Paths to student success

By Kyle Hobstetter on February 10, 2022

Towson University provides resources for its students to succeed in and outside the classroom.

TU strives for inclusive excellence by providing a safe and cooperative learning environment for students from all backgrounds. At the forefront of this initiative is Student Success Programs.

Student Success Programs sponsors different organizations that encourage personal and academic development through mentorship and a family-oriented community.

“Student Success Programs provide additional opportunities for student development in personal, professional and social backgrounds,” says Tammie King-Kelly, interim director of the program. “Our overall mission is to make sure students are exposed to different identities and cultural communities, so when they leave TU, they are prepared for the next steps.”

Meet three organizations within Student Success Programs.

Man 2 Man

During his tenure as director of Student Success Programs, Raft Woodus saw a need for a support group that provides a confidential space for male-identifying students of color to develop a better understanding of themselves and others in the context of gender, race, culture and social pressure.

So Woodus, now retired after 40 years of service, partnered with the Counseling Center to create the Man 2 Man program.

“This provides a place to be uplifted by other men who can identify with what you’re going through, who can say ‘I feel you and understand what you’re saying,’” Woodus says. “It was a satisfying experience to watch young people share themselves, grow and say ‘This space helped me to become a better person.’”

Roodinz Vital, TU’s assistant director of leadership, and Rafael Cordwell, director of university-affiliated housing at Millennium Hall, have taken the reins of the programs, facilitating the sessions each week.

Cordwell was happy to step in, especially since the lessons the program is teaching also helped him through college.

“One of the biggest emotional moments I have is when we see them open up, and then in our facilitator meeting I’m always saying, ‘They got this. What else can we be even more real with them about, and what else can we help them to navigate?’” Cordwell says.

The group will meet every Monday from 3:30–4:30 p.m. in University Union room 322 starting Feb. 14.

SAGE Program

Students Achieve Goals through Education (SAGE) program resources are used to foster academic achievement, personal development and campus-wide involvement among new students from diverse backgrounds.

The SAGE program’s original mission has expanded to include any entering freshman who wishes to participate. Participants are assigned a peer mentor and take part in various activities to improve, among others, academic, budget management and decision-making skills.

The program also provides a unique, on-campus residence program as part of Housing & Residence Life’s residential learning communities. The SAGE Learning Community offers first-generation, first-year college students peer-to-peer mentorship living arrangements.

Participants also expand their knowledge of diverse cultural groups and career development strategies and participate in networking opportunities.

“Coming to Towson, I did not know anyone. Within my first week, because of SAGE, I had 50 friends, some of whom I now look at as family,” says Bryson Whittington, a senior public health major from Oxon Hill, Maryland, and a SAGE mentor.

“SAGE also helped me navigate my first year. Being a first-generation student, I didn’t know much about college, but people like Raft Woodus and Tammie King-Kelly understood that and made sure they supplied me with as much as they could for me to be successful.”

Students who are interested in joining SAGE can register now, and those who are looking to become a SAGE mentor can learn more about the process. Students can also learn more by checking out the SAGE Instagram.

Generation One

In collaboration with the Counseling Center, Generation One offers first-generation college students tailored mentoring and guidance to foster academic and personal accomplishment.

Generation One connects students with similar experiences to share strategies for difficult situations and provide encouragement during challenging and rewarding times.

The program is facilitated by Adrian Battle-Marston, coordinator of diversity, equity and inclusion education in the Office of Inclusion & Institutional Equity, and Jessica David, a staff psychologist from the Counseling Center.

“As a first-generation student, I remember how difficult it was for me to navigate my first two years of college life that includes socializing, lack of resources, anxiety of being away from home, etc.,” Battle-Marston says. “Now, as an employee at a university and through Generation One, I can use my platform to help other first-generation students.”

The group will meet bi-weekly during the spring 2022 term, with the first meeting taking place at 1 p.m. on Wed., Feb. 16, in University Union room 321B.