Phuture Phoenix west

The governor of the state of Washington yesterday (May 12) signed into law a bill that establishes a pilot mentoring project at Western Washington University. Why are we telling you this? Because the mentoring project is molded on UW-Green Bay’s Phuture Phoenix program. “This program is about opening doors to possibilities for many children who might not even finish high school, let alone consider college as an option. These children listen to and learn from college student mentors, which is why the program has been so successful in the past,” said Cyndie Shepard, who served as director and co-founder of the Phuture Phoenix program. Cyndie is the wife of former Chancellor Bruce Shepard, who is now president of Western Washington University. The WWU pilot mentoring program, known as Compass 2 Campus, is designed to increase access to higher education by providing an opportunity for fifth-grade students from traditionally underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds in Whatcom and Skagit counties to be mentored by university students.