The Increasing Minority Access to Graduate Education (IMAGE) organization at The University of Southern Mississippi will host a weeklong advocacy for minority students. The 2015 IMAGE week will be Monday through Saturday.
“This week will be necessary to this university since we have so many more minorities from exchange programs,” said Jessica Jenkins, an IMAGE member and junior biology major. “It’s a week for minorities to shine.”
This week, IMAGE celebrates its organization and its participants who have several activities promoting IMAGE planned, which are open to all students on campus.
The goal of IMAGE and its efforts are to broaden the participation of underrepresented minority students on campus, as well as to increase recruitment and retention, as well as promote graduation of minority students to encourage a diverse workforce.
With last year being the first in which IMAGE has hosted its week of festivities, IMAGE members hope to continue to increase the participation in their special week.
“The outcomes have been great within the organization, but we aim to appeal to and involve the entire campus in our events,” said Alexis Sanders, IMAGE president and a junior biological science major.
The week advocates campus and community involvement as well as student academic success.
“We offer students opportunities to relieve stress through fun social events and learn information that they need very much for their future through workshops,” Sanders said. “We hope that these events would improve the students’ college experience which would contribute to their success.”
A different event will occur each day throughout the week, including bake sales, workshops, community service opportunities and socials and kickbacks. Students desiring to get involved this week can attend any of the posted activities.
Students are especially encouraged to attend the workshops financial literacy and identity theft and help the organization during its bake sales.
“Today, there are endless opportunities for minorities to attain a graduate education but the issue is that minority graduation rates are not as high as they should be,” Sanders said.
“It is also that they do not know of these opportunities so it is IMAGE’s task to present them to minority students.”
IMAGE also strives to prepare and equip students for professional and graduate schools. IMAGE at USM is internally funded and operated through the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation Program, in which minority students receive a variety of support in their academic endeavors to ensure their success.
Below is a list of IMAGE week (April 20 – April 25) activities:
April 20: Bake Sale Fundraiser, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., TCC Lobby
More You Know Workshop: Financial Literacy, 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m., TCC 216
April 21: Baseball Game Fundraiser, 3:30 p.m., Pete Taylor Park
April 22: Bake Sale Fundraiser, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., TCC Lobby
April 23: Identity Theft Workshop, 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., JGH 114
Laser Tag Social, 7 p.m. – 9 p.m., Laser Mania
April 24: IMAGE Kickback, 6 p.m. RHA Center
April 25: Longleaf Trace Community Service, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Longleaf Trace
