According to their mission statement, Uncommon Good seeks to break the cycle of poverty among young children through the aggressive pursuit of education. Along with the mentoring program Uncommon Good also has green and health care initiatives, which sponsors young health professionals who work with the poor.

Founded in 2000 and based in Claremont, CMC students and alumni are involved with the organization in a variety of capacities. At the end of the past academic year, there were 44 CMC student mentors (40% of the 5Cs total), and 63% of the organization’s total mentoring force were from the Claremont Colleges.

SOURCE, CMC’s student-managed non-profit consulting organization sponsored by the Kravis Institute, has a team of students working with Uncommon Good during the academic year. Roxanne Phen ’10, mentor and former SOURCE team leader, comments:

“The SOURCE Uncommon Good team works closely with the nonprofit on capacity building, aiding in the writing of grants and recruitment of mentors at the Claremont Colleges, among other things…this not only gave me a deeper understanding of how nonprofits work, but inspired me to explore alternative funding sources for traditionally nonprofit causes in my year-long thesis. My hope is that I can continue to work on these issues as I start my career.”

You may also remember that Roxanne presented the gist of her thesis at the Ath idea night –and won. She also helped her mentee pay her way to a leadership conference for which she had been nominated through fundraising efforts.

Requirements for mentees to be matched with a mentor (other than the availability of a mentor – there are currently over 60 kids on the waiting list!) are that they be in good academic standing, come from a lower income or troubled household, and that they want a mentor. The requirements insure that students work with mentees that are bright and motivated to learn from their older role models, and in many cases just need that support from someone older to become motivated to attend college.

To be a mentor, one must be a good role models, meet with one’s mentee for at least an hour every week, and be a steady source of support for one’s mentees with a full year commitment. When mentors graduate they are tasked with re-matching their mentee to another student who they believe would be a good match for their mentee.

Mike Peel, CMC ’07 and Uncommon Good’s Development Director, is a huge advocate of the organization as well as their mentoring program. “Uncommon Good has been an experience that has surpassed my expectations for a career choice. The organization’s unique and multi-faceted approach to poverty and environmental issues ensures that I am constantly being challenged and growing as a professional.” While a CMC student Mike also founded SOURCE, CMC’s student-managed non-profit consulting organization.

Uncommon Good is a great organization to get involved with when you get back on campus if you are looking to give back to the community in a fun and meaningful way. If you are interested in becoming a mentor, you can apply to be one here – if you apply now you will also skip the longer waiting process in September.

Some more comments by CMC students and alumni:

“This has been one of my most rewarding experiences at college! Vincent is like my little brother away from home. My influence academically speaking has taken hold as he keeps up with his grades, is reading on a daily basis, keeps a list of words he doesn’t understand and looks them up in the dictionary.” –Charlie Sarosy, CMC ‘10

Claudia Lopez, CMC ’10, has been matched with her mentee, Nina, since her freshman year. “I got involved because I was a tutor in high school. I found out that this is a lot more fun, plus I feel like I really make a difference in Nina’s life. She didn’t know anything about college when we met, but now she knows that going to college is attainable for her.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time as a mentor, and in retrospect it was one that defined my college career because it had such a big impact on me.” –Greg Hall, CMC ‘09

Along with the awkward questions from the kids, there will moments of pure hilarity as we reassemble with CMC classmates and browse pictures from a trip to Cabo or watch a video of freshman year bloopers. Memories that would have gathered dust and faded ten years ago can now, for better or worse, be easily immortalized. A great way to assemble these memories is through simple video-editing programs.

Now why is a “how to make a movie” post appearing on campus news publication? Because it is fun and important to learn the basics of movie creation. Tufts University thinks so too; their application process now calls for an optional YouTube video supplement. If you need to make a quick movie to promote an event, make a freshman (or senior?) year blooper reel, or put together a travel highlights video, you can. Tools like iMovie and Windows Movie Maker are too fun and too easy not to take advantage of.

So I am not actually going to teach you how to use iMovie – it is easy enough to figure out. Your biggest hurdle will be opening the program and taking the time to play around with it. Besides, Apple does a much better job it than I could.

What you need:

1. Videos or photos on your computer.
2. iMovie: For Macs – I’ve heard Windows Movie Maker is also easy to use for you PC users out there though.
3. 29:09 minutes of your time. 25 minutes of playing with the program, 4:09 minutes to watch this iMovie tutorial.

Movie creation is a relatively a new revelation to me. I didn’t open iMovie for ages because I had the preconception that video editing takes a lot of tech expertise. You don’t. iMovie is geared for a larger, less tech savvy audience. I love sharing my pictures and videos with others – they tell a story so much better than I can. Sites like Facebook have made sharing photos with friends and family incredibly easy, and now, after 29:09 minutes, you’ll have the expertise to share your own full-feature production.

Check out the below video; I made in a little over an hour. Some friends and I got our butts kicked in mud soccer in a rural village in Bangladesh. It is so much easier and fun to share this video with someone who asks me what my summer was like rather than trying to explain it with words or even an album of pictures. And if you only have pictures, no video footage, iMovie has neat features to turn a collection of photos into an entertaining slideshow.

*On a side note, if you are in the market for a digital camera to record those memories, check out Olympus’s Stylus Tough line – it is waterproof (read: beerproof), virtually indestructible, and takes great photos. Starting at $229.

• There is a generation gap between us (Generation Y) and older workers. This generation gap causes conflict, and it is important to respect and be aware of the values of older and veteran employees.
• Our generation sometimes feels that it is entitled, and it is important not to be cocky just because you got a 2400 on your SATs or did a baller internship last summer.
• Don’t try to change the system on your first day on the job. Rules and policies are there for a reason and as you learn more about the office your recommendations for improving the corporate workplace are more valuable.
• Don’t take criticism personally. Ever. Learn from it and move on quickly.
• I liked this one. Dentists and doctors can be good sources for internship opportunities. For example, next time you are at your dentist ask them if they have any MBA patients and ask if they can put you in contact with them.

Teach’s 10 Commandments are available here, and you can follow him and other “Brazen Careerists” (read: career coaches) on his profile page.