Students participate in Redding Junior Scholars Program

Each of the 10 high school-age scholars is at the top of the triangle, supported socially by undergraduate peer mentors and professionally by seasoned lawyers and judges.

“I think that the triangle is what makes the Redding Junior Scholars different,” Tonya Richardson, program coordinator, said.

The Louis L. Redding Junior Scholars Program is a community-focused endeavor, initiated by Leland Ware, Louis L. Redding Chair for Law and Public Policy at the University, to engage high school students in exposure to legal and social justice career options.

The chair position and its program are both named after civil rights activist Louis L. Redding, who died in 1988. Ware said his position is a partnership between the legal, African-American and corporate communities, and he wanted to continue to broaden this relationship by including the Wilmington community, where Redding worked, through the junior scholars program.

“The focus is to provide opportunities to those who may not necessarily have those chances, such as minorities and other disadvantaged kids,” he said.

Students from New Castle County commit to actively participating in program activities, which have included trips to meet Delaware Attorney Gen. Jane Brady, attending a law class at Widener University and visiting public defender Penny Marshall. Program participants also commit to pursuing a research paper guided at monthly meetings by University undergraduate mentors, chosen because of their involvement as AmeriCorps volunteers, and professional lawyers and judges.

AmeriCorps Director Melva Ware said one of the biggest advantages to the junior scholars, as well as to the undergraduate mentors, is the one-on-one interaction with professionals who can share their practical life experiences and introduce them into their communities of influence.

“It is our hope that any of the junior scholars, or the undergraduate mentors, will be able to call on these people of influence in the community for letters of recommendation or advice,” she said.

“That is mentoring at its most powerful level, where there is a real outcome in the lives of the people being mentored.”

Undergraduate mentor Nathaniel Miller, a senior history major, said he enjoyed his participation in the program.

“It is exciting,” Miller said. “It is a wonderful experience working with the other people who are peer mentors, the AmeriCorps directors, as well as working with the high school students.”

Miller said he feels it is very beneficial for the high school students to not just have professional mentors, but peer mentors who are closer to them in age.

“We can relate on a personal level,” he said. “We’re in a position to give them advice because we’ve had more experience in life and college. We can help guide them.”

Junior Scholar Garth Spencer said he thinks this experience has been beneficial for him because he has been able to get advice from both college students and professional lawyers and judges.

“It’s a good program,” the Newark High School senior said. “I like the interaction with both the undergraduate mentors, as well as the professional mentors.”

Spencer said he plans on pursuing a career in law and will begin attending the University next fall as a political science major. He said he would definitely consider participating as a peer mentor himself one day.

“It would be a great experience,” he said.

Melva Ware said junior scholar participants were nominated by a community member and had to submit a statement about their life path, passions and interests, demonstrating why they would make good scholars.

“They are not all interested in law necessarily,” she said, “but I think fairness, social justice and being engaged in the community to make a difference are the overriding outcomes for all of these students.

“They’re all understanding the process and values of becoming an engaged citizen. This makes this a tremendous social studies experience for them all.”

Leland Ware said they were looking for students who would actively participate and see the program through.

The junior scholars will conclude their participation in June at a symposium, where they will share their research paper results. Melva Ware said this gives them a way to concretely demonstrate their potential to themselves and others.

“Having them achieve some concrete reflection of this academic ability, that may not, again, be representative of their test scores and GPA, will be a very powerful incentive in the personal lives of these kids,” she said. “And, demonstrating to the people who are mentoring them and guiding them in other ways, to say ‘Hey, you did this once, you can do it again.’”

Leland Ware, having recently attended a meeting where the students presented their research topics, said he was very struck by how articulate and poised the students were.

“I was both very pleased with the progress of the program in such a short time and impressed with the quality of the students,” he said.

Article by Laura LaPonte