The MoMENtum Hub Puts Male Students on Path to Success

A new initiative launched this week will help male-identifying students navigate resources at UNC. The MoMENtum Hub officially launched on April 10 with an office in the Carolina Union and will bring together professional staff from student service offices who are prepared to help male students with challenges they face.

The MoMENtum Hub is the vision of Chris Faison, Coordinator at the UNC College of Arts of Sciences. Faison, who also runs UNC's Carolina Mxle Scholars, had reviewed studies showing an achievement gap for male students at Universities and thought that bringing resources into one place could give men a go-to center before challenges become acute.

"The goal is to try to preempt issues before they arise," Faison said. "Men typically engage in more high-risk behaviors and by the time they ask for help it's too late, and then you have backtrack to get them in a better place."

The MoMENtum Hub will join other initiatives designed to help male-identifying students at Carolina, and participants in other programs talked about the importance of having a place for men to turn to turn. Samuel Goodwin, a sophomore Economics major, participated in Start Strong, a summer program for incoming First Year men to get them acclimated to college life and familiar with campus resources.

"Honestly, I would not have survived my first semester here without this program," Goodwin said. "We had graduating seniors and counselors that gave us answers to so many questions we weren't even asking. We learned about so many campus resources and the ways we could succeed at Carolina."

Barry Fredrick, a Peace War & Defense and Public Policy major, also participated in the Start Strong program "It gave us connections to each other," Frederick said of his experience with fellow Start Strong participants. "It gave us an environment where we got to know people and were comfortable with them so that we could all support each other, and that was really important."

Fredrick also said the program helped him overcome an aversion to asking for help. "I had this mindset that I got to Carolina by myself so I could do everything here by myself," Fredrick said. "It gave me a way to accept the help I really needed."

The MoMENtum Hub will be open in Room 3503 of the Carolina Union from 9am-1pm, through the end of classes April 26th. Next week's schedule is below:

 

Fri. 4/12

9-10a     Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

10-11a    Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

11a-12p  Summer School, Carolina Mxle Scholars

12-1p     Carolina Mxle Scholars

 

Mon. 4/15

9-10a    Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

10-11a   Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

11a-12p  Libraries, Financial Aid, Carolina Mxle Scholars

12-1p     Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

 

Tue. 4/16

9-10a    Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

10-11a   Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

11a-12p  Carolina Mxle Scholars

12-1p    Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

 

Wed. 4/17

9-10a    Libraries, Career Services, Carolina Mxle Scholars

10-11a   Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

11a-12p Carolina Mxle Scholars

12-1p     Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

 

Thu. 4/18

9-10a    Libraries, Carolina Mxle Scholars

10-11a   Libraries, Financial Aid, Carolina Mxle Scholars

11a-12p  Libraries