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Ohio College Guides
Member Bios | Updates
You’re not alone if you feel that the key to college access is knowledge; knowledge spread through caring adults who can connect with students as they seek to connect students with futures lined with open doors. OCAN feels the same way, and has partnered with other like-minded organizations – the Ohio State University’s Economic Access Initiative, the Cleveland Scholarship Programs, and Cincinnati Youth Collaborative – to develop an AmeriCorps initiative that will do just that: provide caring adults equipped with the know-how and the passion to connect traditionally underserved students with a future lined with open doors.
The Ohio College Guides will combat issues of college access in school districts who need them the most, districts with low graduation and college-going rates, but hard-working students who face the obstacles that come with the “status” of low-income, minority, or a first generation college student. The Guides is based on a near-peer model, which allows high school students to learn from their older peers who have ‘been there, done that’ in terms of the college-going and completing process. Ohio College Guides will serve as a corps of enthusiastic and driven individuals whom students can easily relate with, confide in, and eventually emulate as they are guided in planning for their future and taking constructive steps toward successful completion of their goals.
December Update:
The program development is underway, but will soon be visible for potential members and access organizations and school districts. Discussions are in progress to join the National College Access Advising Corps, and in November, three student focus groups were conducted to ensure a successful program influenced with views and perspectives of potential members. Stay tuned to keep up with the program’s development, and to learn how you can get involved!
April Update:
Info sessions were held in January, and recruiting is in full swing. The Ohio State campus served as the testing ground for Advising Corps marketing and recruitment, yielding over 30 qualified applicants. Through a newly built connection with the Ohio Campus Compact, news of the Advising Corps has been sent to faculty and students of over 70 Ohio universities! The Ohio College Guides program is also visible on AmeriCorps’ website, and applicants have been applying continually online.
Applicants are reviewed on a continual basis and will be reviewed until May 15th, or until positions are filled. Interested applicants can apply online on the AmeriCorps website, by creating an account and searching for our listing.
An RFP has been created to allow OCAN members around the state to join the ranks of the Advising Corps during the 2010-11 school year. The RFP will be available in November of 2009.
July Update:
The official launch of the Ohio College Guides is just around the corner! All of the 14 positions are filled, and the recent grads are enjoying their last few weeks of summer and getting excited for the August 3rd start date. At that time, members will be introduced to AmeriCorps, OCAN and the Ohio College Guides Partners, their respective host sites, their assigned school districts, and of course, the field of college access through a three-week pre-service orientation and training period.
In other news, you may have noticed the naming evolution of this new Ohio AmeriCorps initiative. The Ohio College Advising Corps has been trimmed down to its current name, unveiled in May: the Ohio College Guides.
The Ohio College Guides program benefitted from a large and diverse applicant pool. Over 80 candidates from 12 states applied for the 14 positions! Those making up this pilot-year corps of recent grads spent their academic careers majoring in a variety of academic fields, from math to English, sociology to sport management, international studies to linguistics, and others, providing for a diverse corps of advisors. While the majority hail from Ohio (and the majority of the Ohioans from the Cleveland area), a few are joining us from out of state – from Iowa and Wisconsin. Colleges represented are: Bowling Green, DePaul University (IL), Lincoln College (PA), Oberlin College, Ohio State, Ohio University, University of Minnesota, University of Akron, Willamette University (OR), Wittenberg, and Wright State University. Meet this year’s Advisors below:
The Ohio College Guides 2009-2010
Pilot Class:
A Snapshot of the 14 Recent Graduates
Giving a Year to Serve Future Graduates of Ohio
The Cleveland Scholarship Programs:
Cleveland Metropolitan School District
Heather Beasley
Lincoln University, Pennsylvania
Spring 2008 – History and Secondary Education
Heather exhibits a strong commitment to service, saying she has “always been big on improving the community around [her].” Heather hails from Euclid High School and recognizes the need for good adult role models and is dedicated to sharing with students similar to her friends who did not have the motivation to, or receive the information needed to obtain further education. Since graduation, Heather has been tutoring at the Sylvan Institute.
Nathan Blascak
DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
Spring 2008 – Economics
University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
Spring 2009 – Mathematics
Nathan Blascak of DePere, Wisconsin is excited to serve in Cleveland. Nathan aspires to combat poverty through economics, armed with his “knowledge of how powerful economics are.” In hopes to shrink the “critical disconnect” between himself and the population he wishes to serve, he spent time tutoring Spanish speaking adults in written and spoken English at the Erie Neighborhood House in Chicago, Illinois.
Allen Dennis
Ohio University
Spring 2009 – Sociology Pre-Law
Allen brings a wealth of experiences that will aid him in relating with students, from his work with Engineering without Borders, his many study abroad experiences, and his previous position as a peer advisor for OU’s Office for Multicultural Student Access & Retention. Allen went to Cleveland Central Catholic, benefitted from CSP services and is genuinely interested in serving his community.
