UMOJA
Umoja (a Kiswahili word meaning unity) is a learning community dedicated to the academic success, personal growth, and self-actualization of African-American and other students. All Umoja values and practices are inspired by African and African-American intellectual, cultural, and spiritual gifts.
The Umoja community at MSJC is dedicated to its students and provided them with a "family" environment where individuals lift and support one-another. Those within Umoja understand the progress made by our ancestors and strive to be as strong as they were. The Umoja community understands that our ancestors come from royalty, yet, we are often only taught about the struggles since our ancestors have been enslaved. However, within Umoja, the knowledge of the rich culture of those from the African Diaspora is sought after to help build the strength and courage needed to navigate experiences in life and navigating college.
The Umoja program is designed to increase retention, certificate completion, degree completion and transfer rates of African-American and other historically underrepresented students. Umoja students are provided with designated counselors to assist with career, educational and personal counseling.
Umoja Offers Students:
- Career, academic and personal counseling
- Umojafied courses with culturally-relevant content (degree applicable and transferable courses)
- Supplemental Instruction/Tutoring
- Academic and cultural enrichment activities
- Opportunities to attend Umoja sponsored events and conferences
- Increased self-confidence
- A brave place to discuss real issues that affect students and the broader community
- Mentoring
- University visits
- Resources to transfer to University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) schools, as well as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's)
Umoja Courses Offered:
ENGL-C1000 Academic Reading and Writing
ENGL-C1001 Critical Thinking and Writing
SOCI-101 Principles of Sociology
STAT-C1000 Introduction to Statistics
POLS-C1000 American Government and Politics
HIST-160/ETHS-160 Black History in the American Context
LIT-260 Introduction to African American Literature (formerly ENGL-260)
CSCR-100 College Success and Career Readiness
Umoja Counselors:
Kelynn Johnson - kejohnson@msjc.edu
CounselorDerrick Young - dyoung@msjc.edu
CounselorTo connect with Umoja, you can contact us here - umoja@msjc.edu
To be a part of Umoja, apply here - https://msjc.edu/umoja/