Growing VGCC Male Mentoring program coaches students to success


VGCC Male Mentoring program co-coordinator Anthony Pope (standing at right) addresses students at a Male Mentoring program spring semester kick-off event on the college’s Main Campus, as the other co-coordinator, Greg Nash (standing at left), listens.  (VGCC photo)

VGCC Male Mentoring program co-coordinator Anthony Pope (standing at right) addresses students at a Male Mentoring program spring semester kick-off event on the college’s Main Campus, as the other co-coordinator, Greg Nash (standing at left), listens. (VGCC photo)

Vance-Granville Community College recently held spring semester kick-off events for the Male Mentoring Program at all four of the college’s campuses. The program, which uses the slogan, “Lead by Example,” seeks to help male students stay in school and on track to graduate or transfer to a four-year university.

VGCC is one of several North Carolina community colleges that received state funding in 2015 to continue offering the program. The college was awarded a grant worth $17,608 from the N.C. Community College System’s Minority Male Mentoring Program (3MP).

The mentoring program involves an active, intensive, and engaging process of academic coaching and case management. Students are assigned to “coaches,” who are members of the VGCC faculty and staff. Currently, 50 coaches serve 109 male “mentees,” up from 68 students in the fall 2015 semester. Co-coordinators for the program are Anthony Pope, a VGCC academic & career coach, and Greg Nash, the Basic Skills department chair at the college.

To end the fall semester, the Male Mentoring program held a dinner in honor of its coaches, including a presentation on best practices by VGCC academic & career coach Seletha Pherribo. Her presentation was entitled “Help! I Need Somebody: The Value of a Coach/Mentor.” Pherribo discussed ways to encourage mentees and to help them access all the resources at the college that can help them succeed.

Pope and Nash are planning a variety of activities for mentees during the spring semester, including guest speakers, seminars, and college tours.

For more information on the mentoring program, contact Anthony Pope at popea@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3395, or Greg Nash at nashg@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3305.