New freshmen that transition into college life enter a world full of opportunity that can at times be overwhelming. Many students do not make it past the first year and some do not even make it past the first quarter. The Office of Minority Affairs (OMA) at The Ohio State University works hard to support students and to give them the resources they need to make it through their time at OSU.

Dr. Karen Alsbrooks, Director of Academic Advancement Services, understands that coming out of high school and entering college can be a culture shock. “It’s like being dumped out of a little pond into a big sea,” she said.

Not only is college hard to navigate when you attend a large university, but being a minority does not make it any easier. That’s why the counselors, mentors and advisors in the office care so much: they offer you positive guidance, and relate to you in a way that most institutions cannot. They look like you, they talk like you, and at one point they were in your shoes, so they understand you.

“We made it for you,” said Dr. Alsbrooks. “We have a synergy among all of the programs OMA offers and if the student uses them all, they reap the benefits of that synergy.”

OMA is a one-stop shop for success. Here is a look at some of the great programs that OMA and the University provide for you!

Minority Advising Program (MAP)

“We look at students as a whole,” said David Toro, Minority Advising Program program manager. “We want to show the student how to balance their schedules as well as their personal lives.”

MAP is a service that provides culturally relevant academic and retention advising that meets the needs of minorities. The office serves over 1,100 students each quarter and offers walk-in appointments during the first week of each term. The great thing about the program is the individual attention; the MAP counselor-to-student ratio is the lowest at the university. The MAP staff works with academic counselors in all academic units of the university so they can help any student with any specific major.

Toro agrees that students do not always have academic woes and his office is invested in helping them figure other things out. “If they are having a personal issue we look for different resources on campus that can help them,” said Toro. ”If we don’t have the answers, we point them to people who do across campus.”

“Some Hispanic students go through tough times dealing with separation from family and OMA provides a nice home base, people with similar backgrounds and experiences that can help point them in the right direction,” said Toro.

MAP is one service that gives students easy access to advisers. They offer longer appointments than the university’s other academic units, which gives students a more in-depth experience. The counselors are not only sensitive to academic issues but also the social, cultural, and ethnic issues affecting minority students on the OSU campus. They take a holistic approach when advising the students they care so much about.

MAP serves the following students:
• Those funded by OMA in the College
Assistance Migrant Program
• Morrill Scholars program
• Young Scholars Program
• Freshman Foundation Program
• OMA Bridge Program Participants
• ACCESS Collaborative Participants
• Any undergraduate minority student
• Students currently in their major/college who would like a secondary source of advising.

Erin Thomas, a Graduate Assistant in higher education, believes there are many incentives for MAP advisors. “The growth in maturity I see in students from year to year is very rewarding for me.”

Tutoring
College courses can be overwhelming and OMA wanted to ease the anxiety, so they set up the Tutorial Services and Study Skills Program. They provide free supplemental programs and services to support the academic success of students.

“The misconception is that tutoring is for students who are struggling,’ said Armada Henderson, tutoring program coordinator. “It’s also for students who wish to maintain or even make sure that they are above average.”

Tutorial Services
One-on-one or group tutoring is available for most lower lever general education courses. You can meet with your tutor for up to four (4) hours a week for each requested course. Requesting a tutor is easy; if you are registered for classes you can visit the web-site at http://www.oma.osu.edu/aas/tutoring to complete a pre-quarter online request form. As a student, you have the option to have a weekly standing appointment or an as-needed appointment. They want you to have the best advantage so tutors are a great resource.

Henderson has students each year who say that tutoring is the most important supplemental service that they have used while at OSU and some even apply to be a tutor themselves because they want to give back.

If you excel in a particular subject, you can become a tutor, as long as you have a B+ or higher in the courses you are interested in tutoring. Potential tutors are invited to interview with tutorial services and demonstrate their knowledge by completing a practice exam or conducting a mock tutoring session.

Study Skills Program
This section of the tutoring program offers supplemental study and review sessions, study skills workshops, and individual study skills assistance. With this service you can review course material for midterm and final exams; learn how to take more efficient notes, and build responsible study habits.

Test Bank
Tutorial services have a test bank that includes quizzes, midterms and finals donated to the office by university students. The bank materials are available for most undergraduate courses. This tool is great for practice and preparation for a course you may be struggling in.

Tutoring services — as well as the other programs offered through OMA — are free for students. “If you had to pay for it yourself it would be a pretty penny, tutoring is expensive,” said Henderson.

The office wants you to think about your future when deciding on utilizing these great programs. “Students exceed expectations when they put the effort in that is necessary,” said Henderson.

Mentoring
“It takes a village to raise a child” comes to mind when thinking of the OMA Mentoring experience. The purpose of the program is to prepare students for graduate school, professional school or direct entry into the work force.

“In order to really get what you need out of our office you have to be invested in the process,” said Kris Coleman, mentoring program coordinator.

“Students love the interaction with the upperclassmen,” said Coleman. They match students with mentors from similar academic professional backgrounds and provide referrals/resources related to post-baccalaureate preparation. The mentoring office serves as a one-stop source of resources related to graduate/professional and workforce entry opportunities.

The mentoring program uses a career planning model to facilitate post-baccalaureate preparation:

• Self-Assessment
• Evaluating/Balancing
• Career Exploration
• Implementation
• Reality-testing
• Focusing and Goal setting

The office works one-on-one with students to identify future goals and plans. “I am like your career agent,” said Coleman.

While it is best to get started right away preparing for life after undergrad, you are encouraged to get involved with this program and let the mentors help you make the best possible decisions for your future.

Single-Parent services (ACCESS)
“Life comes at you fast,” said Tanesha Washington, a fourth year journalism and criminology major. “Unexpected events occur in your life, and plans change so you need to put a smile on your face, stay focused on the matter at hand, ask for help when you need it and stay positive about life and your situation.”

Washington agrees that the ACCESS program is very beneficial to single parent students. “The program is a great support group for single parent students like me. I always leave their programs with useful knowledge and reassurance that I’m not alone,” says Washington.

OMA also offers single parent students who have full physical custody of dependent children the opportunity to succeed. These students are offered priority registration, evening childcare, scholarship opportunities, housing subsidy, waitlist priority, emergency resources, and employment assistance.

Life happens and the advisors and staff in the ACCESS program want those students to realize that success is possible. Traci Lewis, program director for the ACCESS collaborative program believes in the students that she assists. “A four-year degree at OSU is a possibility because we have support here at OSU.” Students tell her often the program saved their life and that they might not have made it through college with out it. “It’s an excellent support,” said Lewis.

Younkin Success Center
The Younkin Success Center has a ton of great resources, from tutoring to computer labs. One great resource that most people have yet to discover is Career Connection.

This office helps students take charge of their career plans. It begins with identifying the key decisions you need to make, such as what occupation to pursue, and whether graduate or professional school are needed to support your career goals. Workshops and group counseling, career resources, job campaign assistance and career assessment are just a few of the services provided by career connection.

The counselors are not there to make the decision for you but rather to give you educated suggestions. The choice is ultimately yours to make.

Dr. Alsbrooks reminds students to ask the schools they are interested in what services are offered to fit their needs. Whatever university you choose, take advantage of every service and opportunity they offer.

Do not let the college life and course work you’ve heard so much about scare you, because there are services here at the university that are solely interested in seeing you succeed and will be there for you even past graduation.