Hamilton,
22
January
2021
|
10:56 AM
America/New_York

Upcoming Mohawk College Webinar:

The Wellness Connection Program & The Power of Peer Mentorship

Webinar will help faculty and academics discover how to integrate peer mentorship in an academic program.

Research has shown that education and training can improve social mobility, jobs and incomes, and health outcomes. But for many Ontarian students, barriers such as mental and physical health issues, poverty, and addiction, can prevent them from realizing all the advantages of a post-secondary experience.

On February 4, Lisa Alfano, Sara Ali and Cheryl Richesin will be sharing their research findings from the Mohawk Academic Upgrading Wellness Connection, a peer mentorship program. Their research study explored how a preventative approach could help students who face barriers and result in higher motivation, perseverance, resiliency, and retention rates. Through a combination of workshops, one-on-one and group meetings, and community referrals, the Wellness Connection provided students with the academic and career readiness, interpersonal, and coping skills they needed to successfully complete upgrading and transition to their next steps. Part of the program’s effectiveness lies in its delivery by an Academic Upgrading graduate.

Lisa Alfano and Cheryl Richesin are Professors of Communications in the Academic Upgrading program at Mohawk College. Sara Ali was a Wellness Peer Mentor in Mohawk’s Community Access and Engagement and is now a Triage Officer for Accessible Learning & Counselling Services.

The project was supported by the IDEAWORKS Catalyst Fund (ICF), which provides funding to support new applied research and innovative scholarship in teaching and learning at Mohawk College.

The free webinar will be held on Thursday, February 4, 2021 from 2 p.m.- 3 p.m. and is open to Mohawk College employees, students and the public.

Register here.