadors Program

Additional Information
Used for	Mount Saint Mary’s University (MSMU) respectfully requests a grant of $10,000 from the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation in support of our Community Student Ambassadors Program. Established twenty years ago, the program provides much-needed support, guidance, and inspiration for youth in under-resourced area schools and after-school programs to pursue a college education. Peer mentoring and academic assistance services are provided by current MSMU undergraduate students known as Ambassadors.
Benefits	Ambassadors inspire and empower young women of color from underrepresented backgrounds, and in many cases attending under-resourced schools and after-school programs. In turn, Ambassadors fulfill their own commitment to benefitting their community, cultivate their leadership skills, and reinforce their own commitment to academic success. Although COVID-19 restrictions in area schools have decreased, the pandemic has exacerbated inequities in our educational system, bringing unprecedented challenges to the ability of under-resourced students to achieve academically and pursue a meaningful college education; renewed support from the Dougherty Foundation would have a positive impact in surmounting these community challenges.
Proposal Description	BACKGROUND: As a Catholic university primarily for women, MSMU is dedicated to providing a superior education enhanced by an emphasis on building leadership skills and fostering a spirit to serve others. The University’s measure of success is graduates who are committed to using their knowledge and skills to better themselves, their environments, and the world. MSMU is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. Approximately half our undergraduate students are the first in their family to go to college. In recent guides to “Best Colleges,” MSMU is ranked #1 in Social Mobility among regional western universities by U.S. News & World Report and #3 in MONEY Magazine’s ranking of Most Transformative Colleges nationwide. Additionally, in MSMU’s latest National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) Report, our 2020 student voting rate increased 14.4 points from 2016 to 71.9%. The 2020 voting rate for all institutions was 66%. This has earned MSMU a Gold Seal from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge. THE NEED: The majority of students served by MSMU’s Ambassador program are Latina/o, live in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods in South and Central Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, and are from families facing significant financial challenges. Their parents often work multiple jobs and lack the time and prior experience to assist their children in the college preparation and application process. To help students navigate these obstacles, MSMU trains and assigns undergraduates, known as Ambassadors, to area middle and high schools and community youth organizations to assist onsite counselors in advising students about the college search, application, and financial aid process. Through this program, MSMU students develop their own leadership skills and realize their commitment to community service, while earning a stipend to help meet their financial need as university students. THE BENEFICIARIES: The majority of students served by the Ambassador program live in low-income neighborhoods in south and central Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, and often come from families lacking a college-bound culture. The Community Student Ambassador Program utilizes peers who are often assigned to partner locations in the same neighborhood in which they grew up—sometimes even the same school they attended—thereby serving as powerful role models for the younger students they engage. A frequent statement from high school students served by the program is "I would not have been able to do this without the advice and guidance you gave me." Additionally, the program has a strong partnership with high school college counselors. Many counselors have expressed their belief that the program enables them to better meet the needs of their first generation college-bound students. In some cases, Ambassadors serve additional students that the counselor lacks the resources to meaningfully engage, or collaborates with the counselors on their existing caseload. MSMU’s Student Affairs team meets with counselors each year, and they share information on student progress. They frequently express their thanks to MSMU for providing this impactful program to students and their families, and that they (the counselors) cannot imagine what they would do without our collaboration. They express their sincere hope that the program continues. The program has a positive impact on the Ambassadors themselves, contributing greatly to their leadership skills and reinforcing their own pursuit of academic excellence. They participate in a number of activities outside of their assigned sites, speaking to hundreds of middle school students at community events. Additionally, at least two current Ambassadors will represent the program with a presentation to the MSMU Board of Trustees at its December 2021 meeting. One of these Ambassadors is an alumna of the high school she now serves as an Ambassador, the other was an Ambassador last year and works as one of the two Ambassador managers this year. A recent survey conducted of program participants from 2017 to 2020 found that the majority of Ambassadors achieve high academic benchmarks. Many Ambassadors pursue more than one degree while at MSMU. The average Ambassador GPA is 3.37, their persistence rate is 89%, and their graduation rate is 79%—all of which is higher than the average MSMU student. A document showing the results of this survey accompanies this request. KEY ACTIVITIES: Ambassadors are full-time traditional undergraduates enrolled at MSMU. They receive comprehensive training before they are assigned to a partner site so that they fully understand college admissions requirements and financial aid policies. This supplements their own knowledge gained after going through the college admission and financial aid process themselves. They are trained in multicultural issues, and interpersonal, communication, and leadership skills. Ambassadors work 10 to 15 hours per week at an assigned site, which is either a school or a nonprofit-based after-school program. Ambassadors work directly with partner site staff to provide information and consistent mentorship to students to guide them through the necessary steps in applying for college and seeking financial support for their education. In addition, they provide greatly needed one-on-one assistance with homework, college application forms, and other college concerns students may have. All