Sue Small-Kreider – In Motion Staff Writer
MOCI, the Men of Character Initiative, has a new coordinator, Enaris Inman, who started in April 2019 and is rebranding the program to be more open to Daytona State College students.
Originally called the Men of Color Initiative when it was started under Dr. Michael A. Elam’s term as Vice President for Student Development (1999-2009), the program now strives to address both the academic needs and the personal development needs of Hispanic and African American males enrolled in associate degree or certificate programs at the college. It is part of the larger DSC initiative program to retain and increase the graduation rates of first-time-in-college students in associate degrees that has been funded in part by a $2.1 million Title III Strengthening Institutions Program Grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
“MOCI is an initiative, an organization that welcomes all students. It gives them a voice. It is a safe place,” Coordinator Inman said.
While the organization does not have its own space, it uses the offices of its mentors and the study rooms in the new Student Center building to hold study halls and its Barber Shop Talks forum series. These talks have included “How to carry ourselves on campus,” “How to dress professionally” and “How to interact with the police.”
Another aspect of the MOCI program is advocating for MOCI sections of the SLS 1122 (Student Life Skills) course all A.A. degree students are required to take. Prof. Larry Wesley has taught the MOCI sections offered in the Fall semesters of 2018 and 2019. While the basic SLS1122 course covers information on DSC resources and technology as well as developing the academic and personal skills to plan a successful college path to a chosen career, Wesley has added to the MOCI section topics such as conversations with local police chiefs. Wesley hopes to create a speakers bureau of people in the community who can talk with MOCI students on topics of concern and interest to them.
During the most recently completed Fall 2019 semester, Inman said that 240 first year students were served by MOCI at all seven campuses. At each campus, there are MOCI contacts that students can go to with their concerns. Inman says he sends notifications out to students at each campus when he is going to be on their campuses as well as notices to staff and faculty mentors about upcoming MOCI activities they can attend with their students.
“We have amazing mentors across the different campuses,” Inman said.
Mentoring is a big part of MOCI’s purpose to increase the number of men of color and character to stay in college and graduate with a degree or certificate. Inman recruits DSC staff and faculty members to become mentors. He matches students up with mentors based on the mentors’ profile of services they can offer and the students’ interest in academic programs and how they need to be supported.
In the Fall of 2020, Inman plans to roll out a new group of mentors – second year MOCI students for peer mentoring of new students.
“MOCI will only help you as much as you want to help yourself. College can be a harsh place for new and old students when not well informed. MOCI is the crutch that helps people learn how to walk again, so if you need help…take the crutch,” said Jackie Collins, first year DSC student and MOCI member
MOCI’s big event is the Right of Passage ceremony on May 8 honoring graduates of the program and college. Inman told the story of a conversation he had with a student who was worried that he would disappoint his family and professors if he changed his major. Inman’s advice was, “It is your race to run. You set the pace to your finish line.”
If any DSC staff or faculty are interested in becoming a MOCI mentor, they should contact Enaris Inman at 386-506-3402 or enaris.inman@daytonastate.edu.