The Connection
Information and Training Guide for Mentors
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Spring 2010 Semester: Report from the Director
Dear Mentors,
in a new grant that focuses on service
As we come to the close of another learning. The grant states that:
year, I would like to thank all of you for
Mentoring is an ancillary seryour continued support, and I would
vice that will be provided as
like to especially thank Mary Bandziukas
part of the service learning exfor doing such a great job taking the
perience. The Queensborough
lead on running the program this year.
Community College Career
We are happy to report that 144 stuMentoring Program currently
dents expressed interest in mentoring
has a roster of some 100 career
this academic year, and we have
mentors who have worked
matched 83 students with mentors. Stuover the past 3 years with
dents as well as mentors have had posiQueensborough students. Untive experiences.
der this proposal, CTE students
This was the third and final year of
involved in service learning
the grant which funded the program,
activities who are identified as
and for the coming academic year, menlikely to benefit from mentoring
toring will transition to its next phase.
will be matched with a career
The mentoring program will be included
mentor.
…I will continue giving back
to the QCC community
even after I graduate…. My
experience here was most
rewarding and QCC has
prepared me for the next
phase of academic life.
— Dennis Ramdawah,
Class of 2010
We expect this new version of
the program to start off slowly in
the fall, with fewer students than
in past years. We sincerely hope
Continued on page 2…
Mentor Spotlight: Warren Frank
My name is
Warren Frank
and I’ve been
with the Mentoring program for
about 2 years
now. As a
1976 Graduate of Queensborough Community College
in Accounting
and more
years of experience in the
work force
that I care to
Warren Frank
calculate, I feel
that this is a great opportunity to give
something back to current students in an
important time of their lives.
I was not the perfect student, the one
who looked forward to each new
day of classes, but I showed up, did
my homework and sought decent
grades. It wasn’t always about
liking school for me but about learning and accomplishing.
After graduating Queensborough, I went on to Queens College
where I got my BA in Accounting. I
started working in the accounting
field and soon took and passed the
CPA exam. I’ve worked a number
of jobs for various types of public
accounting firms and currently have
my own Certified Public Accounting
firm which I started over 10 years
ago.
As a student many years ago, I
often felt that I knew what I was
doing and I could take care of any
situation I was confronted with. In
hindsight, I was probably just afraid
to ask. Students may think that they
have only two choices, the correct
one and the incorrect one. All this
can put so much pressure on us not
to make the wrong decision. Experience has taught me differently.
There may be many options and
choices we have to make which
may not all be clearly the “right” or
“wrong” ones, but by speaking with
a mentor you can assess and understand those options to see what can
better work for you.
Sometimes it’s not always the
questions we may have but the
availability of someone with experience who can offer those “out of
the box” ideas that could end up
being very worthwhile in our lives. I
feel I have great educational, work
and life experiences and am in a
place where I would like to be able
to assist someone seeking direction
and helping them achieve their
goals.
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A selection from Jobs
in Demand Today:
Occupations with the
Most Expected Hiring
in New York City as of
May 26, 2010.
Source: NYS
Department of Labor:
www.labor.state.ny.us
Report from the Director cont’d from page 1
that all of you will continue to support the
program as we transition into this new
phase.
Some mentors and students have inquired if they can continue with their mentors/mentees, and the answer is a resounding YES! - absolutely. Feel free to continue
any relationships; some may be long term.
/workforceindustry
You are making a difference!
data/lsproj.shtm
In this issue, please read our Mentor
Spotlight, about one of our alumni mentors,
Warren Frank. Also, since mentoring will be
provided as part of the service learning experience, read more about the service learning pedagogy on page 2. In addition, Mary
Bandziukas and I presented the Career Mentoring Program at the Innovations 2010
In “Jobs in Demand
Today” select “New
York City” and click
“Go”
 Accountants and
Auditors
 Administrative
conference this past spring. See the article
on page3.
Any comments you would like to share
with us regarding your mentoring experiences are much appreciated. We thank you
again for your year(s) of service to our program. Hope to have you on board for the
Fall 2010 semester.
Have a happy, healthy summer!
Sincerely,
Arlene Kemmerer
Co-Director, Career Development
Queensborough Community College
222-05 56 Ave.
Bayside, NY 11364
718-281-5612, Library 118A
AKemmerer@qcc.cuny.edu
Services Mgrs.
 Automotive Service
Technicians and
Mechanics
 Bartenders
 Bookkeeping and
Auditing Clerks
 Cashiers
 Child Care Workers
 Computer Support
Specialists
 Dental Assistants
 Dental Hygienists
 First-Line
Supervisors/Mgrs. of
Housekeeping and
Janitorial Workers
 First-Line
Supervisors/Mgrs. of
Mechanics,
Installers, and
Repairers
 First-Line
Supervisors/Mgrs. of
Office and Admin.
