Oct. 30—Heather Whitney from the Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement was able to talk in an email interview about FLI, or the First-Year Leadership Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Claire Speredelozzi: What is your program?
Heather Whitney: The First-Year Leadership Institute.
CS: What is the goal?
HW: To assist first-semester freshman and transfer students develop their leadership skills and connect them with resources to ensure their success at UMass Boston and beyond
CS: Is it only for freshman?
HW: It was created and geared for first-semester freshman, but over the past two years, we have been including first-semester transfer students.
CS: How long has it been around?
HW: FLI was started by my predecessor, Sherrod Williams, in Fall 2009.
CS: What is your role?
HW: As the Director of the Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement, I oversee the program and two student Program Assistants. Together, we plan a student leader retreat for the mentors and a participant retreat for all participants that occurs in September. The Program Assistants support the Peer Mentors, plan weekly workshops and socials, track participants attendance and completion of reflections, plan the Retreat and Graduation, and generally support participants in their first semester needs. We have recently started some more in-depth evaluation, and I’ve been working on those pieces.
CS: How long have you been involved?
HW: I took over the program officially when I became Director last fall but have assisted with the program since I started in 2014.
CS: Do you find there’s a higher school/graduation retention rate for those involved?
HW: We have just begun to analyze data from previous years, but initially it does look like FLI participants graduate at a higher rate and are also retained year to year. Anecdotally, students who have participated in FLI tend to go on to be leaders on campus. For example, Sarah Tariq, the Student Trustee, and Samantha Zeno, USG Vice President, were both FLI participants their freshman year. FLI students have also gone on to be leaders in other OSLCE programs like Beacon Voyages for Service, Mentors in other First Year Success Communities, recipients of Beacon Student Success Fellowships, and student research assistants, to name a few.
CS: Are there any big plans for the future?
HW: We hope to continue to provide a high-quality experience that puts students’ needs first and supports them as they transition to life at UMass Boston. We would love to be able to offer the opportunity to be part of the First-Year Leadership Institute to more students.
CS: If you could say one thing that you would like everyone to know about it, what would it be?
HW: The First-Year Leadership Institute has been and continues to be one of the key programs offered by the Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement. It is a pleasure to meet new students who are interested in learning more about their leadership and becoming leaders at UMass Boston. I am consistently impressed by our student’s dedication to their academics, persistence despite overwhelming challenges, and passion for creating a stronger, inclusive community of leaders. I’m glad to have played a small part in supporting our amazing students.