CASL alumna serves campus as College Coaching Corps Americorps member

Joelle Primeau, a ’10 CASL alumna, is no stranger to making a difference.

Before earning her bachelor’s degree last December, Primeau was involved heavily in organizations and programs—like Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) and On the Move: College is an Option!—at UM-Dearborn that leave a lasting impact on the local community.

And it was her dedication to, and passion for, service programs like these that earned her the designation as one of UM-Dearborn’s inaugural “Difference Makers” in 2010, a student recognition award that honors academic achievement, integrity, leadership and creative contribution--in and out of the classroom.

Since September, Primeau has found herself immersed in a new role on campus as UM-Dearborn’s College Coaching Corps AmeriCorps member, a joint effort between Michigan Campus Compact and Mentor Michigan that places AmeriCorps members within youth-mentoring organizations or institutions of higher education for a year of service. The goal of this program is to increase the number of youth served through mentoring relationships and to develop "college-going" cultures within local communities.

During her year of service on campus, Primeau will promote college access and connect at-risk youth in the metropolitan Detroit area with necessary information, resources and encouragement to pursue post-secondary education.

Primeau is training college students as "college positive volunteers,” or CPVs, using a three-part curriculum that will prepare volunteers to work with K-12 students. In addition, CPVs are given tips to get kids talking about college and how to let them know that college is possible for them as well as a toolkit with college-themed activities to use with K-12 students.

“There are at least two training sessions a month available to any interested college student, from UM-Dearborn or any near-by college,” Primeau explains.

Primeau also is hard at work creating partnerships with youth-serving organizations and schools in an effort to bring college presentations and activities to youth, as well as to connect college positive volunteers with youth in the community.

For instance, Primeau is working with UM-Dearborn student organizations to host “College Night” at Vista Maria next month, an opportunity for the college students to talk with high-school aged girls about all things college--from how to get into and pay for college to student life. 

Before her year of service is up, Primeau aims to mobilize as many CPVs as she can in hopes of creating a self-sustaining group of college students who will continue to work with youth to encourage and help them pursue post-secondary education.

“I also plan to connect as many at-risk K-12 students with college resources that I can, but my hope is that I can reach kids who aren't typically the targets for these types of resources, such as children of the incarcerated and children of domestic violence survivors,” she said.