When Sashy Izarra became a student at Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) in 2019, she was overwhelmed. As a first-generation college student, she didn’t know where to turn for help.
Then, a classmate told her about Women of Wisdom (WOW). She joined PGCC’s program that first semester and hasn’t looked back.
“It’s helped me grow academically and in my personal life,” Izarra says.
Women of Wisdom began in 2012. The Maryland college had a dedicated program for male students, and a handful of female students expressed interest in having their own program.
Now, there are more than 700 students participating in WOW, ranging in age from their late teens, to their 70s.
Connecting to people, resources
The program provides personal growth and leadership skill development, intrusive advising, career readiness and exploration, volunteer/community service opportunities, financial literacy and access to scholarships.
For Izarra, a nursing student who works full-time as a medical assistant, all these pieces helped her focus and find balance. She’s also grateful for the connections she’s made with other women.
“I’ve made long-lasting friendships in the program,” she says. “We all want to do great things, and we all want to make an impact.”
When Izarra was in a car accident in November, both her car and her finances took a big hit. She went to her WOW “family.”
“When I told them about it, they were on it,” Izarra says. She was directed to PGCC resources, such as gift cards for Uber and help getting groceries. “I wouldn’t know about these things unless I was in this program.”
That’s exactly the type of holistic support WOW is meant to provide, says Program Manager Stephanie Pair. Many of the students in the program have obligations outside of school – such as jobs, children and other caregiver responsibilities, to name a few – and their own “villages to serve,” Pair says. So, WOW is a village for them.
Open to change
Students in the program are required to meet with one of the WOW team members once a month to do a “pulse check” so they can work together to remove any barriers, Pair says. Success plans are customized as much as possible, and workshops and events are planned around the needs of the students.
And another requirement of participants: They must be vulnerable to change.
You have to be “open and amendable” to transform, Pair says. “Whatever that authentic transformation is, you have to be centered to receive.”
Izarra was ready for her transformation. Because of WOW, she gained the confidence to start her own club for Latino/a students. Izarra, who was born in Venezuela and lived there until she was eight, wants the club will bring her community together and help them get the same kind of support she got from WOW.
She says WOW “molded me into the woman I am today,” adding, “I wouldn’t be able to start my own club without the skills I gained.”
Women on a Mission
The Community College of Allegheny County’s (CCAC’s) Women on a Mission (WOM) program is all about personalized support, too. It has a strong one-on-one approach with a team of mentors helping students get the support they need.
That support includes academic and transfer help, career advice, help with public speaking and other resources to help students be “confident stepping into the next stage of life,” says Aaliyah Coleman, CCAC student engagement coordinator/diversity and inclusion specialist, who also serves as a mentor.
“A lot of people underestimate the amount of resources CCAC has,” which includes bus passes, gap funding, a campus closet and more, Coleman says. “WOM highlights that.”
The Pennsylvania college has run Women on a Mission for more than a decade. The retention program was created to give students access to resources on and off campus, mentorship and connections to employers and internships.
Just a semester after starting, WOM proved successful — 78% of participants were retained, according to the college’s website.
Now, after taking a slight hit during the pandemic, WOM is regrowing and re-evaluating how to best serve students – especially across all its locations. CCAC has four campuses and three centers and has created space at each location for WOM participants to meet with mentors, study or connect with other students.
There also are events and workshops covering a range of topics, from resume tips, to mental health.
Leveraging technology
Because of the many locations, “it’s hard to get people in one room together,” Coleman says, so many of the workshops are hybrid, broadcast from one campus to the others. Students can even view events on their phone, while they’re dropping off kids or walking across campus.
“They appreciate the flexibility,” Coleman says.
There are students of all ages, races and backgrounds involved in WOM.
“We focus on intersectionality,” Coleman says, adding that students “gain wisdom from each other and support each other.”
For Coleman, the best part of WOM is “seeing students connect.”
A ‘Barbie’ moment
The Sister to Sister (S2S) at Tallahassee Community College (TCC) also gives women space to connect and grow.
The program started in 2016. A provost was walking around campus, talking to students. Several female students came up to her, often to admire her clothing and high heels. That was a conversation-starter. That sparked the idea that TCC should give women a safe space on campus.
“It was like a Barbie moment long before the ‘Barbie’ movie came out,” says Calandra Stringer, TCC provost and vice president of academic affairs.
Though the provost who originally launched the program is no longer at TCC, S2S lives on, providing mentoring, leadership and social development and career guidance. Academic support also is an important part of S2S.
“We saw early on that it’s great to have mentors and help them develop their character, but when we looked at grades, we realized we needed to provide something additional,” Stringer says. “We needed to make sure students get to the finish line.”
Students are provided with access to tutoring and information about resources on and off campus. They also learn something that can be hard for women: how to ask for help.
Empowering students
Through the program, TCC students have a safe space to visit – both in person and online – at any time, as well as networking and volunteer opportunities. S2S allows them to “feel empowered and know they’re supported on campus,” Stringer says.
There are monthly workshops, too. In February, a faculty member discussed the importance of journaling and how it can help students stay focused on their academic journey.
An upcoming event will focus on entrepreneurship – something Stringer says is important to S2S students, as many of the women have already started their own businesses.
Though participation in S2S ebbs and flows, there are about 125 students consistently in the program. Because TCC students overall skew younger, so does the age of S2S participants. Older participants get all the benefits of S2S and can act as role models within the program.
The program is advertised on TCC’s website as an “academic program for female students of color,” but all female students are invited to join.
S2S has the support of the entire campus community – including the college president.
“He knows we serve at-risk populations, and he wants to give us the resources to make it work,” Stringer says.
Students first
As these programs have evolved, lessons have been learned. Stringer has some advice for those developing programs aimed at supporting women. It’s important to let students drive the conversation, she says. When you do that, it’s easier to get information across.
PGCC’s Pair echoes that sentiment and recommends polling students to assess their needs before starting a program.
“Start with the students first,” Pair says.
Stringer also says to “be authentic.”
“The students are drawn to programs where they know they can be themselves, and that coordinators are being authentic,” she says.
