Almost every university has a mentoring program — independent initiatives hosted by campus life or student development. Wake Forest is one of the first higher education institutions in the nation to adopt a campus-wide model.

The Mentoring Resource Center

The Mentoring Resource Center supports people on campus who want to work together towards specific learning goals. “We want every student to have the opportunity for a positive mentoring relationship,” says Allison McWilliams who directs the Center. “At many schools, mentoring focuses on at-risk or high-potential students. Wake Forest invites all students to look for opportunities to work with faculty, administration, staff or peers to create purposeful, developmental relationships.”

This academic year, Mentoring Resource Center staff have trained more than 650 faculty, staff and student mentors and mentees and distributed more than 1500 mentoring handbooks and tool kits.

Intentional and developmental

In some cases, mentor and mentee sign an agreement outlining their commitment to each other. “The agreement is a tool signifying that a mentoring relationship is underway,” McWilliams says. “It doesn’t require people to be best friends. Instead, the agreement says, ‘I’m taking a vested interest in you and will support and guide you in specific ways for an expected time.’”

The agreement between a mentor and mentee may last weeks or years depending on the goals for the relationship. Mentors help mentees determine where they are now and where they want to be. The next step is for the mentor and mentee to outline goals, expectations and measurements for success.

When writing goals, McWilliams suggests using the SMART model. Goal statements should be:

Specific — concrete and action-oriented
Measurable — to track progress
Achievable — require work but be attainable
Realistic — ability and commitment to reach the goal
Timely — set a time-frame for achieving the goal

Mentoring and academic success

Research indicates that undergraduates’ out-of-class experiences with mentors can be linked to positive academic performance. “In one study, mentored students compared to non-mentored students earned higher GPAs, enrolled in more credit hours per semester, and were less likely to leave their institution,” says Associate Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior Melenie Lankau. “The mentoring relationship facilitated development of professional skills and behaviors and also helped students understand how to establish work and personal priorities. Research also suggests that mentored undergraduates are likely to return the favor by serving as mentors themselves.”

The Mentoring Resource Center was featured in the International Mentoring Association quarterly newsletter in June 2011 and was invited to present at the University of New Mexico Annual Mentoring Institute in 2011 and at the International Mentoring Association conference in Orlando in 2012

Have you thought about studying law as a way to continue your liberal education and cross a bridge into the professional world? The Wake Forest School of Law plans to offer a one-year Master of Studies in Law (MSL) program beginning in the Fall 2012 semester. There will be an informational session for prospective students at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15, in Room 1134 of the Worrell Professional Center.

“I believe that out of anxiety, patients want to know their test results as quickly as possible,” Roman Nelson (’12) said. “Having a medical scan done often comes with profound news, either good or bad, so patients want to know what’s happening in their lives as soon as they can.”

Nelson, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in public health, was one of the co-authors of a study about imaging test results at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Published in the April issue of the Journal of American College of Radiology, the study was designed to determine if patients wanted online access to radiology test results, and if so, how quickly.

As the student research coordinator, Nelson recruited patients and administered the online questionnaire. That survey simulated a patient portal where an individual could log on to a computer to view their results, and Nelson also worked with doctors at the medical school to create it.

The pilot study showed that about half the participants preferred immediate access to their results and about a third preferred access within three days, even in the face of very serious findings, written in complex medical language and with the knowledge that their doctor might not be available to discuss the results.

“I found it very interesting that the majority of participants wanted to see their results even before a doctor reviewed them,” Nelson said. “News like this often comes with many questions and clarification of medical terminology, but patients wanted to see those results even without counseling or clarification.”

Very few hospitals in the United States currently offer patients online access to radiology reports, and the wait time is usually a week or more, according to the study’s principal investigator Annette Johnson, M.D., associate professor of radiology at Wake Forest Baptist. The hospital is in the process of developing a secure patient-access Web portal that will have a three-day turnaround when it launches this fall.

Nelson conducted this research while also co-chairing the 2011 Hit the Bricks fundraising event for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund. He said raising money for cancer research and improving patient access to medical records are big components of his interest in a healthcare career.

“I felt the same sense of accomplishment and pride when I got to announce the money raised for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund as when I received notice of this publication,” Nelson said. “As an undergraduate student, I felt fully engaged, never just observing as I worked with professors both on the Reynolda and Bowman Gray campuses. My professors, advisors and mentors have genuinely cared about my experiences which has made an immense impact on my education.”

Former Wake Forest track & field standout and Hall of Famer Hunter Kemper qualified for his fourth consecutive trip to the Olympic Games after finishing fifth in the ITU World Triathlon Championship Series. Kemper earned the automatic bid to the London Olympics as the first American to cross the finish line.

Members of the media are invited to attend Wake Forest University’s commencement ceremony Monday, May 21. Charles Ergen, the chairman of satellite broadcaster Dish Network Corporation and EchoStar Communications Corporation, will deliver Wake Forest’s 2012 commencement address.

The outdoor ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. on Hearn Plaza (the Quad).  The event is not open to the public and parking passes will be required to enter campus.  To ensure access to campus for your staff, please request passes by May 16.  All members of the media are also asked to carry their own media credentials.

Reserved media parking will be on Davis Field, near Scales Fine Arts Center. Media must enter campus through the Reynolda Road entrance. Reserved parking for television trucks only will be in Parking Lot B, located between Taylor and Davis residence halls on the Reynolda Road (west) side of campus.  Because of heavy traffic, all members of the media are encouraged to allow plenty of time to park and set up on Hearn Plaza.   Here’s a link to a campus map.

Members of the media are encouraged to enter Hearn Plaza through the access point from Parking Lot B and will need their media passes.  Reserved media seating will be in the front row. Direct audio feeds and power outlets will be provided.

Early morning television crews may arrive as early as 5 a.m.

In case of rain, the commencement ceremony will be moved to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and begin at 9:30 a.m.  Media will be notified by early morning May 21 if the rain plan is put into effect.  More information regarding media arrangements for the coliseum will be distributed as needed.

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About Wake Forest University:
Wake Forest University combines the best traditions of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university. Founded in 1834, the school is located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, divinity school, and nationally ranked schools of law, medicine and business enrich our intellectual environment. Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu.

“It’s opened my eyes to the way healthcare works and the kinds of decisions that doctors and patients need to make together,” Cecile Vocelle (’13), a communication major said. “Turning a real case study into a play makes it feel so personal.”

The students in Comm 370 spent the spring semester studying bioethics while also enhancing their communication skills by learning how to perform the material as a radio play.

“The class is interdisciplinary, a joint venture between the Wake Forest School of Medicine and the Department of Communication,” said Michael Hyde, University Distinguished Professor of Communication. “We’re making undergraduates aware of the kinds of bioethics decisions they may be facing in the future.”

The case study the students performed involves the decision to implant a pig’s heart into one of five patients – all have varying ages and socio-economic backgrounds but each has an illness that make a transplant necessary. The play makes it clear that the surgeon and an internal review board have two big decisions to make. One, should an experimental transplant of a pig’s heart into a human be considered, and two, which patient should receive the lifesaving organ?

Richard Robeson, adjunct assistant professor of bioethics with the Wake Forest University Center for Bioethics, Health and Society, said combining medicine and theater makes the material come alive for students. He coined the term “dramatic arts casuistry” to describe this method of teaching bioethics.

The radio play examines the relationship between the transplant surgeon and each of the patients, while also revealing the reservations members of an internal review board have about performing the operation. The students actually recorded the play with the help of communications alumnus and former WAKE Radio manager Nathan Bedsole.

“What makes it even more interesting is that the audience has to make up their minds about who should receive the transplant, or even if it should be attempted,” said Hyde. “The case study and play explore all the background and walk right up to the moment a decision should be made. ”

The play, Unquantifiable Risk,  will air on WAKE Radio soon, then other digital platforms after the students have all had a chance to access the recording.

“My grandmother in Algeria has these tattoos on her face,” Wake Forest University junior Yasmin Bendaas said. “I noticed a year or so ago during my last visit that only elderly women had them and I was seeing fewer women with the tattoos than when I visited as a child. None of my aunts have it, none of my cousins. I’m curious why it’s a tradition and why it seems to be going away. I want to tell the story before they disappear entirely.”

A student fellowship from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting will allow Bendaas to do just that. She’s leaving Wake Forest in mid-May for the Aures Mountains of northern Algeria to research the vanishing cultural tradition of women’s facial tattoos.

Bendaas is the first student from Wake Forest to win this fellowship from the Pulitzer Center. The University joined the Campus Consortium group, which aids and promotes foreign correspondents and overseas reporting, just this year.

“These kinds of stories aren’t being done today the way they were even five years ago,” Justin Catanoso, director of the journalism program. “We’re really excited that Yasmin Bendaas is our first Pulitzer fellow. She’s smart and curious and has a world view from her own background and her own ethnic heritage that makes her an ideal foreign correspondent.”

Bendaas, whose father is Algerian and her mother is Iranian, holds dual U.S. and Algerian citizenship, but has lived her life in Winston-Salem. She will spend about two months videotaping women with tattoos and interviewing them with an interpreter in a town about two hours away from the Mediterranean. She is an anthropology major with double minors in journalism and Middle East and South Asia studies. This is her first big research project.

“Through anthropology, I have learned not to interpret someone’s culture or identity through my own background, but rather to view their lives as unique to their own experiences,” Bendaas said. “Seeing people interact this way also helps with my focus on journalism and telling great stories without filters.”

Political science major Frank de Waegh and biology major Matthew Sechler are the first recipients of the Latin American and Latino Studies program’s Chauvenet Award.

The award provides up to $3,500 for independent undergraduate summer abroad research projects.

De Waegh will travel to Haiti to conduct research on the number and quality of non-government organizations (NGOs) in Port-au-Prince. He will interview NGO leaders, team members and Haitian aid recipients to assess the impact of these organizations on the city’s development.

“Port-au-Prince has experienced significant upsurges in NGO presence since the devastating earthquake in January 2010,” de Waegh said. “I’m interested in conducting a critical analysis of aid groups and assessing outcomes stemming from these elevated levels.”

His research will also consider the consequences when communities such as Port-au-Prince are faced with the reality of living without external aid.

Sechler will study the history of public health in Mexico, with an emphasis on the discrepancies between rural and urban care.

“This nine-week study abroad project merges my future career aspiration in medicine with my interest in Latin America,” Sechler said. “I want to investigate what discrepancies arose in Mexican public health due to the varied pace of development there.”

In addition to his history research, Sechler will gain clinical experience at a womens’ hospital in Puebla. He is also receiving financial support for his research from a Richter Scholarship.

“While conducting their summer research, Frank and Matthew will be living as members of the communities where they are working. They will make strong connections that will help them as they continue their education in Latin American studies,” said Peter Siavelis, a political science professor and director of the Latin American and Latino Studies Program.

The Chauvenet award was established by Dr. Allen Chauvenet and Dr. Julia Cruz in support of Latin American and Latino Studies at Wake Forest. Their daughter’s summer research abroad in Brazil inspired their gift. Christina Chauvenet graduated from the University in 2008.

A biplane pulls a banner proclaiming “Good Luck on Exams!” Likenesses of President and Mrs. Hatch sit in a wading pool that hangs above the library atrium. This semester’s exam week Wake the Library features beach-themed decorations to provide inspiration amid hours of serious final exam studying.

Through May 10, hundreds of students will spend many hours in study groups, at tables and sleeping on couches throughout the Z. Smith Reynolds library. They will also enjoy library-centered stress relievers including a graffiti board and student initiated dance breaks

Wake the Library began in 2006 and has grown to be a much-anticipated tradition.

The library’s 29 librarians and 23 staff members understand that, especially during exam time, students welcome extra support and a break from the hours spent slumping over keyboards and books. Raves, midnight snacks, Twitter feeds and an active Facebook page show the library’s commitment to reaching out to students.

A campus-wide effort to increase study spaces has eased the competition for prime study spots in the library this semester, but one special “study box” was created by the Library for those students who are looking for a cozier, private atrium experience this exam week

During Wake the Library, the library provides food each night at midnight. Water and fruit, which are available every night of finals week, are coupled with selections of pizza, subs, chicken sandwiches and burritos. Midnight snack menus are posted on the Z. Smith Reynolds Library Facebook page each day.

Coffee, an essential commodity for many students during this time, is provided free. Approximately 2,000 cups have been ordered to sustain students through finals. In support of the University’s “green” initiatives, the library is asking students to bring their own reusable mugs. Cups, for those who forgot to bring one, will be available upon request at the circulation desk. There is no limit to refills.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Library Twitter feed will be posting current information and friendly tips throughout Wake the Library.

Tom Phillips, director of the Wake Forest Scholars Program, has guided many Wake Forest students, as they plan their careers after college and follow their dreams.

He’s been working with scholarship students since he graduated from Wake in 1974, earning his Master’s degree along the way, upholding the tradition of mentoring relationships that the University’s 11-to-1 student-faculty ratio makes possible.

Senior Amy Liang credits Phillips’ guidance not only during her academic coursework, but beyond the books.