By RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
WHOLE (With Hope Our Lives Excel) mentoring program recently took 15 black male students on a Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) tour, where they visited six different schools in Virginia and the nation’s capital.
Partnering with the Seattle Seahawks Community Engagement team, Microsoft’s BAM (Black’s At Microsoft), and the BE Project, a Seattle-based non-profit that organizes HBCU tours for high school students across the county, WHOLE took the students to Norfolk State University, Hampton University, Virginia Union University, Virginia State University, Howard University, and the University of the District of Colombia during their spring break.
The program, which is overseen by the Seattle Public Schools’ Office of African American Male Achievement (AAMA), is an extension of a mentorship program for young Black males at Chief Sealth, Cleveland, Franklin, Garfield, Ingraham, and Rainier Beach high schools.
AAMA Mentorship Program Coordinator Kelvin Dankwa says that it is important for Black youth, especially from Seattle, to understand the opportunities that HBCUs when it comes to advancing their education.
“HBCUs are responsible for so many Black professionals in the United States and the number of professionals that come from HBCUs is remarkable. I think there is something special about being around people that are pursuing their dreams, but also connect with you culturally,” says Dankwa. “Every campus we went to felt like home. From the cafeteria vibe to the interactions with the fraternities and sororities, we were embraced fully, and each campus went out of its way to make us feel comfortable.”
“The students who went with us are bright, motivated, and curious and they saw kids that looked like them,” he continued. “When you get to an HBCU you get a real view of what “us” looks like. A true sense of Black people who are working and trying to develop themselves to be the best they can be. You can have dreadlocks, dyed hair, earrings, wear Jordans, it doesn’t matter. You can be exactly who you want to be in a judgment-free zone.”
In alignment with Seattle Excellence, the Office of African American Male Achievement has committed itself to unapologetically centering Black students’ social, emotional, and educational needs to ensure they graduate on time, and prepare them for college, a career, and community participation.
The program integrates a number of strategies that promote the authenticity of Black students. One of WHOLE’s missions is to help empower their students’ identity by affirming their Black excellence and keep them strong academically, socially, emotionally, and physically, especially in college and future careers.
“We want students to feel motivated when they’re in schools and by creating these professional development opportunities or early college and career opportunities for the younger students we give them a why,” said Dankwa. “We want them to know that what they’re doing in class will translate if they exercise the ability to show up. So, therefore when they find something they love, it’ll be hard for them to pull away from it.”
Throughout the program, both the mentees and mentors establish a bond through a variety of ways that help them build a strong sense of belonging and develop community, and gain exposure to professional development opportunities to acquire new skills and learn about unique topics.
Mentors also help create pathways to help improve grades, advise mentees on how to navigate relationships with teachers, school staff, and peers, offer assistance on assignments, and more importantly, encourage them to challenge themselves academically and step into leadership roles in school or the community.
“When you want to analyze how the community is doing, you look at the kids, and I can tell you right now that our program is contributing to their lives,” said Dankwa “I’m thankful for an opportunity like this because I was a student who could’ve benefited from this type of representation and early career exposure. To be able to deliver it to the community is a dream of mine.”
