Lincoln University mentorship program seeks to help create successful men

As Lincoln University struggles to retain and enroll men, a fairly new campus mentoring program is providing a safe space to explore what it means to be successful and offering guidance in getting there.

LU M.E.N.TORING, a group of about 40 students and staff, usually meets at around 6 p.m. each week to share their experiences and talk about best practices for becoming successful in life.

Last Friday, the group met for a final rally before finals week and the end of the semester.

Richard Cross, a retention specialist at Lincoln and mentor in LU M.E.N.TOURING, said the meetings consist of conversations meant to instill confidence and encouragement within male students.

"The whole essence of the mentoring is to let the students know that they belong here," Cross said. "And also to find means or ways to encourage them to be their best self."

Cross said the students and mentors often talk about time management, choosing friends and building relationships with professors and community leaders, as well as whatever pressing topics the students or mentors want to bring up.

He said they also talk about holding themselves accountable.

"We can tell them all they need to know, but they need to know that they have to take that responsibility as well for them to be successful," Cross said.

Staff like Cross serve as role models for the students, who in turn will become role models for younger generations. A wide range of staff and community leaders are involved, Cross said, including Interim President John Moseley, academic support specialist Raymond Okolo and Carlos Graham, campus community and government affairs liaison.

Okolo, who graduated from Lincoln in December 2020 and who took a position within academic support, said he signed up as a mentor for the organization because he never had someone providing guidance to him throughout his college journey.

"I never had someone to lead me, show what a Black man looks like - a successful Black man - so I jumped on it," Okolo said.

Okolo said the organization has developed since it began earlier this year from focusing on the experience of Black men to the general experience of men in college.

Men have the lowest graduation rate at Lincoln, Okolo said, and in conversations this past semester, it's clear economic background is a major factor.

In the last five years, LU has lost 31 percent of its male student population - dropping from 1,421 male students in the 2016-17 academic year to 987 male students in 2020-21.

"We need more representation, especially for not just Black men, but for men in general," Okolo said. "But this is an HBCU, so they're more focused on Black men."

As his work relates to the university's academic support services, Okolo said it's important for students to know what success inside and outside the classroom looks like.

Okolo said Lincoln's approach considers the whole student, not just their performance in the classroom. Even a student getting straight 'A's would benefit from LU M.E.N.TORING because it offers lessons and experiences that encourage personal development, he said.

He said some students immediately put up a wall when faculty and staff approach them to talk about success and their background, but seeing each other in meetings creates a "neutral ground."

Creating a safe space to make students feel comfortable enough to have those conversations is crucial, he said.

His involvement in LU M.E.N.TOURING has put him in front of more students than he would have expected, Okolo said. Some come for academic help, others just come to talk.

"My experience here has been a blessing because I'm able to do what I wasn't given," Okolo said.

Jeremiah Williams, a junior criminal justice major from East St. Louis, Illinois, said the group has been formative for him, especially as more men join and share their stories.

As an upperclassman, Williams said, it's been rewarding to hear from younger students about their experiences and struggles and offer help or guidance. He said that kind of interaction and dialogue helps the campus develop as a whole.

"A lot of the guys here, we're friends," Williams said. "We kick it, we play a game together - you build the camaraderie just being around and talking about those experiences. It works for you in your favor. It's like a family."

Students often attend meetings to feel a sense of belonging on campus, Cross said.

"One of the young men, he said, 'I think I was going to go home because I didn't know if I belong here.' But coming to the meeting helped him to feel as if he belonged to the university and had a group of people that he can really associate with," Cross said. "It's like a bond."

At the last meeting, Williams said he took away lessons to not be so focused on the world around him and instead "keep living life."

Williams said he plans to implement some of what he's learned from LU M.E.N.TORING back home. He is in the process of starting two nonprofits, one focused on long-term mentoring and another to provide shoes and professional attire to people who can't afford them.

While LU M.E.N.TORING has played a large influence in those goals, Williams said the ideas were sparked by his time in the Army stationed at bases surrounded by impoverished communities.

Cross said LU M.E.N.TORING will be expanding next semester to area high schools and middle schools, potentially starting with Jefferson City High School. The goal is for Lincoln students to visit local high schools and middle schools each week to become mentors for younger generations.

Cross said the success of students in LU M.E.N.TOURING could be used to attract more students to campus as well.

"We want students who are actually doing the work already to be that model," Cross said. "To be an ambassador for what we're trying to accomplish when we talk about excellence."