Building Social Capital

Social capital is a complex web, and studies have shown that increasing opportunities for building social capital among historically excluded student populations by providing relevant information, strong supportive networks, and realistic goal setting is essential to developing a deeper sense of agency and setting them up for increased success rates in college. The MESA Grant Program and the Welcome and Mentoring Program are both designed to provide such opportunities to the students.

We saw a decrease in the number of MESA grant applications due to the pandemic, as most grantees program events that fall within COVID-19 restrictions. While such a drop was predictable, we were pleasantly surprised to see the high level of creativity and desire for the community to connect virtually. Eighty 30-Minute advising appointments were documented as part of the MESA grant consultation process. In addition, all thirteen Large Grant applications were awarded.

MESA Grant Program

13

LARGE GRANTS

32

SMALL GRANTS

$5,845

AWARDED FALL 2020

$24,935

AWARDED WINTER 2021

Welcome and Mentoring Program

MESA Early Welcome Program (ALMA, SALAM, CAALM, and NASW)

Last year, both ALMA and SALAM were conducted virtually. By the time ALMA and SALAM started in August, we learned the challenges to keep students’ attention in a virtual environment and the high energy it takes to stay focused and engaged. The planning committee decided to spread out a traditional 4-day program, instead intentionally designing opportunities to reconnect across the first two weeks of the semester. This facilitated re-engaging the core goals, which included developing navigational capital and community resources through early exposure, leadership workshops, and opportunities to further explore their identities. In total, ALMA had 46 participants and SALAM had 28 participants.

Last year MESA also worked with UAAO and NASA to co-create, for the first time, similar opportunities for Asian American and Pacific Islanders students, Native American Students, and others who were interested to learn about these communities and their experiences. 28 students participated in the Cultivating Asian American Leaders at Michigan (CAALM) and three participated in the Native American Student Welcome (NASW).

Supporting Incoming Black Students (SIBS)

SIBS is a mentoring program that focuses specifically on social and cultural connections that time and energies into engaging and collaborating with various multicultural student organizations across campus.

This year, SIBS had 34 mentees and 34 upperclassmen mentors. In addition to a successful orientation with 100% attendance from all mentors and multiple organic touch points between mentors and mentees, the SIBS student coordinator and SIBS Core Leadership members facilitated six monthly events to bring members together for community building as well as discussion on various issues of community interest.

This year, SIBS collaborated with student organizations including The Black Undergraduate Law Association (BULA), The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Creatives Of Color (COC), Black Student Union (BSU), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Here Earning A Destiny for Self (HEADS), La Casa, South Asian Awareness Network (SAAN) and Sister2Sister.

Students playing cornhole at a SIBS event in April 2020

ARISE

ARISE is similar to SIBS in that its focus is on social and cultural connections. While ARISE aims at providing a social network, it also strives to engage its members about social justice issues by creating inclusive environments and professional development through mentorship. It is dedicated to developing a positive experience for all students at the University of Michigan. As a small group, ARISE has been working on recruiting members as well as collaborating with other student organizations to enhance their members’ experiences. They recruited five new core team members to their executive board, 11 mentors, and 17 mentees. They successfully hosted seven virtual gatherings for mentors and mentees over the year.