English professor REACHes out to community
By Lauren Karch
For many high school students, the question of “what comes next?” seems overwhelming. Deciding whether to attend college and what field to enter drastically affects future career possibilities. For some of Cincinnati’s at-risk students, the options may seem limited from the start.
Dr. Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis, a professor of English, Women’s Studies, and Black World Studies at Miami University, realized that Miami students could help high school students with these difficult decisions. The idea came from a course she taught on Black Feminist Theory, a course which she says emphasizes “theory made into action.” Her students were eager to create social change, following in the footsteps of early American civil rights activists.
“We read about women like Ida B. Wells Barnett,” she said. “Many of these early activists initiated and maintained projects that contributed to the community.”
Jackie Davis, Resident Services Manager for the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority, said that Etter-Lewis introduced the concept of a student mentoring program in 2006 when she took the idea to the CMHA and to Harmony Garden, a Cincinnati-based research program focused on girls’ issues.
Davis said that Etter-Lewis quickly learned a great deal about CMHA’s programs, specifically Resident Services. At that time, there was no formal program that encouraged the housing authority’s female residents to attend college.
“In the end, we developed a partnership involving Miami University female students and 20 female high school students, former residents of CMHA’s oldest public housing,” Davis said.
CHMA identified resident families with teenage daughters, invited them to consider going to college, explained the relationship with Miami University, and provided an afterschool meeting place and transportation. Etter-Lewis contributed to the program’s development by securing funding through many different sources on campus and by recruiting tutors.
The partnership that began three years ago evolved into REACH: Reaching Every Aspiration for College with Hope. Etter-Lewis explains that the program was renamed from its original title, Women Working Together, by the Miami students involved to better represent the program’s goals. Since its inception, the program has matched approximately 20 female Miami students with the same number of high school girls.
The primary criteria for a high school student to enroll in the program are straight-forward: she must be female, living in public housing, and willing to put in the time and do the required work. The girls are committed to two six-week sessions with their Miami mentors, one in the fall and one in the spring.
The Miami students act as guidance counselors of sorts for the younger girls. Etter-Lewis said they work to develop skill sets essential to career success, practicing writing and research. The mentors also help their students identify colleges and programs of study in which they may be interested, compile application materials, and search for financial aid opportunities.
Vanessa Miles, a senior psychology major from Euclid, Ohio, was one of the first tutors to participate in the program. After receiving an e-mail from Etter-Lewis and attending an informational meeting, she saw REACH as a way to give back to the community and as a starting place for her own career.
“I’m thinking about working with kids once I graduate, so I thought this might be good practice,” Miles said.
The day-to-day of preparing girls for college and helping them identify goals is hectic, she said, but very rewarding.
“Right now we have three seniors who have yet to apply to college, so we’re kind of trying to rush the process, trying to schedule the ACTs and figuring out their interests,” said Miles. “We’re also working with their application essays and finding colleges they might be interested in.”
Despite the typical stressors of the college search, Davis said that the girls enrolled in the program have shown significant improvement both academically and socially.
“They are much more comfortable and self assured, which we attribute to the candor and openness of the Miami students and staff. More importantly, the CMHA students now know Miami University and are seriously considering it as one of their college choices,” she said.
“The positive feedback that we get from their parents is an excellent outcome that allows us to work with their parents, too,” said Davis. “When the original 20 girls graduate from high school, thirteen will be the first high school graduate in their family.”
According to Etter-Lewis, the oldest high school students of the original REACH program graduated last year. Out of five, three went on to college.
REACH helped to redefine the way the CHMA looked at its teenage residents, according to Davis. The concept of encouraging students to explore their goals beyond high school, planted by Etter-Lewis’ small group of Miami students, soon grew within the housing authority.
“Because of REACH, we realize that these students need to be exposed to new perspectives, in a safe environment that encourages critical and independent thought. CMHA staff now work with them to define healthy habits and avoiding risky behaviors and developing healthy relationships,” Davis said.
REACH’s success has not gone unnoticed by the Miami community. Etter-Lewis recently received the Uplifting Model Award from Miami’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Madelyn Detloff, director of Miami’s Women’s Studies Program and Associate Professor of English, said Etter-Lewis is a valuable asset to her program and the wider faculty community, and that the REACH program deserves this type of recognition.
“She and her program are certainly deserving of this award from the NAACP,” she said. “The Women’s Studies Program and the entire Miami community applaud her work. She devotes a lot of time and energy to vigorous and consequential engaged learning.”
Etter-Lewis said she is grateful for recognition from Miami’s NAACP chapter, especially because of its student-run status.
“I am very happy to have received the Miami University NAACP award. It is especially meaningful to me because it came from students. Also, I am inspired by the Miami student mentors who give freely of their time to make the program a success. They have demonstrated that giving back to the community can make a difference.”