Connections receives more national attention

The benefit of the student mentoring program called Connections is receiving more national attention. Over the spring, two articles written by Connections founder and Jefferson Davis writing instructor Kay Bethea were published in prestigious education magazines.

The National Council of Instructional Administrators published Bethea’s "Retention through Connections" in late February and just a few weeks later, the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development ran "Make Connections! Bonding Freshmen, Student to Student" in late April. Since being published, Bethea has received feedback and questions from 26 administrators from community colleges across the nation and even Canada.

Connections was created several years ago when Bethea realized how stressful the first year of college can be for a student. The program pairs a new student with a sophomore for a semester as an “official friend” to help deal with college stress. Over the last seven years, more than 80 percent of the students who started with Connections have gone on to complete their degrees.

In February 2003, Bethea was honored by the University of South Carolina as an advocate for first-year students for the Connections program.