Welcome to Minds Matter, Inc.'s first national newsletter!                                    

In this issue:

• Letter from the Presidents
• Chapter Updates
  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Denver
  • New York City
  • Portland
• Student Spotlight
• Volunteer Spotlight
• *New Initiative*

Letter from the Presidents

Minds Matter is an organization that quickly gets “into the blood” of everyone who gets involved.  A person may start out thinking that he’s just coming to a fundraiser or helping out with a career panel, but then four years later he’s working with his second mentee and serving as a committee chair!  The organization has a similar effect on mentees.  While it starts out as a three year program to help them reach their dream of a college education, they are drawn back to the organization as mentors, advocates and donors.  We love the fact that Minds Matter is so inspiring and transformational that it becomes a life-long relationship!  And with our new and improved electronic newsletter, we hope to make it a little easier for each of you to stay in touch with all that is happening with the Minds Matter family.  Every quarter we will be sending out updates on each Chapter (there are five in '06-'07!) as well as highlights on students, volunteers, alumni and program developments.  This quarter you’ll have the opportunity to “meet” an amazing student in Portland, who is making the most of her Minds Matter experience, as well as a dedicated volunteer in Chicago, who will do just about anything to make it to session on Saturday.  You can also read about the newly developed Writing and Critical Thinking program which is changing the way Minds Matter develops these crucial learning skills.  We hope that you enjoy reading about the new developments at Minds Matter and encourage you to contact us with ideas for future newsletters.  

Best,

Bijal Choksi and Rissa Durham

Co-Presidents, National Executive Committee

info@mindsmatter.org

Chapter Updates

Boston

The Boston Chapter of Minds Matter  is enjoying its fourth year of operation in the Boston community with over twenty-five students and more than sixty volunteers.  The Boston sophomores and juniors are in the process of applying to many competitive summer programs and the senior class is awaiting the arrival of college acceptance letters.  In addition to yet another school year filled with hard work and dedication, Boston students and mentors have spent the year touring local museums and they recently attended a Boston Celtics game (pictured right) where the team was victorious over the Seattle Supersonics!  On April 25, 2007, Minds Matter of Boston  will also be hosting the third annual Bowl-A-Thon where the group will come together at Lucky Strike Bowling Lanes next to historical Fenway Park to celebrate another successful year.

Chicago

The Chicago Chapter inaugurated its first year as part of the Minds Matter family with a class  of six exceptional sophomores and twelve dedicated mentors.  In addition to implementing a regular Sophomore Program, Minds Matter of Chicago also implemented Minds Matter’s newest curriculum: the Writing & Critical Thinking Program.  In its pilot year, the Writing & Critical Thinking Program has experienced much success and the students of the Chicago Chapter have used the lessons learned from the Program to apply to summer college prep programs around the United States.  Minds Matter of Chicago is also proud to announce that they will be hosting their spring fundraiser on Friday, April 27, 2007.  If you or anyone you know would like to attend, please visit the Minds Matter website!

Denver

Minds Matter of Denver will reach a major milestone in May, as their inaugural sophomore class will be graduating.  In its first year, the Senior Program will graduate six outstanding seniors, who boast an average score improvement of 176 points on the SAT; the highest score improvement was an impressive 380 points.  All six students will proudly attend a four-year college or university, and four of them are currently semi-finalists in the running to receive a scholarship from the Daniels Fund.  In addition to their Senior Program, eight juniors (five returning and three new) and five new sophomores make up the Denver Chapter.

New York City

In its sixteenth year of operation, Minds Matter of NYC welcomed 21 new sophomores, 50 juniors (14 returning and 36 new), and 31 returning seniors.  Always an exciting time of year for Minds Matter students, the spring semester has brought with it news of summer program and college acceptances.  Minds Matter of NYC is proud to announce that their sophomores and juniors have already begun hearing back from summer prep programs across the United States as well as abroad, and some students have already been guaranteed full scholarships for their summer experiences.  Among New York's successful seniors, one student will be attending the four-year college or university of her choice with a scholarship from the New York Times.  The scholarship includes a remarkable financial aid package for all four years as well as a laptop computer, a printer, and an internship with the New York Times beginning in July.  The Posse Foundation has also granted three seniors full scholarships to attend Babson College, Middlebury College, and Vanderbilt University.  Several other students have been invited to interview with schools such as Cornell University, Dartmouth College, and Yale University.

