College Bound – 2001 Lilly Reintegration Award for Education
In 2001, New York-based College Bound − a program for adults recovering from serious mental illness who wish to attend college part-time, received the 2nd place Lilly Reintegration Award for Education. Today, the program continues in its solid commitment to the mental health community.
College Bound, a 10-month program, offers motivated, qualified individuals a variety of experiences that help them obtain additional skills through education. The program, now in its 18th year and 37th class, offers students a protective environment at Nassau Community College in self-contained classrooms with specially selected professors who are familiar with College Bound and the program’s objectives. Experienced counselors attend classes with students and are available to tutor students after class hours. Support groups are provided and students are prepared to enter the world of work or continue their academic studies in a traditional college format.
College Bound is a cooperative venture between the Mental Health Association (MHANC), Nassau Community College, the Nassau County Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities, and the New York State Office of Mental Health.
Adrienne Mantis, Program Coordinator brings us up to date on College Bound’s progress:
Q: What did it mean for your program to win this award?
A: Winning the 2001 Lilly Reintegration Award in Education was very big kudos for me, and for the entire College Bound program.
It has been a very helpful and important achievement. We received a lot of attention, so now more and more people are familiar with the program and we’re encouraging others across the country to start similar programs of their own.
Q: How has the program grown or changed since you won this award?
A: In 2001, College Bound was recognized for helping almost 500 students through its educational program. The program has continued its efforts throughout the past five years and is going strong. As of the Spring 2006 semester, College Bound has helped close to 700 students. Graduates of the program have been quite successful – many have gone on to graduate school and many have found jobs in areas such as finance, nursing and medicine.
College Bound has been quite a support to the community as evidenced by our many success stories. In fact, the Board of Directors of MHANC has been so pleased with the program’s progress they awarded 15 additional scholarships to 15 outstanding students to support their continued academic pursuits.
Q: What is your vision for the future of the program?
A: In the future, we would love for College Bound to be able to do more. Ultimately, we would like College Bound to expand to a 2-year program, so the program can give students that much more support. And we would like to see other programs like ours start up in other areas across the nation.
To learn out more about the College Bound program, please visit their website at http://www.mhanc.org/?PageID=582
