‘AMEND Changed My Life’: Program For African American Students Offers Path To Success

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — California assemblage colleges person benefitted for much than a decennary from AMEND, a mentorship programme tailored to African American men that is picking up steam successful our area.

The program’s founder, Cosumnes River College President Dr. Edward Bush, says guiding young radical is captious passim their world journies.

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From household friends to brothers, Jordan Sanders and Da’Monk Millan’s enslaved is unbreakable. They were brought unneurotic by AMEND, which stands for African American Male Education Network and Development.

“It was a harmless abstraction for us,” said Millan, a elder astatine Sacramento State University.

“I didn’t truly find amend AMEND benignant of recovered me,” said Sanders, a sophomore astatine Cosumnes River College.

Sanders’ absorption was unclear until helium joined the program.

“I haven’t had anybody attack maine with this benignant of accidental arsenic I was increasing up and going done precocious school,” helium said. “It gave maine a consciousness of direction, a consciousness of encouragement.”

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And astatine 18 years old, it gave him a way to success.

“I don’t deliberation I would beryllium successful college,” Sanders said. “AMEND helped maine spot that sometimes you person to bash things you don’t privation to bash to get wherever you privation to get to.”

According to the National Student Clearinghouse probe center, assemblage enrollment among African American men has steadily declined for a decade, and since the pandemic began, it’s dropped an further 8%.

AMEND’s mentors privation to alteration that.

“We cognize that practice matters. It’s hard to beryllium thing you’ve ne'er seen,” Dr. Bush said. “When you spot idiosyncratic who comes from the aforesaid inheritance was capable to beryllium successful, past you cognize what’s really imaginable yourself.”

As portion of its mentoring initiative, AMEND offers scholarships to supply mentees with fiscal enactment for tuition, books and surviving expenses. AMEND has awarded much than $500,000 successful scholarships to African American students.

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“The connection I could usage if I could prime 1 connection is life-changing,” Sanders said. “AMEND changed my life.”

Laura Haefeli