MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY
‘True inclusivity': Pathways to Success: Pilot program connects refugee youth, local mentors

By Janet Harron

Mentorship is a key factor in success for newcomer youth.

That's the basis of Pathways to Success, a project created by Dr. Jennifer Selby, a religious studies professor in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), and Mohammad Ali Bakhshi, a master's of education student at Memorial.

A pilot project with Holy Heart of Mary High School in St. John's and funded by the Fulbright Foundation and Memorial's Office of Public Engagement, the project was partly inspired by the experiences of Remzi Cej, an HSS alumnus and director of the province's Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism in the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

"Remzi told me that part of the key to his own success was informal mentoring," said Dr. Selby, who, along with Mr. Cej, is one of Newfoundland and Labrador's former Fulbright scholars.

Their idea was to formalize the mentoring process and pair 20 students from Holy Heart with local mentors with backgrounds relevant to the students' career and education preferences, as well as hold a number of retreats to bolster their skills and facilitate job options.

Click here to read the full story.