MALE Connection (Mentoring African-Americans for Leadership, Education & Connection) is Georgia College & State Univerisity’s African-American Male Initiative, supported by the University System of Georgia’s African-American Male Initiative (AAMI) started in 2002. Our program initially began as AIM Academy in 2006, which was a summer camp for high school Black males wishing to gain exposure to everything from college prep information to etiquette workshops. In 2010, the program re-directed its focus to become MALE Connection under the leadership of the Office of Inclusive Excellence and several individuals across campus.
MALE Connection is currently housed within GCSU’s College of Education (headquartered in our Kilpatrick building) but serves students across all majors and collaborates with offices throughout Georgia College & State University’s campus.
MALE Connection involves partnerships with several community collaborators, including:
Early College Program
High Achievers
Various other community entities
The support of these organizations and other constituents both on and off campus is vital to ensuring that our program continues to make the desired impact.
Please don’t hesitate to email me (adam.whitaker@gcsu.edu) if you have any questions or ideas for programs that could benefit the students in our program. Enjoy checking out our website! If you’d like to learn more about the University System of Georgia’s African-American Male Initiative in general, please visit the website here: https://www.usg.edu/aami/
Key Components
As an AAMI program, MALE Connection follows the official AAMI Integrated Program Model, which focuses on addressing retention, progression, and graduation of African-American males via the following components:
Academic Skills Enrichment: Provides supplemental literacy, writing, math and study-skill activities to help pre-college students transition to college academic life during the summer and assist enrolled AAMI participants with RPG (retention, progression, and graduation) throughout the academic year.
Student Support Services: Makes available internal and external resources, information and learning tools to enhance students’ academic and social successes.
Adult & Peer Mentoring: Connects AAMI students to vetted adults and peers who encourage achievement, foster positive attitudes, as well as a sense of belonging through personal and academic support, while reinforcing RPG.
Leadership Development: Provides multi-faceted professional and soft skills forums to help develop and strengthen participants’ leadership skills.
Make a Gift
Making a gift to MALE Connection via our Georgia College & State University Foundation is easy and there are several ways of giving from which to choose.
Online
You can contribute online with your credit or debit card using our secure online giving webpage. Under the “Designation” field, select “Other.” Then, type “African-American Male Initiative” in the “Other” field. Then, fill out the necessary information!
Telephone
You can make a gift by telephone using your American Express, MasterCard, Visa or Discover card by calling 478-445-5400 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Make sure you verbally tell the representative that you wish your gift to be restricted to Georgia College’s African-American Male Initiative.
Mail
Personal or business checks may be written to the Georgia College & State University Foundation and mailed to:
Office of University Advancement
Campus Box 96
Milledgeville, GA 31061
Please be sure to indicate that the donation is for the Georgia College & State University African-American Male Initiative.
