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Ujima Female Student Mentoring Component
 U.S. News & World Report ranks Rowan University 28th | More Program helps Rowan freshmen make connections | More Princeton Review Names Rowan University a "Best in the Northeast" college | More Engineering Prof hoping to help future coronary patients | More Computer science prof gets award for robots in the classroom | MoreTestimonials “Divine, distinguished, determined, and dedicated are just a few words that describe my mentor. She is an eloquent speaker and an even more elegant lady. She is driven by family, and guided by God. Humble, caring, and selfless is how she lives her life. I had the opportunity to not only witness, but also be on the receiving end of her generosity and warm embrace. She never suffocated me nor did she ever abandon me. I thank God for bringing Dr. Christy Faison into my life via Ujima.” “My name is Meinwoe M. Kporlor and I graduated from Rowan University’s College of Business in May 2004, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a Specialization in Management Information Systems. As an undergraduate student, I was a member of the Sisterlink Executive Board for the Ujima Female Mentoring Program at Rowan University from 2002 to 2004. We held many programs, one of which is the renowned Ujima Female Component annual tea featuring “A Traditional Hat & Glove Presentation,” which I really enjoyed partaking. The Ujima Female Mentoring Program is a very wonderful program, which helps introduce incoming students to the university’s administrators, faculty, staff and other students. I would encourage and recommend that all incoming freshman students participate in the program. It is a great starting place for networking and meeting people. While in the program, as an upperclassman, I was responsible for mentoring about 3-5 incoming female freshman students each semester, and I was also assigned to my very own mentor, Dr. Zenaida Gephardt, a faculty member of the Rowan University Chemical Engineering department, whom I was glad to have as a mentor. We did not have many face-to-face meetings, due to my schedule and me not residing on campus. But the few occasions that we had the opportunity to meet, we had a great mentor-mentee relationship. We had lunch together and talked about academic studies. Dr. Zenaida Gephardt was a very supportive mentor. Ms. Julie A. Peterson, Special Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs, was another very close and special mentor to me and many other female students at Rowan University. Ms. Peterson is a mentor I could (and can still) call on at anytime of the day, and she was always willing to listen and help me out with whatever situation I was going through. Thank you for your time and the many countless deeds you have done for me. And I pray that you continue to have the strength to work with the Ujima Female Mentoring Program and to be a mentor to many more students, because we need guidance from people like you.” “A mentor is a person who is there to guide you in the right direction with personal, school or financial help. A mentor is not provided to be a second mom and dad but a friend that you can go to. I can clearly say that my mentor Julie A. Peterson was all of the above because I was able to go to her with anything that I needed help with. My first experience as a mentee is when I was a freshman. I can remember when I went crying to her about a bill that was due for school and had no way of paying for it in a month. It was a good thing that I went crying to her because I did not know who, what and where I was suppose to go. She simply called one of the financial aid counselors and in the next five minutes I had an extension for my bill. This is one of my many experiences of being a mentee at Rowan University and they can be your same experiences. I would advise everyone to get a mentor even if you don't think you need one because you never know when you are going to need a hand.” “I was introduced to my mentor in my freshman year at the Ujima Female Mentoring Tea Program. To have a mentor means to open doors to networking. In my freshman year, I spent a lot of time hanging out with my mentor. We shared activities such as having lunch or dinner together, and an evening at the theater watching “The Nutcracker,” besides our social meetings, Dr. Markowitz helped me with my English grammar for essays assigned for my classes. As I matured and developed a better understanding of what was expected of me as a student, I realized that I needed a mentor for different occasions. Some examples are:
Immediately, I thought of only one person who could assist me in these areas and that person was Ms. Lori Block. Ms Block adopted me as her mentee and took me under her wings. Besides Ms. Block and Dr. Markowitz, I consider Miss Croman as my third mentor. Today, I’m very thankful that I had elders to help me and share their opinion about things because I would not have done as well, academically, personally, and career wise. Thank You, Ujima.” “Having a mentor made the difference in my undergraduate experience. I am a graduating senior this year and I would not have made it this far without my mentor. In the beginning, my mentor made an honest statement that almost blinded me to the great relationship possible for us. I did not let the honesty stop me and I used it for the better. Ms. Muriel Frierson allowed me to see that the world does not revolve around me and that I have to apply myself. She encouraged me to be independent. There were countless occasions that I needed Ms. Muriel and I called on her. She helped at that moment without any objections. She never complained and always had my best interest at heart.” “The Ujima Mentoring Program has provided incoming freshmen with opportunities to successfully go through and to solve problems experienced during their college lives with an assigned professional female mentor. I was one of the lucky freshmen assigned to Ms. Phyllis Meredith as my mentor. Although I didn’t meet with her often within my first year, I knew that there is someone I can go to when I have troubles, especially with my papers. She is one of the librarians at Shirley and Keith Library. She is very knowledgeable about the library resource and I know I can count on her when I need to do any research.” “Being part of the Ujima Mentoring Program has been an enriching experience. I not only got a chance to be educated, encouraged and inspired by a mentor, but also the opportunity to pass all that on to my own mentees as a Sisterlink. I met my mentor as a freshman and since then the bond that we have created is unbreakable. Over the years, she has always been there to help me with my struggles here at Rowan. I am very fortunate to have a mentor like Ms. Julie Peterson. She leads by example and it's through her that I've learned never to settle for less and to always put my heart and soul in everything I do.” |
