The Mandel Spotlight
Orientation Scavenger Hunt Continued from page 1.
Jensen Hanna was in a teaching laboratory at ideastream; she told the new students about community engagement courses and the program’s ALAP co-curricular activities. Professor Mary Hovanec was at the City Club of Cleveland, where she gave a presentation on expectations for Mandel scholars. Dean Matthew Jordan was in the Stokes Legacy Room at the Cleveland Public Library. His presentation was titled “What Are the Humanities, and Why Should I Care?” Emily Quayle was, of course, at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Honors College at Cleveland State University to talk about the Mandel Continuing Scholars Program, and Herb Mausser and Ra’Shawn Brown were both in the vicinity of the hunt and on call in case of emergency. Marianna Nesterenko oversaw the luncheon and other logistical arrangements. The event was a tremendous success. Most of the participants completed an anonymous survey evaluating the orientation, and 85% of respondents gave the experience a score of eight out of 10 or higher. Remarkably, in light of the fact that most students did not
Community Engagement Projects In fall 2019, students enrolled in the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Scholars Academy’s community engagement course partnered with four area organizations — the Cleveland Botanical Garden, ideastream, Good Cause Creative and Literary Cleveland — to tackle the following projects: Cleveland Botanical Garden Research national models and recommend ways the organization can expand or redesign youth programming. ideastream Assess the impact of reporting on residents featured in a series dedicated to the current conditions, and upcoming changes to, the oldest public housing project in Ohio. Good Cause Creative/WISH Cleveland Design a weekly generosity challenge for the city of Cleveland in 2020 connected to the organization’s #GivingTuesdayCLE campaign. Literary Cleveland Develop and recommend strategies to engage recent college graduates. Mandel scholars are challenged in this course to assess their skills, create a positive team dynamic and complete a project deliverable in 16 weeks. Faculty provide guidance and a humanities context throughout the experience. This course is unique and continues to test all of the Mandel Scholars Academy competencies: effective communication, evidence-based decision making, multicultural awareness, social responsibility/ethical behavior, collaboration and achievement of results.
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depart from the Hospitality Management Center until after 2 p.m., one of the most common suggestions for improving the event next year was, “make it longer!” One new student spoke for many of her peers when she wrote, in spite of some minor setbacks and challenges, “I had a really fun time! If I had to do this again, I would. In fact, I would love to lead it someday!”
Tea and Scones with the Campus Presidents Mandel Scholars shared tea and scones with the president at each of their home Tri-C campuses in November. This was an opportunity for our campus presidents to meet the scholars and to engage in a meaningful dialogue on leadership, as each president shared their personal leadership journey.