The Male Achievement Program (MAP) is an academic success and mentoring program created to recognize the unique challenges that male students often face in college life.
The program provides mentorship, resources and networking opportunities to help young men succeed in higher education and beyond.
The program’s primarily goal is to improve academic success for all students. It serves to develop leadership skills, offers professional development training and financial education for men from marginalized and underserved communities.
“The Male Achieve Program is a program here on all seven campuses [of Dallas College], and we’re gearing it towards our minority male population, although it’s open to any male, or if you identify as a male,” said Trevon Oliver who serves as program lead of MAP on the North Lake Campus. “I consider [MAP] a bridge or a resource to make sure that our students have everything they need to be successful here at Dallas College.”
Whether Dallas College students transfer to a four-year university, move into the workforce or go into the military, MAP ensures that young men have the knowledge and skills to meet their goals.
“With the inception of the program, it was geared towards our minority male population, because that’s our most vulnerable population.
Minority males are less likely to graduate and they’re less likely to be successful and have better grades. But we’re open to any male and we’re really open to anybody,” Oliver said.
Although women are not excluded from the club, there is a related program for women. The Women’s Empowerment Network is also available on all seven campuses.
Students who participate in MAP are exposed to a variety of resources and different opportunities.
“For example, we do workshops every month, covering a variety of topics. Whether it’s resume writing, mental health, how to apply for college, how to look for internships, scholarships, we do sporting events, we do college visits. Basically, students could benefit from this, in a nutshell, just by gaining resources, tools and knowledge that will aid in their academic and professional success here at Dallas College,” Oliver said.
The program offers mentorship to help young men navigate social issues that go hand-in-hand with academic support. MAP also serves as a platform for leadership development by increasing campus engagement opportunities and developing cultural awareness and personal identity support.
MAP has events scheduled at all Dallas College campuses. The biggest event takes place March 28 at Cedar Valley Campus.
“It’s our Male Achievement Program Inspire Summit,” Oliver said. “We’re going to have breakout sessions. We’re going to have a guest speaker.”
The events and workshops are open to all Dallas College students. To be a member, those interested should schedule a one-on-one meeting with a campus program lead and be a registered Dallas College student.
Members are also eligible to go on different trips, such as university tours, summits and conferences. The events are all-expenses paid and provide excellent learning and networking opportunities.
“We’ve been to Brown College Summit in Tampa. We’ve been to Men of Color Summit in Austin. We’ve been to the Men of Color Summit at Clemson University,” Oliver said.
The ultimate goal of the program is to make sure that students graduate first and succeed once they leave Dallas College. MAP helps prepare students to be adequately equipped to accomplish their personal and professional goals.