Support Workers
For help with job
search skills, students
can contact the Office
of Career Services
located in the Library,
Room 429.
Service Learning at QCC
Another way that Queensborough
enriches students’ experiences on campus is
through the service learning pedagogy. Service
learning integrates educational goals with
service experience to enhance academic
learning. When a class incorporates service
learning, students practice skills and
knowledge they acquire in class by
undertaking a project for a community-based
organization.
Many students find numerous benefits
in service learning. As they get involved in
activities that address real community needs,
students gain a sense of civic responsibility.
They learn how their studies relate to the world
beyond school. Not to mention, a well-done
service learning project looks good on a
resume.
In class, students discuss their service
learning project. This teaches the analytical
reasoning and reflective thinking required for
academic and career success. The project is
structured around course goals and any class
can take part, no matter the subject area.
Over the past three years service
learning has made a mark with many
successful projects. For example, a business
class learned to use Microsoft Office software
by running a successful food drive for City
Harvest, a non-profit food distribution group.
Students removing porcelain berry vines at
Alley Pond Environmental Center, one of
QCC’s many partners.
A Biology class offered science lab sessions to
middle-school students from the Saratoga
Family Inn, one of New York City’s largest
shelters for homeless families. A Basic Skills
class wrote an issue of Look Around NYC, a
nature newsletter distributed to over 1,200
elementary educators in New York City.
Queensborough Community College’s
service learning initiative is sponsored by the
American Association of Community Colleges’
Broadening Horizons through Service Learning
Project with funding from the Learn and Serve
America program of the Corporation for
National and Community Service, Con Edison,
and NY/PA Campus Compacts.
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ISSUE
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Queensborough Showcased at the Innovations 2010 Conference
During spring break, Queensborough’s Assistant
Dean for Academic Operations Paul Marchese, Career
Mentoring Program Directors Mary Bandziukas and
Arlene Kemmerer, Service Learning Director Josephine
Pantaleo, Service Learning Project Coordinator Cristina
DiMeo, and Career Pathways Director Mary Anne Meyer
traveled to Baltimore, Maryland for the 13th annual
conference of the League for Innovation in the
Community College—Innovations 2010. The League is
an international organization committed to improving
community colleges through innovation,
experimentation, and institutional transformation.
Queensborough was selected to participate in
six conference sessions—a testament to the level of
creativity of programming on campus and to the
dedication of Queensborough’s administration, faculty,
and alumni.
The first session, presented by Arlene Kemmerer
and Mary Bandziukas, addressed problems and solutions
in developing the Career Mentoring Program. How do
you provide students with access to working
professionals? How do you recruit mentors? How about
mentees? How do you make sure the student is taking
advantage of the opportunity? To address these issues,
the QCC Career Mentoring Program refined the
recruiting and training methods, increased training and
follow-up with mentees, expanded outreach for mentors
in particular fields of interest, and sought to learn from
the experiences and comments of its participants.
The presentation on Service Learning showcased
a Basic Skills reading class taught by Arlene Kemmerer.
The aim of service learning is to align course objectives
with an authentic learning experience that meets a
community need. Students in the class practiced their
reading strategies by researching and writing an issue of
Look Around New York City, a nature newsletter for
From left: our coordinators, Teraine Anderson and
Samantha McFarlane, hard at work.
From left: Josephine Pantaleo, Arlene Kemmerer,
and Mary Bandziukas at the Innovations Conference
elementary school students published by NYC Audubon.
This project was presented a second time at one of the
poster sessions.
At another session, Josephine Pantaleo, Arlene
Kemmerer, and Cristina DiMeo demonstrated
Queensborough’s new Service Learning Resource Center
(SLRC). The SLRC is an online, central location where
faculty and students can learn about service learning
opportunities on campus, research the pedagogy, and find
resources to assist with developing service learning
projects. It will be an important means of promoting and
managing the program throughout the campus.
Finally, the collaborative work between
Queensborough and area high schools was presented by
Career Pathways director Mary Anne Meyer and Dr. Paul
Marchese. The Career Pathways program enables
students to earn credits towards AAS degrees at
Queensborough while still enrolled in high school. The
program helps students define a direction for their studies
and encourages them to complete high school and enroll
in college.
I am honored to work with the
career mentoring program, and I
am so happy to help the students in
their career process.
Thank you for giving me the
opportunity to work with you.
- Ingrid Jaramillo, Mentor