Latasha Greer, an Ed.M. candidate in Politics and Education, is a very busy person. A full-time graduate student who works part-time at the Center for Arts Education and the Laurie Tisch Sussman Foundation, and is a student teacher at the Frederick Douglass Academy, Greer uses the Internet to fit volunteering into her busy and unpredictable schedule.

	Latasha Greer
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Greer was featured in the February 22 edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of 400 volunteers who exchange e-mail with New York City high school students through a charity called iMentor. Greer and the Brooklyn senior she has been paired with exchange e-mail messages several times a week on topics such as career goals and college applications.

A non-profit Internet-based mentoring program, iMentor connects young people from underserved communities in the New York City metropolitan area with adult mentors. Although communication takes place primarily on-line, iMentor also schedules events where mentors and students can interact face-to-face.

Greer told Inside TC that she was attracted to iMentor because of her desire to bridge her interest in public service while trying to juggle her graduate work. "Everything else required me to be somewhere several times a week, but iMentor was perfect because it matched my interests and accommodated my schedule."

The Brooklyn senior she mentors from Sheepshead Bay High School is thinking about college and Greer advises her on college essays as well as matters of a personal nature.

"We chat online maybe three or four times a week and it's convenient," said Greer.

Why does Greer do it?

She said, "On a personal level it takes me out of my own environment. It makes me take off my graduate school blinders. By connecting with a high-schooler, I feel grounded."

Published Tuesday, Sep. 18, 2001