Kick off of the new GEM program

By Steven Kirkley
Staff Writer

Through the generous support of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Georgia College & State University has kicked off the new Georgia Education Mentorship (GEM) program this semester.
The GEM program is a pilot program designed to link students with countless numbers of business leaders and professionals throughout Georgia. Dr. Robin O. Harris, director of the Office of Experiential Learning and assistant professor in the Department of Government and Sociology, is serving as coordinator for the GEM program.
“We feel like it is a wonderful opportunity for the students to interact with leaders of the state that normally they would probably not even get to meet,” Harris said. “Also, it enables students to be out in the real world and watch these people operate and identify their leadership qualities so that they can hopefully begin to implement them in their own lives.”
The need for educated and qualified employees is a must for business leaders across Georgia; however, obtaining an education and a degree is sometimes not enough anymore. Business leaders and professionals are now asking more from the people that they place on their payrolls.
Some employers require employees to have excellent communication skills, critical thinking skills and teamwork skills. Employees should be ethical, flexible and possess the ability to adapt to all situations. The GEM program is being designed to help students achieve these skills and mold them to their advantage, so that one day, the students will be able to find the best job possible.
“It (GEM) does provide a lot of networking for students to get out and meet people and be in the real world,” said Harris.
Personal involvement with business and professional people can help reinforce the skills that are being taught in college classes.
“The way we have designed the program is so that there is a lot of feedback between the mentors and the mentees. The executives can bring up questions and stimulate conversations, finding out what we are teaching these students and how that connects to the real world. We’ve built into the program feedback from the students. We want to know if what we are teaching them in the classroom is what they need to have,” said Harris.
The leaders of the GEM program will be selected by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The leaders are then matched with selected college students for a semester-long mentorship. Students from all four schools at GC&SU will be given the chance to participate in the program.
Expectations for the program are very high. If the GEM program is as productive at GC&SU, as everyone involved expects it to be, then the program will branch off to other universities to benefit their students.
“We just see it as a very positive thing all the way around,” Harris said. “We’re very excited.”
about the Georgia Education Mentorship program can be answered by contacting Robin O. Harris at (478) 445-3209 or e-mail her at rharris@gcsu.edu.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 25 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry