Student mentors spend quality time with STING RAY students, helping them build social skills and experience college life.
The campus organization pairs student mentors and special diploma high school graduates to create a true college experience.
Most students on campus have never heard of Project 10 STING RAY, a program that allows students who graduated high school with a special degree diploma to experience college life.
The long interview and acceptance process makes Sting Ray a sought after program, which is limited to just 12 openings per semester. Students between ages 18 and 22 can apply.
“One of our main goals in this program (is) to teach the students how to live on their own,” said STING RAY mentor coordinator Eric Vaughan.
Along with independence, the organization helps students focus on career and employment ambitions.
“Say a student says they want to work at Disney, for example. We will work on taking classes geared toward that line of employment, so we’ll try doing public speaking (and) leadership courses,” Vaughan said.
In addition to the standard curriculum focused on literacy and finances, the program also enables students to audit one course per semester.
Students in the program receive aid from faculty and teachers along with three different mentors: academic, community and peer.
Academic mentors assist with school work, while community mentors encourage students to gain independence by helping them create and manage a budget, open a bank account, and offer help with grocery shopping.
Finally, peer mentors encourage social skills by spending quality time with students, whether it’s taking them out to lunch, accompanying them to club meetings or just hanging out.
Within two to four years, depending on the student’s goals and level of independence, they can finish the program with a certificate of completion.
Thanks to the Vocational Rehabilitation Federal-State program, their tuition fees are paid in full, unless they have Florida Prepaid. This is unlike other Florida programs that are similar to Project 10 STING RAY, where tuition usually costs anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 per school year.
The students also participate in Bull Buds, a USFSP club that started in 2012. The group allows them to participate in community service work and meet new friends on campus. Recently, the students have volunteered at the Elk’s Lodge to serve food to retired veterans.
The program encourages the idea that learning should be an equal opportunity.
“We’re hoping to just get a bigger name on campus and have more people recognize us and hopefully work on this idea of inclusive education, which means anybody who wants to go to college and is dedicated has a chance to experience what it’s like to be a college student,” he said.
Information:
Students interested in volunteering as peer mentors should visit the Project 10 STING RAY office at Terrace 300 or call (727) 873-4535.