Portland

Minds Matter of Portland launched in May 2006 with 13 sophomores and 4 juniors. Students represent 8 different high schools and 7 different cultural backgrounds.  They are paired with 34 high energy mentors from the Portland business, education, and professional community.  With its new sophomore class, the Portland Chapter is also implementing the new Writing & Critical Thinking curriculum with four experienced writing instructors and two writing tutors leading the session with sophomore mentees.  Each Saturday, the “What’s Going On in the World?” discussion with Portland's sophomores features a world affairs article from the New York Times , which serves as a vehicle to encourage critical thinking, build vocabulary, promote metaphor awareness, and develop confidence in open discussion.  Fields trips have included “West Side Story,” “Messiah,” Suzan-Lori Parks lecture with Portland Arts and Lectures, and a tour of the Egypt exhibit at the Portland Art Museum.

Student Spotlight: Portland

Grace Tshimanga

Grace Tshimanga has had a long journey to Portland, Oregon.  It began in The Democratic Republic of Congo.   She first entered the U.S. in 1999, living in Virginia for a while and began to learn English in the 4^th grade using kindergarten-level books and stories.    As a 16-year-old junior she is now reading the New York Times each week in preparation for the “What’s Going On in The World” discussions at Minds Matter.

Grace's father is a pastor at the International Bethel City Church and the search for a location to begin a new congregation brought the family to Portland.

While English is the newest of three languages she has mastered, she has managed to become the highest ranked member of her class with a 4.0 GPA during her sophomore year.  Her English teacher describes her as "passionate about her education, respectful of herself, teachers and peers."

Grace’s mentors come from the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) and were placed with Grace due to her aspirations to enter the workforce as a health professional.  They describe her as "very independent – sometimes eschewing our help or suggestions because of this – but focused and organized.  Her ability to be a top student and be so involved extracurricularly is impressive."  She, in turn, describes her mentors stating, "They are like family to me.  They help me see the world and my life in a bigger way.  I feel I see the whole picture and now in my school classes I volunteer and speak up more."

Her third language – French- is about to get a big boost in her skill level as she has been accepted into the Rassias program this summer in France.

In addition to her time commitment to Minds Matter, she volunteers for the Red Cross, Planned Parenthood and school leadership programs.

Volunteer Spotlight: Chicago

Jeff Dillon

"His dedication and persistence in conveying concepts to the students is apparent to both fellow mentors and the entire group." 

-- Lisa Souter, Chapter President

This spring, Minds Matter would like to recognize Jeff Dillon from Minds Matter of Chicago for the large impact he has had since joining the chapter in its first year.  According to Minds Matter of Chicago’s President, Lisa Souter, “Jeff has been a huge contributor to getting the Chicago Chapter off the ground.  His dedication and persistence in conveying concepts to the students is apparent to both fellow mentors and the entire group.” 

Not only is Jeff a mentor in Sophomore Program, he also served as a Writing and Critical Thinking Program Director in the Program’s pilot year, and will be serving as a Director in the Test Prep Program as the sophomores begin their PSAT training in the spring. 

Other mentors note that Jeff’s gentle style and patience in the classroom clearly make the mentees feel at ease around him.  His mentee, Charles Johnson, describes him in one word: “perfect.” 

Jeff grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and graduated from Miami University of Ohio, where he met his wife.  He is employed by HSBC Bank and plans to attend graduate school in the evenings beginning next year.  Minds Matter is a family affair for the Dillon’s as Jeff’s wife, Rebecca, is also a mentor for the Chicago Chapter.  The Dillon’s have braved flat tires, intense work schedules, and a horrible Chicago winter, to make the Chicago Chapter’s first year a success.

*New Initiative*

Writing & Critical Thinking

The Writing & Critical Thinking Program was launched in the 2006-2007 academic year to address mentees' abilities to organize their thoughts, articulate themselves, convey ideas, and engage in critical thinking/logical reasoning.  Throughout the year, mentees meet on a weekly basis with designated Writing & Critical Thinking Consultants to receive large and small group instruction on writing organization, style, and mechanics; discuss drafts of their written work; and engage in writing and critical thinking activities such as debate, current event discussion, peer editing, and art, music, and literature interpretation. The Program's small consultant-to-student ratio allows mentees to draw on consistent, thorough, customized feedback each week as they work toward producing highly competitive essays for summer program applications.

Thank you for supporting Minds Matter! 

Stay tuned for our quarterly electronic updates!!