Spotlight
USF System: Club Mentor
| USF Sarasota-Manatee
Education majors at USF Sarasota-Manatee have partnered with Big Brothers, Big Sisters (BBBS) of the Suncoast to mentor students in a local elementary school. The USF Sarasota-Manatee students are members of the PRIDE (Promoting, Recruiting, Increasing Diverse Educators) Club and have been working with BBBS students at Rogers Garden Elementary School where some of the USFSM students are also completing their internships.
PRIDE Club Adviser Marie Byrd-Blake is an assistant professor in the College of Education specializing in reading and elementary education. Her ties to BBBS date back more than 10 years when she was named the National Big Sister of the Year by BBBS of America in 2001. "I'm excited about our new partnership with BBBS of the Suncoast," she says. "The organization has proven that it makes a difference in the lives of children. In our efforts to promote teacher education among those of diverse backgrounds, PRIDE has previously engaged in mentoring students who are enrolled in schools that are located in high poverty, culturally diverse and/or high needs communities."
The current president of PRIDE, Kate Shackelford, approached Byrd-Blake in the spring expressing interest in becoming a Big Sister. Almost immediately Shackelford was connected with the Manatee BBBS community office and is currently a Big Sister to an 11-year-old in Manatee County. Shackelford's affiliation with the local office led to facilitating a mentor program and she began recruiting other PRIDE students as volunteers. Due to those efforts, PRIDE has become an official partner with BBBS of the Suncoast and together the two groups are working to increase the number of mentors at Rogers Garden Elementary.