Melissa

• School: Johns Hopkins University Medical School
• Organization: Incentive Mentoring Program

A PhD student, Sarah Hemminger, founded the student group Incentive Mentoring Program (IMP) and during my first year of medical school in 2004 I was one of six volunteers who were part of the program. The six of us provided mentoring and after-school tutoring for Baltimore City teenagers on the verge of being expelled from Dunbar High School. Since tutoring alone would not be enough to enable these students to prioritize their education, we also engaged them in non-academic activities, such as community service projects, to build confidence and pride in their work. Our student group funding was directed toward knocking down the financial barriers that were preventing these students from putting school first. What inspired me the most to work hard for this program however, was that it seemed like everyone who knew these children had given up on them: parents, teachers, and with the threat of expulsion looming, even the principals were thinking of throwing in the towel. Everyone had given up on them except IMP. Being a part of this group meant that I could be a child's last chance to achieve success in society.

With such a compelling mission, I could not believe that only a handful of students were involved. After my first year of tutoring, two of my classmates and formed a leadership team to work toward the sustainability of IMP with support from the Baltimore Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. That year we enlisted 40 new active mentors—enough to hold one-on-one tutoring sessions twice weekly—and formed a mailing list of over 100 subscribers. We have continued to grow since that defining year and IMP has attained 501(c)3 nonprofit status. With the generosity and hard work of over 400 Johns Hopkins graduate students, 100% of the teenagers failing high school in 2004 have since graduated, and every single one of them is currently enrolled in college. Students originally on the verge of expulsion from Dunbar High School are now attending colleges such as Bowdoin, Purdue, Frostburg State, Morgan State, and University of Maryland Eastern Shore. IMP has started mentoring a new cohort of teenagers, and my colleagues and I continue to work toward the goal of sustainability as members of the Board of Directors.

The leadership skills and professional experience I have gained through my role in IMP will be invaluable to my future career. As a physician, I want to contribute to the field of geriatrics and prepare society to meet the needs of our aging population. The mentoring and teaching experience I gained at IMP will help me as I work to educate society on the needs of the elderly, and to help the elderly transition into this new phase of their life. The leadership skills I have gained through IMP, however, will take my career one step further. I want to mobilize the public around geriatric health issues and design community-based initiatives to fill needs unmet by our insufficient health care system. Working with IMP has allowed me to find a passion in contributing to positive social change.

Even more important than my professional development, however, is the fact that IMP has shaped the deepest personal values that I hold. My experience with IMP has taught me again and again to believe in every single person I meet. Labeling someone as a "hopeless case" is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The relationships I have developed with IMP students also remind me that I have something to learn from everyone. The teenagers whom I originally set out to rescue have since become my personal heroes. They model the perseverance, composure, and strength of spirit that I hope to achieve.

IMP is currently a partnership between Paul L. Dunbar High School and graduate students on the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus, but we are seeking volunteers from other colleges who are interested in learning about our mentoring model. Our long-term goal is to serve multiple public high schools by developing additional partnerships with college campuses throughout Baltimore. If you would like to volunteer, visit www.dunbar-imp.org or contact me personally at dattalo@dunbar-imp.org .