Melissa Norris accepted into American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ Emerging Leaders Program

Melissa Norris
Melissa Norris, health educator

Melissa Norris, a health educator in the Student Health and Counseling Center, is one of 35 members of this year’s Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) cohort. Hosted by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), ELP receives applications from higher education professionals across the nation. 

ELP is designed to provide participants an opportunity to strengthen their leadership skills and apply what they learn in the program to advancing a project/initiative at their campus. 

The program offers a three-day intensive at the AASCU office in Washington, D.C. during the summer and 10 interactive virtual workshops over the course of the fall semester. ELP also pairs participants with a mentor from another campus to serve as a support and guide throughout the course of the program. 

Norris is dedicating her time in ELP to advancing Fresno State’s Parent Scholar Initiative. 

“The Institute of Women’s Policy Research estimates that more than one in five college students, or 22 percent of all undergraduates, are parents,” Norris said. “We estimate that these numbers may be even higher at Fresno State.”

With roots in the California State University Student Parent Network, the university’s Parent Scholar Initiative gained momentum in 2022, with the passing of Assembly Bill 2881. 

The bill, now implemented across all higher education institutions in California, grants priority registration to parent scholars and takes steps to increase their awareness of campus resources available to them, such as Programs for Children and the Lil’ Bulldog Boutique, which offer childcare and free clothing items, respectively. 

Norris said, “While we’ve taken steps and made progress, there is a lot of work to be done to raise awareness of the resources available to our parent scholars and to centralize this work.”

Norris hopes that her participation in ELP will provide structure and guidance in data collection and the amplification of parent scholars’ voice. 

“We don’t want to miss out on the student voice,” she said. “I want to formalize a space to talk about the challenges they face and barriers that may be stopping them from completing their degrees…I’m most passionate and excited about getting their voices represented and using that to address what we can do better and changing policies and procedures.”

A mom to two daughters, Norris said she can relate to parent scholars. “You don’t ever stop being a parent, and I want to help ensure students are able to move closer to their goals no matter what else is going on in their lives.” 

“This project has the capacity to distinguish Fresno State as a leader in parent scholar work, while being transformative for not only parent scholars, but for the Central Valley and the next generation of Bulldogs.”

by MARISA MATA

Related :

Share your story

Do you have news you would like to share with the community? Let us know! Contact our Communications Coordinator Marisa Mata at 559.278.6560 or marisamata@csufresno.edu to get started!

BLOG ARCHIVES

←
→

Leave a comment