After great conversation, a wonderful lunch and discussion about the tasty cookies, of which one member returned for three, the group was ready for our program: Compass 2 Campus.
Robin Halliday introduced Cyndie Shepard, the Director and founder of Western Washington University's Compass 2 Campus program (and wife of WWU President, Bruce Shepard). When Cyndie and Bruce arrived in Bellingham, she was asked to replicate a program that she had originally developed in Green Bay, Wisconsin. At the request of then-Governor Christine Gregoire, Cyndie created the Compass 2 Campus program here in Whatcom and Skagit Counties. According to its website, the program is "designed to increase access to higher education by providing an opportunity for students from traditionally underrepresented, diverse, and first generation backgrounds in Whatcom and Skagit counties to be mentored by C2C students." Today, after eight years, approximately 9,000 students have participated. The program targets 5th grade "non-traditional," under-represented students, connecting them with college student mentors, with the goal of helping younger students realize potential dreams and goals through higher education. The program uses a “cascading mentorship” program to provide sustainability; after an initial class, student mentors teach other student mentors. There is significant research that supports the positive impacts that pairing caring adults with youth can have on all involved. The first class, who started as 5th graders, will graduate from high school in 2017. Today, the program is in 11 school districts, 31 schools, 350 classrooms, with 5,400 trained mentors. Retention is 44-48%, which is impressive for this population. This program has proven to be a wonderful University and Community partnership in developing leaders and supporting our future generation.
The program included two Lead Student Mentors, Lindsey and Audrey, who have been in the program for several quarters. Each young woman shared how valuable the program was to themselves and to their mentees. This feeling was reinforced by Alderwood Elementary School Principal Janae Hodge who shared that Alderwood was the most diverse of Bellingham’s elementary schools and that Spanish was the first language of the majority of the student population. Compass 2 Campus fills a gap for many students, providing role models, insight into career fields, and support for dreams and goals.
In the Q & A that followed with Cyndie, we learned that this non-profit program uses philanthropic support to pay for the small staff and to sponsor the major fall event where over 800 5th graders come to WWU for a day on a college campus to inspire their dreams.
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