Conference

Increasing African-American Leadership Development: A Peer-Mentorship Model

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Abstract

This presentation will focus on an intervention developed for traditional first year African-American students at Iowa State University. The purpose of the intervention is to increase involvement and participation in leadership and leadership development opportunities among these students, not only on campus but in the community as well. This self-reflective, peer-mentorship program is a year-long program designed with psychosocial identity development, critical race theory, and self-authorship theoretical components. Each of the six sessions incorporated in the program aims to promote several developmental factors of African-American students, including the development of ethnic and racial identity, the development of interdependence, developing cultural aesthetics and awareness, and developing social responsibility, among several others. The theoretical components of the intervention design, population of the intervention design, and specific program sessions will be discussed during this presentation.