2018-2019 JHU OMA Annual Report 2019 OMA Annual Report_Unabridged | Page 20

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American History & Culture in DC, National Aquarium in Baltimore, Escape Room, JHU President’s
Day of Service at Jones Falls, Baltimore Mayor’s Day of Service at Corner Team, Inc., Chopped
competition, and more. At the MAPP Banquet, 20 graduating mentors were honored with blue and
silver MAPP cords.
To best prepare mentees throughout the academic year, mentors underwent weekend-long training
retreat at the start of the summer, had day-long refreshers at the start of each semester, and participated
in ongoing trainings throughout the academic year. They had additional monthly meetings in the fall to
develop their leadership, and by spring, they created and ran MAPP-wide events.
The leadership team of MAPP worked closely with their OMA advisor to plan and implement all
activities related to MAPP. A highlight of the year was the friendly competition among six families to
increase engagement and connectivity to families, with a prize by the end of each semester to the
family with most points. The leadership team also created an Activities Tracker, which is a
sophisticated computer system to track all activities with MAPP.
As a result, we saw an increase in engagement and sense of belonging. A mentor writes, “[My] mentee
is thriving academically, socially and mentally. She is engaging in several programs and is getting a
head start in several academic research programs. She asked several questions regarding academics
and majoring, and seems to
have a solid plan for her
freshman year.”
Recruitment for MAPP 2019-
20 mentors began December
of 2019. Of 47 applicants,
MAPP selected 20 new
mentors, and 11 returning mentors. They attended a weekend-long training retreat at the end of spring
semester finals to prepare for the new academic year. This year, we focused on intersectionality and
identity development. A mentor writes, “I loved this retreat. During the year, it’s just so stressful but
this retreat really healed me. Thank you for organizing this and thanks to my peers for being open and
authentic.” Another wrote, “Even though this is my third training, I still learn something new each
year, and I think the activities that we do get better and better.”