When I agreed to mentor Carolyn Wesley, I became a pioneer once more.  Carolyn is an African-American Mathematics 
Adjunct Faculty instructor at Estrella Mountain Community College.  Prior to coming to Estrella, Carolyn was an adjunct 
faculty instructor at the University of Phoenix.  Oh, I had been a pioneer before: trumpet player in elementary, high school and college, first woman/African-American woman on my neighborhood housing association board and founding faculty at a new community college.  But this year, I am a pioneer in the teaching profession; I am mentoring a prospective residential faculty member in Maricopa's FIP Program. From my perspective, this is a labor of love.  Having an opportunity to guide a talented and committed individual into the teaching profession has been and is a rewarding experience for me.

The Faculty Intern Program (FIP) grew out of the Faculty Recruitment 2000 Commission.  It is essentially the response to one of the goals set forth by the commission: to "grow our own" or to recruit participants from under-represented populations, and to prepare them for teaching at the community college level.  Through district funding, rather than campus funding, Faculty in Progress participants are paid 90% of the base salary for a beginning residential faculty instructor.  This opportunity, however, does not guarantee participants a position in the Maricopa Community College District. Similar to traditional applicants, they, too, must apply and proceed through the hiring process. 

In August 2001, Carolyn Wesley applied for the FIP Program through a Maricopa Application, submitted a personal 
statement of interest, a resume and a learning contract for August-May 2002.  In doing so, she joined ten other diverse and well-qualified individuals; all are either certified or are certifiable for teaching credentials based on Maricopa and Arizona Community College Board qualifications.

On a typical day, Carolyn teaches three Mathematics classes to diverse populations including At-Risk students, Re-entry women and men and traditional college students.  As she teaches these classes, she learns and manages the duties and responsibilities of residential faculty.  In addition, she attends many meetings, takes a Blackboard class, meets with students, and interacts with her peers concerning collegiality, classroom issues and pedagogy.   In the evenings, she takes three graduate Mathematics classes at Arizona State University-West Campus.  In my mentoring role, I meet with Carolyn weekly and coordinate formal and informal experiences along with her learning contract requirements.  In her personal interest statement, Carolyn states that having a mentor to assist her in increasing her skills and knowledge will increase her probability of obtaining her ultimate goal of becoming a residential Mathematics instructor.    Carolyn is a committed individual with an inspiring work ethic.  As per her Learning Contract, she is increasing her proficiency by taking additional Mathematics classes, observing other Math faculty teach, attending conferences and workshops, infusing technology into her mathematics courses, and helping her students reach levels of success that they previously believed were unattainable.  As I coordinate her experiences, I see strong indications of her professionalism, her genuine interest in her students' success and her perseverance.  I am confident that Carolyn will be a successful Faculty in Program Participant during this pilot year.