Wolak Learning Fellows

EMPOWERING STUDENTS WITH MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS

BY VICTORIA WEBB ’22

This fall, the Learning Fellows program on campus was renamed to the Wolak Learning Fellows in honor of SNHU alumnus and Trustee Ed Wolak ’74.

Wolak’s most recent transformational gift to the University is dedicated to what is now known as the Edward S. Wolak Learning Fellows, a program designed to activate peer mentors in challenging courses to improve success rates for students in those classes. Originally launched in 2018 with support from the Davis Education Foundation, the Wolak Learning Fellows program embeds peer support in classes where students have historically struggled to improve the learning environment and retention rate for students in difficult classes.

“I’m thrilled that my Wolak Learning Center endowment helps scholarship students to come to SNHU,” said Wolak. “With this additional contribution, I’m equally thrilled that this now greatly expanded Wolak Learning Fellows Program will help struggling students to stay and succeed here.”

The students who act as embedded support in this program, called Wolak Learning Fellows, meet weekly with the professor and staff members from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) to reflect on the previous week’s classes, plan together, and learn basic pedagogy to make the course more active and effective.

“Being a Wolak Learning Fellow is changing the classroom environment for the benefit of the learners,” says Nathaniel Patrick Lemana, a Wolak Learning Fellow in Computer Science, “it can be as small as adding a course agenda or rearranging seats, or as radical as changing an assignment.”

In addition to collaborating with CTL staff to uncover improvement strategies, the Wolak Learning Fellows get direct feedback from the learners through surveys and other interactions. “We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback from students about what we do in the class,” says Ryan Simas, a Wolak Learning Fellow in Computer Science and Information Technology, “and it makes us feel like we are doing a good job because of the influence we have in the classroom and course material.” The Wolak Learning Fellows program is facilitated by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) on campus, a bustling hub of rich conversation and deep learning for faculty. The CTL encourages experimentation and risk-taking to push the boundaries of what students can achieve, and provides faculty with data, resources and instruction to maximize the academic experience for students through innovative pedagogy. Programs like the Wolak Learning Fellows engage students as partners

in the work, creating strong relationships and open dialogue between students and faculty, while also providing an opportunity for peer role modeling and increased student support systems. Lynn Murray-Chandler, Ed.D. is the Assistant Vice President of Learner Engagement and Academic Innovation on campus and is one of the co-creators of the Wolak Learning Fellows program. “We want to foster learn-centricity in our curriculum,” says Murray-Chandler, “to help students feel a greater sense of belonging in the classroom and in the greater SNHU community.”

In the first two years, the program helped students — both the Wolak Learning Fellows and those in the challenging courses - by improving retention and cultivating a responsive learning environment that focuses on meaningful relationships and timely support. In addition to their increased retention rate, the students in the program reported a greater sense of belonging. “Our Wolak Learning Fellows have made measurable differences in the classrooms they nurture and support,” says Murray-Chandler, “this grant provides a growth opportunity that will allow additional students to participate and make a difference for their peers who need it most.”

Honoring Edward S. Wolak ’74

SNHU alumnus and Trustee Ed Wolak ’74 has inspired a legacy of leadership and continuous generosity at SNHU. Wolak joined the SNHU Board of Trustees in 2012 to pursue his passion for making college accessible to students in need. Among his many contributions to SNHU students and the greater community, now including support of the Wolak Learning Fellows, he created the Edward S. Wolak Scholarship in 2016 to support campus students who have worked in the quick service industry and/or have been a member of the Boys & Girls Club. Wolak paid his way through college by baking for Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in the area and is now president and CEO of the Wolak Group and owner of more than 95 Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in Maine, New Hampshire and upstate New York.