V.I.E.W. and M.A.A. build relationships and life skills on ropes course
From left: Dr. Antonio Jordan (Dean of Students, Equity, Retention & Success), Marque Debnam (Program Head for Paralegal Technology), and Jason Snelling (Academic Skills Center Coordinator) joined students from VGCC’s V.I.E.W. and M.A.A. organizations for a recent ropes course activity.
Vance-Granville’s Initiative on Equity for Women of Color (V.I.E.W.) and Men’s Achievement Academy (M.A.A.) recently participated in a ropes course mentoring activity. This was an outdoor experience where faculty, staff, and VGCC students participated in obstacle courses that required great strength, persistence, and teamwork. All team members were able to motivate each other. One V.I.E.W. student mentee, Alyceia Spriggs, described the experience as “amazing” and mentioned how she realized we were all on the same island and how the boisterous applause and support from team members made a significant impact to achieving any degree of success while on the course. Other student mentees also spoke to how the motivation from the team encouraged their personal successes.
As we were reflecting on this activity, Jason Snelling (Chair of M.A.A.), connected this experience to those of our students. Specifically, he mentioned the ropes course being intimidating and how it forced him to move outside of his comfort zone and rely on the encouragement from his VGCC family, especially Dr. Antonio Jordan. In his reflection of his experience, he also said:
“It reminded me how our students can be apprehensive, nervous, and intimidated by college, especially our adult learners returning to school after many years. The course was a way for me to understand that our students will need to be, in a very similar way, encouraged, supported, coached, and applauded for their accomplishments as I was during the ropes course. I know I was able to reach my academic goals with the help, coaching, cheering, and various support from family and friends. The course reminded us that we all need coaching and support when met with challenges that cause ‘FUD,’ that is, fear, uncertainty, and doubt.”
V.I.E.W. and Men’s Achievement Academy are focused on helping our students be successful in and out of the classroom. The mission of V.I.E.W. is to support the success of Women of Color at VGCC through education, empowerment, experience, and exposure in order to significantly increase the persistence and retention rate and improve job attainment. Men’s Achievement Academy aims to utilize an intentional support system to help our male students reach their academic, personal, and professional goals through coaching, training, and connecting students to resources to help them successfully navigate the college experience and beyond.
To get involved with V.I.E.W., contact Dr. Krystal Foxx at foxxk@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3342 and/or Sherri Alston at alstons@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3252. For more information about M.A.A., contact Jason Snelling at snellingj@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3376 and/or Marque Debnam at debnamm@vgcc.edu or 252-738-3619.
– submitted by Dr. Krystal Foxx, Lead Job Placement Coordinator/JCS Grants Manager
Learn more about these and other student organizations by visiting VGCC’s Clubs & Organizations page.
