Newsletter, APRIL 2006 Issue No. 2

Topics in this issue 

Aggie Mom’s Federation President Endorsement
ATMentor of the Year
ATMentors Marketing Contest
Call for Pictures- Being an Aggie
Campus Highlight- Tutoring
Reminder to Renew Your ATMentors Membership
Summer Resource Tables - Volunteer Opportunity
Welcome to New ATMentors
Where Your Students Are in the Cycle
Submit Items for the Next Newsletter

Aggie Mom’s Federation President Endorsement (Back to Top)

On Saturday, April 8^th during the Federation of Texas A&M Aggie Mother’s Clubs Meeting the new incoming Federation President, Helen Halliburton announced that ATMentors will be her highlighted organization for the year.  This endorsement shows that our biggest supporters- the Aggie Mom’s are once again recognizing that ATMentors are supporting their Aggies! This is a wonderful tribute to all of the good work that each of you do with the students of Texas A&M. It is also great for us to get the word out to all of the Aggie Mom’s Clubs that we are a resource for their students here on campus!   

ATMentor of the Year (Back to Top)

Congratulations to Jose Antonio Caraballo who has been selected as the recipient for the 2006 ATMentor of the Year Award. The purpose of the ATMentor of the Year Award is to provide support for mentoring activities and recognition for excellence in mentoring. The winner of the award must be a member of ATMentors who has demonstrated outstanding dedication and commitment to making a difference in students’ lives. This year there were 83 total nominations submitted.  All nominations for this award come from students- which goes to show what a tremendous impact Mr. Caraballo has made.

ATMentors Marketing Contest (Back to Top)

As mentioned in our previous newsletter, ATMentors is sponsoring a marketing contest.  Our goal is to get faculty, staff, and students to help design a new logo and slogan for the organization.  Current faculty, staff, and students are eligible to participate.  Submissions are due by noon on April 24^th and the prize is $100.  For more information please go to http://atmentors.tamu.edu/MarketingContest questions should be sent to atmentors@tamu.edu.

Call for Pictures- Being an Aggie  (Back to Top)

The office of New Student Programs is requesting pictures to be submitted of what it means to “Be an Aggie.”  We are looking for all kinds of pictures- students studying, classroom photos, student organization pictures, campus candid shots, scenes of you mentoring students etc. these pictures will be considered for possible inclusion in New Student Programs’ programs and publications for incoming students. Please burn you pictures to a CD in .jpg or .gif format and campus mail them to MS 1257 Attn: New Student Programs-Being an Aggie or deliver them to the Office of New Student Programs in Cain Hall B-112 by noon on Monday, April 24^th. Please also include your contact information- Name, phone number, email address, and affiliated department or organization.  For questions contact kateh@studentlife.tamu.edu or call 845-5826.

Campus Highlight-Tutoring (Back to Top)

In the hopes of helping you to better serve your students, we hope to include a campus highlight section in future editions of this newsletter.  This section will provide you with resources to help your students or ideas for their involvement, participation, and development. 

As finals are rapidly approaching, this issue’s Campus Highlight topic is tutoring and some of the various tutoring resources that are offered across campus to students.  Please let your students know that these opportunities exist.  It also never hurts to remind them that for these resources to make any impact on their semester grades, they need to be utilized before the last minute!

http://www.tamu.edu/cae/tutoring.shtml                     http://www.tamu.edu/cae/si.shtml

TAMU Center for Academic Enhancement provides a tutoring schedule for various math, chemistry, and biology classes.  They also offer Supplemental Instruction for a variety of subjects including: Math, chemistry, biology, horticulture, history, economics, geography, management, political science, and zoology.  

http://tutor.tamu.edu

The Department of Multicultural Services and the Office of Honors Programs & Academic Scholarships is sponsoring a tutoring program that is free to all TAMU students. Tutoring is available by appointment Sunday - Wednesday from 5pm-8pm in the MSC 137. Appointments can be made online, they offer tutoring in multiple subjects.

http://aggiecorps.tamu.edu/home/academics/tutoring/ 

The Corps offers professional, small group tutoring sessions in a variety of math and science courses each semester. These tutoring sessions are FREE to all cadets and are scheduled Sunday through Thursday nights. This past year, tutoring sessions were provided for Engineering Math, Business Math, and Physics for a total of seven different subjects.

http://writingcenter.tamu.edu/

Every undergraduate student pays an $8 per semester Writing Center fee, which is included in the semester tuition statement. You can come in once a day, twice a week and get personalized help with any aspect of any kind of writing (school or otherwise). Appointments can be made in person (on the second floor of Evans Library), over the phone (458-1455), or at their website (writingcenter.tamu.edu).  

Reminder to Renew Your ATMentors Membership (Back to Top)

This is a reminder that you should update your ATMentors membership before May 1^st.  This year’s annual ATMentor renewal form has been created as an electronic submission page found on our website.  Visit http://atmentors.tamu.edu/forms/mentorupdate.htm to fill out your renewal form.  Please be patient with the update time and allow five business days for updates, as this form does not automatically update our website. 

Summer Resource Tables-Volunteer Opportunity (Back to Top)

Help us get the word out to new students about ATMentors- Volunteer to staff the ATMentors table at New Student Conferences.  This is a great way to get out of the office for an hour and a half and get reenergized by new students who are excited about Texas A&M, but a little nervous and looking for a mentor to show them the way.  The table and all of the materials will be set up and broken down for you- all you have to do is be there ready to talk to new students about ATMentors and hand out our free give-aways! For a printable schedule of when we need people to sign up click here or visit the ATMentors Website under Information for Mentors.  Once you know what time you would like to volunteer- email atmentors@tamu.edu and let them know name, email, mail stop, and phone number. 

Welcome to New aTmentors (Back to Top)

ATMentors has not had any new mentors since March- that means that we all need to be recruiting in our areas and offices.  Take a few minutes to go to the ATMentors website and click on Find a Mentor to see who is represented in your college or department and go out and recruit!  Also encourage those who are in the database to renew their membership see above.

Where Your Students Are in the Cycle (Back to Top)

In an effort to aid you in connecting with your students as an ATMentor, the Executive Board recommended that we provide for you some insight as to the cycle that students go through and where they are at specific times in the year.  The following is a quick look at some of the issues your students may be experiencing currently.

According to student development theory, students go through a developmental cycle that coincides with the changing of the seasons and semesters.  As we enter into mid April students have realized that the chance to drop classes is past and the thought of finals is beginning to become a reality.  The relaxation and rejuvenation time of Spring Break has worn off and they are feeling the signs of burn out and stress once again.  With the many activities that happen on campus during this time of the year there is trouble balancing their various commitments and priorities that just adds to the stress they are feeling.  The improvement in weather causes the need to buckle down and study to be an added temptation and frustration, and the anxiety over what their end of semester grades may be is starting to build.

Submit Items for Next aTmentors Newsletter (Back to Top)

If you have items that you feel should be included in the next ATMentors newsletter.  Please send them in a word document to atmentors@tamu.edu .  The Office of New Student Programs does not guarantee that all submissions will be included, but that all will be reviewed for possible inclusion. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please send those as well to atmentors@tamu.edu.