Academic Enrichment Center offers something for every student

Ever wonder what keeps UD running smoothly? Up Close & Personnel, a weekly feature, profiles the employees who keep UD ticking around the clock throughout the year. This week, the focus is on the Academic Enrichment Center.

Freshman Beau Davis (left) with Lin Gordon, director of the Academic Enrichment Center, senior Stefanie Hawkins and Lysbet Murray, associate director

9:11 a.m., Oct. 7, 2004--UD’s Academic Enrichment Center was one of Richard Allen’s first stops on campus. After studies at a trade school and at Del Tech, the 23-year-old junior said he wanted to get his University career off on the right foot.

“It took me a long time to work my way into this school, and now that I’m here, I’m loving it,’’ he said. “I haven’t been at a four-year university before, and I felt like I needed a mentor to show me the way. I know that I want to get straight A’s this semester.’’

The center, formerly called the Academic Services Center, moved to 148-150 South College Ave. in August and changed its name to the Academic Enrichment Center to reflect its one-stop-shopping offerings. The staff says there’s something for everyone--precollege programs, study strategies, help preparing for graduate school admissions and maybe even a home away from home.

“We have been the kind of place where a lot of people know resources are made available, and a lot of people assume they don’t need them,’’ Lysbet Murray, associate director, said. “We have found over the years that almost everyone who walks through our door needs something. There’s always some way a person can grow, and we have so many ways to help.’’

Director Lin Gordon said the center has welcomed all sorts of students. “We have everybody from the students with a 4.0 GPA to those who are about to be dismissed,’’ she said. “We take a holistic approach. We don’t just leave it at academics. There are many reasons why students leave college--academics, feeling socially isolated, financial issues. We’re here to look at the whole person.’’

Karen Clark, staff assistant, Troy Christman, coordinator, and Susan Harmon, project coordinator, work with the Upward Bound program at the Academic Enrichment Center.

Raquel Genfi, a sophomore from New York City, is part of the Student Support Services Program, which is available to first generation college students and low-income students. “It’s my second home. I’m here all the time,’’ Genfi said, picking through a jar full of wrapped candy for her favorites. “This is a wonderful place. It is the first place to go to get all the help that you need. They help me academically. They gave me financial help for Winter Session. They took me to a ballet. We went skiing in the Poconos. I can come in anytime and talk to anybody whether it’s about financial aid or something personal.’’

Stefanie Hawkins came to UD three months early as part of the residential Summer Enrichment Program on campus. By the time she enrolled as a freshman that fall, she had completed three courses. Through UD’s federally funded Student Support Services program, she learned to sail, attended Broadway plays and took an etiquette class. She graduates this year, said she and hopes to get a job in forensics. Although UD does not offer a forensics major, Michael F. McClay, assistant director for academic services, helped her pattern her courses after another school’s forensics major.

“They are so helpful here. They help you in so many areas, even personal areas because they have been here so long that they know everyone and can help you. They always offer a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen,’’ Hawkins said.

McClay said most students who drop out of college don’t flunk out; they leave because they don’t feel comfortable or don’t fit in. McClay said staffers try to help students find a place that’s a good fit, and they try to share information from printed material that the students might not have read. They also offer study skills, tutoring, and services for students with documented learning disabilities.

Eunice Wellons, administrative assistant, and Wanda Moore, staff assistant

He said four students who came for a pre-college program in the summer of 1992 bonded and have stayed close friends for more than a decade.

All four wanted to be physicians. They attended group-tutoring sessions together and became fixtures at the center. Three graduated from the same medical school. The other opted to teach biology, earned a master’s degree and became a high school administrator.

“We focus on building community,’’ Murray said. “There’s a sense of family here. There are so many transition issues for freshmen because college is so different from high school. They may say that they were at the top of their class so they don’t need help, but then they get their grades. It’s like nothing they ever encountered in their lifetimes, and they’re crushed.”

Gordon has seen the center’s programs grow over the past 16 years from a handful of staffers to 17 full-time employees, with almost 100 tutors and 200 auxiliary staff working on various programs. More than 3,100 students were served last year, and Gordon says the new space makes it possible to serve even more students.

Michael McClay, assistant director for academic services, with junior George Mitesser and freshman Victoria Bakre

For some students, Murray said, the center is a home away from home.

Gordon said that was evident on Sept. 11, 2001, when students started filing in and staying all day long, watching the television coverage of the terrorist attacks with the staff. “It was the first place they could think of coming to when something bad happened to them,’’ she said.

Gordon said one young man reluctantly joined the center’s Summer Enrichment Program at his mother’s urging, but his behavior resulted in his being asked to leave before the summer’s end. When he came to campus for classes in the fall, he started dropping in at the center and eventually taking part in the offerings. He recently earned an M.B.A.

One student with a disability had tried for years to prepare for medical school, but it wasn’t the right path for him, Gordon said. He eventually had to give up that dream, but he kept returning to talk with staffers at the center. Eventually, he decided to start a business that would help other persons with disabilities, and he began selling adaptive equipment.

Barbara Lewis-Kuszyk, coordinator

“He made his first million quite a while ago,’’ Gordon said, “and he credits lots of his success to the support he got from the center. We told him the things he needed to hear, both good and bad things.’’

“We’re very proud that the University has supported our growth. There’s a feeling that we’re really a part of the fabric of the University,’’ Gordon said.

In addition to the programs offered at the center, Gordon said the center offers study skills and other workshops through residence life, fraternities and sororities, and other groups on campus.

Article by Kathy Canavan
Photos by Kathy Atkinson and Kevin Quinlan

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