Y Achievers in the House: Peer Mentoring + Service

Y Collegiate Achievers Program (Y CAP) + Service provides holistic support and resources for first year U of M college students from underrepresented communities (including students who identify as BIPOC and/or first generation in their families to attend college and Pell grant eligible). This is an amazing opportunity for students looking for a community to be authentic in, while adjusting to college and preparing for careers.

Y Achievers have opportunities to support

  1. An assigned Y Achievers Peer mentor 
  2. Weekly meet ups with Y Achievers Peer Mentor team and a small group of students.
  3. Learn to network while building a network - Y staff and professionals will be available monthly to support you and contribute to building your network!
  4. Community service* and leadership development opportunities.
  5. Create, implement and lead a Town Hall

NOTE* Page Scholars who join Y CAP are provided opportunities to serve youth up to 8th grade to meet scholarship requirements as well as other service opportunities.

Youth Serving Programs: Y Mentors, Readers and Pen Pals

Y Mentors programs provide college students opportunities to mentor as a team. Students who qualify through FASFA may apply work study funds while others may choose to volunteer. Opportunities to serve and/or lead the mentoring programs are available to students across all majors. Meet Student Leaders here!

  • Y College Readers (Pre K – 3 grade)
  • Y College Cards4Kids Pen Pals (K – 6 grade)
  • Y Mentors Comic Book Club (3 – 5 grade)
  • Kids N’ Motion (1 – 5 grade)
  • Y Mentors KidsSTEAM (5 – 8 grade)

Y Health & Wellness Matters Programs: #Take 5 for Wellness

#TAKE5 serve middle school, high school and college students.

Mental Health Education workshops promote youth-voice, promote creative expression (photovoice with narratives) to dispel myths and destigmatize mental illness. Youth will practice destress activities with the team, learn about the facts surrounding the health of their brain and how to maintain wellness. Youth will learn about resources and how their voice can create change for self and community. Meet Student Leaders here!

Y Just Chillin' events is a public health prevention initiative that provides college students an opportunity to develop and apply a variety of skills – from outreach on campus, to facilitating destress activities to leading focused conversations on mental health stigma. Some opportunities to serve youth will be off campus. Meet Student Leaders here!

Non-Profit Internships

A variety of project based internship opportunities to apply and grow strengths, talents and skills in a non-profit setting. Area of internships may vary, but all provide the opportunity to develop communication, collaboration and authentic leadership skills. Students may get University of MN credit for internships with department approval. Meet interns here!

University Y Impact

In the 2018-2019 school year, the UY served 1,322 young adults and youth across our student programs and mentoring with youth. 217 college students participated in immersive, frequent programming, contributing over 20,000 hours of community service hours.

In 2019, the University Y was awarded the Outstanding Community Partner Award from the University of Minnesota’s Office of Public Engagement, the highest honor granted to an external partner in community engaged service with the U of MN.

In spring of 2019 the UY Director of Educational Efficacy and Leadership, Patti Neiman, received the Page Foundation Community Partner Award. This great honor was awarded to Patti for her dedication to the partnership and for providing Page Scholars with high quality programs and mentorship.

In 2018, a longitudinal study was conducted by the U of MN Department of Educational Psychology comparing five years of data on UY students against thousands of their counterparts on campus who did not participate at the UY. Accounting for all variables such as race, class, incoming ACT score, etc., this study found that UY students were more likely than their peers to graduate on time (15% more), earn credits (7 more credits on average), and earned higher GPAs. The UY student population also included significantly higher rates of students from underrepresented communities than the U of MN as a whole.