Ambassadors receive NASPA’s Certified Peer Educator (CPE) Training (see attached curriculum). Ambassadors receive ongoing guidance and mentorship through monthly training sessions and one-on-one meetings with program managers and their site supervisors. Current and past partner locations include: A Place Called Home (South Central Los Angeles); Bishop Conaty – Our Lady of Loretto High School (Koreatown); Crenshaw High School; Downtown Magnet High School; Franklin High School (Highland Park); Immaculate Conception (downtown); Manual Arts High School (South Los Angeles); Sacred Heart (Lincoln Heights); Santa Monica Police Activities League; St. Mary's Academy (Inglewood); and Variety Boys and Girls Club (Boyle Heights). Ambassadors also engage with large student groups at community events such as “Expanding Your Horizons.” This is a math and science conference for middle school girls that traditionally takes place on the MSMU campus. The April 2021 conference was cancelled due the pandemic, but we hope it will go forward in 2022. Ambassadors also take part in the “Los Angeles Team Mentoring College Workshop” series (also cancelled for 2021 but should take place in spring 2022). Ambassadors also play leadership roles in MSMU's annual “President's Invitation to Serve.” The 2020 event took place virtually, and we plan to tie this year’s in-person event to MSMU’s participation in Social Justice Week, taking place in February 2022. In the “President’s Invitation to Serve,” members of the Mount community, including alumnae, current students, faculty, and staff, come together to serve the community at nonprofits such as Heal the Bay, Alexandria House, and the Los Angeles Food Bank, among others. The Downtown Women’s Center in Los Angeles’s Skid Row neighborhood was added before pandemic-related restrictions took effect in 2020, and we intend to include this agency again. An enhancement to the program we plan to explore in the coming year will be the implementation of a civic engagement element to Ambassadors’ standard services for students at partner sites. We intend to modify elements from the framework of MSMU’s Mount Leads program for this purpose. As you may recall from the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation’s support of MSMU’s Women’s Leadership and Student Engagement programs in past years, Mount Leads provides a common language of leadership centered around Four Core Principles: Awareness of Self & Personal Wellness; Ethical Decision Making & Integrity; Critical Thinking & Communication Skills; and Active Citizenship. Focusing on the civic engagement aspect of Mount Leads, Ambassadors will help students at partner schools and after-school programs realize their own leadership potential, apply learned skills to leadership experiences, and articulate who they are as leaders. Ambassador program staff began working on this aspect with Ambassadors before efforts were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We intend to revisit this initiative for fall 2022. Should our program budget allow we also hope to increase the current number of partner sites from seven to ten. EVALUATION: The Community Student Ambassador Program is housed in the Division of Student Affairs. Student Affairs staff oversee the Ambassadors, the overall implementation of the program, and evaluate the program in several ways: •Student self-monitoring: Students complete surveys about their educational and career goals, and monitor their progress toward those goals as they work with an Ambassador. •Monthly reporting: Ambassadors submit reports approved by site supervisors (usually high school guidance counselors) detailing their site visits (number of students they assisted, type of assistance they provided, any concerns or issues identified, etc.). The site supervisors are in ongoing communication with MSMU Program Managers to provide feedback. •To provide an opportunity to reflect on the past year and set goals for the coming year, Program Managers hold an end-of-year evaluation meeting with Ambassadors. BUDGET: This grant from the Foundation will help pay for MSMU’s current corps of five Ambassadors plus two student managers in 2022, as they produce and conduct weekly workshops, outreach presentations, and individualized tutoring and academic counseling to hundreds of youth in underserved communities; and other Ambassador program needs during 2022. MSMU allocates approximately $5,000 per Ambassador per year ($2,500/semester). This includes a wage of $15/hour for 10 – 15 hours/week for each 16-week semester. In 2022, we hope to recruit additional Ambassadors to our current corps. This will depend largely on the success of pending applications for funding. As of the 2021-2022 academic year, students at our partner middle and high schools have returned to onsite instruction, and Ambassadors are providing their services in person at their assigned sites. However, although MSMU welcomed our students back to campus in time for the fall 2021 semester, instruction is being conducted through a hybrid of in-person and virtual. Because of this, Ambassadors are likely to need computer support to prepare their presentations from home. Grant funding, if available, will support loaner laptops for Ambassadors as needed. Another important budget item is support for Ambassadors’ transportation to partner sites. Coming as they do from low-income families, many Ambassadors lack their own transportation, and rely on public transit and rideshare apps to travel to their assigned sites. Grant funds will support Ambassadors’ transportation to partner sites as needed. The program budget also includes the cost of certified peer educator training; supplies for Ambassador presentations and workshops at partner sites; food and supplies for Ambassador training retreats (once per semester); Ambassador uniform shirts and jackets; and Ambassador padfolios. REQUEST: A $10,000 grant from the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation for the Community Student Ambassador Program would make a positive impact in the program’s success. Although one longtime foundation funder provided a modest increase to its grant this year for the Ambassador program, the financial impact of the pandemic is still felt by previous funders of the program who are still unable to renew their funding, which has limited our ability to partner with as many sites as we would wish. We are deeply grateful for the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation’s past support; a full, end-of-year report on the impact of the Foundation’s grant received on December 31, 2020 is pending. Thank you for the positive impact you have made in the lives of MSMU students, and the students they support and inspire. Attachments: •Cover letter •NASPA Training Overview •Ambassadors Infographic