Robert Hoon
The Ohio State University
Winter 2009 – History
Robert Hoon, from Newark Ohio, is equipped to handle the demand of academic advising, completing his Bachelor’s degree in less than four years, while working 25+ hours per week as a Senior Account Manager with Discover Financial Services. Seeking real-world experience between grad school and undergrad, he loves the idea of this AmeriCorps opportunity, believing that “education is the keycard to any individual’s life.” Robert looks forward to assisting students in realizing their potential.
Elton Lytle
Wright State University
Spring 2008 – Mass Communications
Elton benefitted from CSP services during his high school career at the Cleveland School of the Arts, and has had a passion to give back in a similar way, knowing what the populations in CMSD “are up against” – this opportunity for him seems to be perfect. Elton, of Cleveland, has much experience as a leader and advisor through his participation with Boy Scouts and Wright State’s Honors Community Council.
Michael Maneage
Wittenberg University
Spring 2009 – English
Michael, of Walton Hills, Ohio is excited to bring his creativity and wit to the Ohio College Guides. To Michael, service is the “most rewarding opportunity one can undertake,” a truth he found out for the first time in 2007, when he went down to Biloxi, Mississippi to aid in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Michael has a passion to fight inequalities in education, and aspires to become a writer.
Ronda Moss
University of Akron
Spring 2009 - Speech Pathology
Ronda Moss is confident in her ability to relate to students she may come in contact with in CMSD. Ronda, of Cleveland, overcame the need she experienced associated with a lack of education and obtained a degree from the University of Akron, but for her, nothing can surpass giving back: “When I am able to help others, it gives me a sense of achievement that not even obtaining my college degree could give.”
Erin Paullin
The Ohio State University
Spring 2009 – International Studies
Erin Paullin of Bay Village, Ohio has advising experience already under belt, in the early awareness capacity through Ohio State’s Blueprint: College program, and in peer career advising with Ohio State’s Arts and Sciences Career Services Office. She holds that “everyone deserves the right to a world class education, regardless of their ethnicity, culture, or family income.” Erin aspires to work for the Department of State, utilizing her International Studies major to advise immigrants.
Colin Sallee
Oberlin College
Spring 2009 – Psychology
Colin Sallee of New Albany, Ohio, strives to be a physician, and ultimately desires to devote his life to service. He is passionate about education and has resolved to devote a full year toward making a real difference in education and seeing achievement gaps narrowed, realizing that youth when inspired, are capable of achieving great goals. Colin was the captain of his varsity basketball at Oberlin and is a certified EMT.
Marissa Williams
Willamette University
2009 – Sociology
Through her education and experiences, Marissa has come to realize she wants to devote her life towards improving our society and fighting its systematic inequalities. Marissa, of Cleveland Heights, has much interpersonal and educational experience to offer: she finished up her senior year working with remedial students (primarily Latino) in Salem (OR) high school, and writing her thesis on the differences between student and teacher definitions of expectations and success.
The Ohio State University Extension/CSP:
Lorain County
Sarah Clark
University of Minnesota
Spring 2009 – History, Political Science, Sport Management
Sarah Clark, from a family of education professionals, has a deep rooted interest in educational leadership, policy, and curriculum. Sarah, of Leon, Iowa, has a philosophy of ‘getting in there and working hard’ which is evidenced by her achievement of three different majors, substantial involvement in mentoring, tutoring, and counseling, and overall aspirations to make real impacts in peoples’ lives. Additionally, Sarah has worked as a Campus Campaign Coordinator for Teach for America.
Stephen Merrill
Bowling Green State University
2006 – B.A. of Telecomunications
Winter 2008 – M.A. in Communications Studies
Stephen, of Columbus, is eager to serve in education and also eager to help build a brand new program, bringing a vision for capacity building and sustainability for the Ohio College Guides program. Stephen will draw on his experience as a general manager and account executive of broadcasting organizations through which he managed over 100 volunteers and designed and managed a fundraising strategy that accounted for 15% of WBGU-FM's annual budget.
I KNOW I CAN:
Columbus City Schools
Dessa Augsburger
Ohio State University
Spring 2009 – English, Linguistics
Dessa knows first-hand the limitations caused by a lack of education, and the abounding opportunities available through information. Her rural upbringing in Pandora, Ohio, provided for a wholly different experience and outlook through college than that of most of her peers, and the disparity she saw between her education and theirs fuels her passion to inform students and parents on how to make postsecondary education a reality.
Blossom Barrett
Kenyon College
Spring 2008 – History
Blossom has always been aware of how valuable support is to help keep students on their higher education path. She graduated from the Columbus City Schools and went on to Kenyon College and is quick to point out that the without the support and encouragement she received from teachers and counselors along the way, she’s not sure she would have made it. She wants to simply give back and be the support for students who need it most and hopes to achieve that through her Ohio College Guides experience.
Check out these links for additional information:
Press Release
Benefits of an AmeriCorps Program
National College Access Advising Corps
Questions?
Please contact Bridget McFadden, Director, AmeriCorps at 216.929.3536 or mcfaddenb@ohiocan.org.
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