





































Author
KAYLA NUNNALLY  
Program Manager, IU Tutor-
ing, Mentoring, College and 
Career Readiness Program

Student to Student  
and Families too
Beyond the campus: IU Connects 

KAYLA NUNNALLY  

program overview 
Indiana University is connecting 
with students and families across 
the state to support equitable access 
to quality education, educational 
resources, and social-emotional 
support. In 2016, the IUPUI Office 
of Community Engagement was 
awarded a grant funded by Serve 
Indiana to provide free tutoring, 
mentoring, and college/career 
readiness workshops to students in 
grades 6-12. Services are delivered 
in-person, via online conferenc-
ing, and by telephone to ensure all 
students and their parent/caregiv-
ers have equitable access.  In total, 
seven IU campuses (East, Southeast, 
Northwest, South Bend, Kokomo, 
Bloomington and IUPUI) serve over 
2,200 students from rural, urban 
and suburban communities during 
the school year and summer.  Each 
of the campuses provide face-to-face 
programming in their local commu-
nity at schools, community centers, 

libraries or on the college campus. 
IUPUI serves as the hub for online 
tutoring and mentoring. 

collaborative  
leadership 
A collaborative leadership approach 
is followed, in which responsibil-
ity is shared to achieve equitable 
outcomes for school communities. 
Dr. Khaula Murtadha, Associate 
Vice Chancellor for the Office of 
Community Engagement; Kayla 
Nunnally, Program Manager; and 
Nicole Oglesby, Director of P-20 
Alliances, lead IUPUI program-
ming. Dr. Silvia Garcia, also from 
the IUPUI campus, leads evaluation 
of the program. Dr. Chris Chalker 
coordinates and supervises on-cam-
pus sessions, as well as facilitates 
caregiver workshops at IUPUI.  At 
IU East Ann Tobin, Campus/Com-
munity Service-Learning Liaison, 
leads the program. Dr. Gloria Mur-
ray, Interim Director of the Office of 

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Service Learning and Community Engagement, 
and Emily Seay, Program Manager, move the pro-
gram forward on the IU Southeast campus. Ginny 
Heidemann, Director of Academic Centers for 
Excellence serves as the program director for the 
IU South Bend campus. Sophie Haywood, Asso-
ciate Director of P16 Research and Collaboration, 
oversees programming at IU Bloomington as does 
James Wallace, Director of the Office of Diversity, 
Equity and Multicultural Affairs at IU North-
west. The IU Kokomo campus is led by Makenzie 
Damon, Student Outreach Coordinator of Kelley 
Student Center and Tracy Springer, Director of 
Career and Accessibility Center. On each campus, 
IU college students from various backgrounds and 
academic disciplines serve as tutors and mentors. 
They also share leadership through workshop 
planning and facilitating, as well as supporting 
program evaluation. 

student to student  
Since 2016, over 200 IU students have served in 
the program. The program works to ensure that 

they are developing as civic-minded scholars, 
beyond their time with the program. Throughout 
their service, they attend professional develop-
ment sessions with topics such as supporting bi-
lingual students, developing cultural competency, 
racism and implicit bias, as well as how adverse 
childhood experiences and trauma affect their 
work with students.  Tutors and mentors also are 
able to request professional development topics 
based on what they are experiencing in their day-
to-day work. Some of the current tutors/mentors 
were once enrolled in the program as high school 
students. As they expressed, because of their par-
ticipation in the program, not only did they decide 
to attend IU, but they also wanted to give back to 
their community and serve. 

IU Indiana Kids tutors/mentors speak to the 
impact on their personal and professional lives.  
“Being part of the Indiana Kids team has been 
a really rewarding opportunity. Growing up, 
I faced many struggles academically, so I am 
happy to be able to support students who are 

Indiana Kids mentors work during a recent online tutoring hours session.  Photo credit: Chris Chalker, IUPUI 

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facing the same challenges I once faced,” said 
Jose Maya-Rodriguez, a junior mechanical engi-
neering major in the School of Engineering and 
Technology at IUPUI. He added, “This program 
gives me the motivation to keep learning so that 
I can share my knowledge with our students and 
to teach them that they are powerful beyond 
measure. Creating relationships and becoming a 
role model for the students we work with could 
make a huge difference in students’ lives as we 
give them the tools to learn, grow and become 
a better version of themselves.” Andrea Ruval-
caba, a junior in the School of Social Work at 
IUPUI, attributes her desire to serve as a tutor 
and mentor to her experience as a first-genera-
tion scholar. “This program has allowed me to 
be a resource and support system for children in 
the Indianapolis area.” A tutor/mentor from the 
South Bend campus shared, “I most value the 
bonds that I was able to create with the students 
I helped. Watching that trust they had with me 
allowed them to feel free to try, fail, and succeed 
with difficult subjects.”  

Six through twelfth grade students in the program 
are able to attend as many tutoring, mentoring 
and college/career readiness sessions as they 
would like. They frequently mention that the pro-
gram not only makes them feel more confident in 
school, but also makes learning fun. One student 
said, “Every mentor and tutor that I have worked 
with has showed me I can be me, and I don’t have 
to get good grades on tests to prove to teachers 
that I work hard. I can continue to do what I do. 
They have helped me understand that I don’t need 
to be afraid.”  

family engagement  
Family engagement is promoted through resource 
dissemination and college/career readiness 
workshops. Workshops are tailored to be relevant 
and meaningful for families, addressing their 
expressed needs and interests. Some of the most 
common requested workshops include college 

financial awareness and college/career options.  
In the last year, the program has offered over 
50 workshops for caregivers and students. For 
example, the IUPUI campus provides college and 
career readiness workshops with parents/care-
givers one-on-one or in small groups while their 
middle or high school students receive tutoring 
and mentoring support. The IU Southeast campus 
focuses primarily on mentoring and workshops 
with schools and local nonprofits, including foster 
care providers and programs that support families 
of incarcerated individuals.  

Parents/caregivers consistently express the 
positive impact of the program. One said, “The 
program is free. This is such a benefit and relief for 
parents. The workshops are an added bonus and 
help my child understand the importance of being 
college and career ready after high school.” Anoth-
er reported that her 10th grade student had never 
had an A+ on a test until being tutored through the 
program. A third parent/caregiver shared that her 
daughter is now eligible for athletic scholarships 
because of her grade improvement.  

The connection between IU, families, and stu-
dents helps to bridge the gap between school and 
home, providing equitable opportunities to educa-
tional resources and social-emotional support as 
students prepare for their futures.

An Indiana Kids mentor talks to students during a 
school visit.  Photo credit: IU Southeast Indiana Kids 

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An Indiana Kids mentor and a student work together.  Photo 
credit: IU Southeast Indiana Kids  

Parents are also invited to attend Indiana Kids work-
shops.  Photo credit: Teresa Francis, IUPUI 

Students meet with Indiana Kids mentors at an event . Photo credit: IU East Indiana Kids 

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