Marist mentors encourage local students to succeed

Poughkeepsie and Kingston public school students in the Liberty Partnership Program (LPP) meet with their mentors at Marist on a weekly basis and form a connection that will hopefully motivate them to achieve success both academically and personally, through academic work, discussion, debate, and dance. LPP is a dropout prevention program directed by Susan Repko serving approximately 240 students each year within the schools of Poughkeepsie Middle School, Poughkeepsie High School, J. Watson Bailey Middle School, M. Clifford Miller Middle School, and Kingston High School. Students in LPP are referred to the program by principals, guidance counselors, teachers and parents who foresee them as a risk of dropping out of school due to academic difficulties, family circumstances, and negative peer pressure.

Mentor Jackie Greiner, a sophomore in LPP said, "The program is a great opportunity for underprivileged students to have a role model to look up to and to motivate them. It is also an educating experience for the mentors who are thinking about becoming teachers and to see firsthand different aspects of teaching and the appreciation of life itself."

LPP's mission is "to secure resources through the College, schools and community, and provide diverse and empowering experiences for students and parents. LPP focuses on educating youth to maximize their potential and understand their intrinsic value as members of society."

The program is sponsored by Marist College and is funded by the New York State Education Department (NYSED) since 1990. At Liberty, mentors make it their main goal to stimulate their mentees to perform better in school and actively consider a higher education.

Mentors are typically education majors whose goal is to pursue a career in the field of education.They discuss career goals and help mentees to understand and complete homework, as well as give them a tour of campus and an insight to the college atmosphere.

Prior to each session, current event articles are given out to the mentors which they read aloud with their mentees. They are engaged in a discussion prompted by analysis questions and a bond is formed as both the mentor and the mentee begin to know and trust one another. Many of these students have already had many difficult challenges to overcome and are very mature for their age.

They are interested in college life and how mentors got to where they are.

After academic work is completed, students are given dinner in the Marist cafeteria which is an exciting end to their session, and they are very appreciative. Many of the students voice their claims about their cafeteria food and are overwhelmed by the variety that Marist has to offer.

Senior Ramzi Boutros, former graduate from the LPP has continued his education and is now a student at Marist College. He states that, "Liberty offers the students an after school program where they can be helped with their homework and kept active." He also admits that "without Liberty, I would not be at Marist right now."

A new addition to the program is the launch of debate sessions, taught by the Debate and Advocacy Society to teach argumentation skills that have been planned out and modeled by Audra Diers, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. Mentors engage the students to participate in proper debate and argumentation skills through techniques taught by the Debate Society. At the end of the program, students will engage in a debate competition for their parents with the potential to win prizes.

Along with debate sessions, the dance club has also been involved by teaching the students dance routines right at the college. Susan Repko, director of the Liberty Partnerships Program of Marist College is thrilled about the new additions and growth of the program. She states that she is "always impressed with the leaders and mentors who are involved" because they are helping to enhance the program for the mentees. Each year, the program is tweaked and improved, giving the students the best experience possible.

According to the Marist website, "During 2006 to 2009, 91 percent of LPP graduates were accepted into college. On a survey of LPP seniors in 2008, 95 percent indicated that LPP helped them graduate from high school and 84 percent indicated that the program helped them decide to go to college." This statistic is extremely positive in terms of feedback for LPP because it shows that the directors and mentors are encourage the students and really making a difference in their academic and social capabilities.

Recently, the NYSED awarded Marist College a grant based on the highly competitive applications from previous years, allowing LPP to enhance its services beginning this year continue to have a thriving program that has become so successful in the lives of students.