Santa Fe College is celebrating the inaugural “pinning” ceremony for the Call Me MISTER Program at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9 in Building S, room 29/30, next to the Bookstore at the Northwest campus.
Most minority males don’t encounter a black male teacher until their high school years. This is a sad statistic, but a true one. The Call Me MISTER Program is trying to change this by educating young minority males and sending them into the workforce as elementary school teachers.
At the pinning, five recipients of the Call Me MISTER scholarship will sign their $5,000 contracts and receive pins in front of friends and family. The featured speaker is Dr. Michael V. Bowie, Executive Director, Florida Fund for Minority Teachers, Inc.
“The scholarship can be used for tuition, books, fees,” said Mike Hutley, director of My Brother’s Keeper at Santa Fe, a mentoring program designed to help black men succeed in college. “Each of the partnering schools chooses five students to be part of a core group.”
The Call Me MISTER scholarships cover each of their studies at Santa Fe. When they transfer to a 4-year institution to complete their bachelor’s degree in education, they will receive a scholarship from the Florida Fund for Minority Teachers.
This ceremony truly marks the beginning of a new future for Santa Fe students. With the Call Me MISTER Program on the campus, there will be opportunities for minority males to become tomorrow’s leaders in the field of elementary education.
For more information, please contact Ulysees Gilbert, director, Call Me MISTER, at 386-329-1294.
CONTACT
- Ulysees Gilbert, director, Call Me MISTER, 386-329-1294 (office) or 352-494-5441 (cell)
- Mike Hutley at SFC at 352-395-4177 (office) or 352-222-6773 (cell)
- Julie Garrett, for help facilitating your story, 352-870-2924 (cell)