Members of the Minority Mentorship Program had the opportunity to take a trip back in time Aug. 27 and experience a field day – the MMP Olympics.

Maria Negrete Padron, associate director and secondary advisor, said, “The program was initiated in 1991, with the goal of raising retention rates among the minority student population at the University of Central Arkansas.”

The MMP Olympics was one of five events hosted as a part of Transitions Week.

Padron said, “MMP has hosted numerous Transition Weeks in an effort to make the transition from high school to college easier.”

Students spent this week meeting, fostering connections and building relationships with their mentors and other first-year students. Mentees were exposed to on-campus resources.

Both mentees and mentors spent two hours on the HPER recreation field participating in a series of relay games.

Participants tested their hip strength in a hula hoop competition, the accuracy of their throw in a game of cornhole, their reflexes in a game of red light, green light, and their endurance in the final games of the evening — a sack race.

Norleshia Celestine, a freshman nursing major, said she joined MMP “for the people.”

Once the faces of the mentors were released, she decided she would join the program.

“I really liked all of them, so it didn’t matter who I got,” Celestine said.

Anayasia Green, a freshman elementary education major, said she joined MMP because she is a first-generation student and new to the college experience.

“I just wanted extra guidance from people who look like me and are in the same environment as me, to help me through my college career,” Green said.

She said MMP has certainly helped her easily transition to college by “allowing me to get out of my comfort zone, have fun and meet new people.”

Although MMP is for first-year students, mentors and mentees benefit from the program. 

Mentor Grant Baker, a sophomore radiography major, joined MMP because he wanted to “help usher in the next generation, give people a place to feel like they can be themselves.”

Mentor Malik Shebazz, a sophomore elementary education major, joined because of “the family —  all the minorities together; we have a good time.”

The primary student organizer of the event, senior theater and film major Crystal Daniels, said, “I enjoyed the events and bonds that I created as a freshman and decided to become a mentor the following year. I took a break my junior year to focus on school and joined the executive board because I still believed in the vision of this program.”

Celestine said she joined not only for the mentors but for the nature of the event.

“There were gonna be games, and I wanted to compete. I’m a really competitive person,” Celestine said.

Freshman political science major, Kamarion Pickett said he came to the event because “it’s the olympics. That’s the answer. I’m a very competitive person.”

 Baker said his favorite part of the event was “winning.”

Shebazz said his  favorite part was “winning against this guy right here [Grant Baker] and him getting mad that I won.”

Padron said, “In addition to Transitions Week, MMP also hosts monthly programs with the goal of educating, engaging and empowering all students.”