Introductions

[Daniel Bassill]

One of the sites on Ning that has impressed me is Classroom2.0 where several thousand people involved in education and using technology have joined. I'm trying to create a similar space, but focused on people involved in volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring or other forms of youth development. This space seeks to engage volunteers, donors and business leaders, not just those who are in the trenches operating programs.

To get started, I hope people who visit will introduce themselves.

[Daniel Bassill]

Hi everyone. I'm Dan Bassill. I started the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 after leading an informal network of Chicago area tutor/mentor programs since 1976. I started leading a tutor/mentor program in 1975 and became a volunteer in 1973. You can see a timeline of the growth of Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection on this link.

One of the things that has kept me involved for so many years is the network of peers and leaders who I have met, as well as the relationships that have developed between me and volunteers. I hope that you'll introduce yourself and use this space for your own learning and relationship building.

[Daniel Bassill]

We have over 200 people on the Tutor/Mentor Connection ning site, but we've not yet built the type of "introduction" list that I see on Classroom 2.0 and other forums. Please take a minute or two to introduce yourself.

[Karina Walker]

Hi All!

My name is Karina Walker and I just started a one-year fellowship at Tutor/Mentor Connection as a full-time Research and Collaboration Coordinator. I am really excited to begin growing into my role at T/MC, and I can honestly say that the more I learn about the organization, the more privileged I feel to be part of such an excellent community of people.

One of the things that has been most exciting to me thus far has been seeing the immense network of relationships surrounding T/MC. Although I started just two weeks ago, I have already met many amazing individuals through the golf benefit, Edgewood college visit, and through contacts to various programs. I have also had the opportunity to bring my own network of friends, family, and peers into the T/MC community through blog entries and personal conversations. As this experience is teaching me, we all have resources and skills to offer when it comes to getting youth into colleges and careers--it's just a matter of harnessing people's passions, desires to do good, and personal networks.

I hope to get to know many of you in the coming weeks through the NING site, conversations, or (my favorite!), meeting in person. In the meantime, please visit my blog to hear a bit more about my first few weeks here.

[Bradley Troast]

Hey everybody. My name is Bradley Troast and I'm the Assistant Program Coordinator at Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection. I started a year ago in the same position as Karina, through the Northwestern University Public Interest Program Fellowship, and I couldn't have asked for a better placement. Out of NUPIP, I was hoping to experience a year of immersion in a small nonprofit with a direct service element but also with a greater, broad strategies to alleviate poverty, improve education, and so on. CC, T/MC hit that right on and I am very grateful to Dan for showing me the way.

As I begin my second year, I am excited to build on the foundation created in my first. Most of the day-to-day tasks are understood, which allows for more relationship building and for expansion of the resources and opportunities offered to our youth. It also allows me to spend time with the Tutor/Mentor Connection and I learn a lot alongside Karina in her first months on the job. I will be helping her plan the next Tutor/Mentor Conference in November and I look forward to seeing many of you there.

But before then, let's chat here! Welcome!

[Radhika Shrivastava]

Hi everyone,

My name is Radhika Shrivastava. I am a Graduate in Computer Science from Roosevelt University. I have joined Tutor/Mentor Connection as a Technology assistant. I would be using my technical expertise and software testing experience to work towards improving the technology aspect of Tutor/Mentor connection.One of the things that has been most exciting to me so far has been seeing the immense network of relationships, learning and ideas that people who are involved in T/M have.

There are people who are constantly working in some way or other to work towards achieving the goals of T/M and I look forward to work with them in doing my part. I want to share my technology ideas with people as use of technology would ease in achieving the mission of T/M

[Arlan Berglas]

ARE YOU AWARE OF THE FACT THAT PEOPLE IN OVER 200 COUNTRIES ARE MENTORING ONE ANOTHER ONLINE FOR FREE AS THEIR WAY OF PASSING IT FORWARD?

[Daniel Bassill]

Thanks Arlan. I'll be interested to hear if any of the other 300 people who have joined the T/MC group have any experiences to share about the Passing it Forward movement that you lead.  I'm part of many networks where I informally share and mentor others. I see that as quite different from place based organizations that connect youth and volunteers on a weekly basis and try to keep these connections going for many years.  Have you looked at the ementoring models that I point to in this section of the T/MC library? How does what you do compare to what they do?

[Daniel Bassill]

A Member Map has  been added to the site (July 2012) . I hope you will take a moment and add yourself and your location to the map.

 

[Daniel Bassill]

This graphic shows the people active on this Ning site as of May 2012.  Read the two reports below showing how this network analysis was done and what it means.

SNA1 - http://tinyurl.com/TMI-SNA-2012-Mina

SNA2 - http://tinyurl.com/TMI-SNA-2012-Park

Introduce yourself and help build interaction on this site. Expand the number of nodes on the graphic that you are connected to.