Who are we?

Learning for Life (L4L) is a collaboration of the College Crusade, College Visions, Goodwill Industries of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College. It is a multi-faceted community and college partnership. L4L links students to a network of services, supports and opportunities that will fortify them for college success and remove any challenges and obstacles that they may encounter in keeping college a central priority in their lives. L4L can link students to help with everything from financial literacy, career development, academic support, personal challenges and unforeseen life circumstances. L4L is about resilience, excellence, and helping students meet the challenges of becoming a college graduate.

Our guiding principles

• Empowering peer-peer support
• Catalyzing new initiatives, seeding them throughout campus
• Grounding all work in evidence-based practice and current research

Our Navigators

The Navigators serve a key role for the project as direct support to the L4L Scholars, students served who meet L4L qualifiers. The Navigator team is comprised of senior level Bachelor’s degree and Master’s level students. A team of 17 Navigators serve networks of 15-25 L4L Scholars, as well as implement special initiatives to expand the project. Navigators undergo a series of trainings from on-campus, as well as off-campus facilitators. Instruction includes topics such as housing and homelessness, ethics, confidentiality, data processes, domestic violence, support for LGBTQ youth, engagement skills, sexual assault, mental health, and immigration.

What we offer

Students can connect with L4L staff directly or through a referral from on or off campus. We provide confidential, personalized linkages and support. They include:

• Becoming connected to a Navigator, senior level student whose primary role is to support L4L Scholars as they work toward their academic goals. Each Navigator will work with a network of students, building bridges upon which students can reach each other and the resources they need for success.
• The Student Resource Area (SRA) is offered by the Unity Center and Learning for Life. The space in lower Gaige Hall (B-9) is available for use by students for study groups or just hanging out between classes. The SRA is also a portal for students to connect with resources from on and off campus including our partners from the College Crusade, College Visions, and Goodwill Industries of RI.
• Financial goal-setting and skill-building opportunities: L4L assists students in building secure financial foundations in order to ensure future success include FAFSA completion and planning for college expenses.
• Career-planning to ensure that their academic plan aligns with their future career goals. Research shows that students who are able to link their academic path with a clear career goal are more likely to complete their education.
• Scholar Plan that guides their educational decisions. Each student’s plan links their academic plan to: Career goals, financial needs, and social Connections. The plan can be used as a resource to guide conversations during academic advising sessions. The plan will help students determine in which areas they might face challenges so they can be linked to appropriate resources.

L4L also seeds collaborative initiatives with on and off campus partners to develop new services that L4L Scholars need, such as Comprehensive Learning Evaluations for students encountering learning challenges.

Key Needs

• Opportunities for L4L staff and Navigators to speak to K-12 students about higher education and ways to prepare for success
• Planning and facilitation for the evaluation and implementation of STEM Navigators to bolster L4L Scholars in STEM content areas
• Undergraduate research opportunities for L4L Scholars
• Resources to pay L4L Scholars stipends so they can take advantage of  undergraduate research experiences

Contact

Christiane Petrin Lambert, MA, MSW, LCSW, Project Director: Project Oversight and Fiscal Administration, Planning and Development, Team Leadership

Email us at L4Linfo@ric.edu | Student Resource Area: 456-6320 | Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter