Blazing a trail for students

Chiana Blaze, director of mentor programs, says she has found her calling. Now she is trying to help UNT students find theirs.

"I wouldn't be where I am if it hadn't been for my experiences and someone helping me along the way," Blaze says.

As the first full-time director of mentor programs, she wants to create a program that will benefit students personally as well as academically.

"We're taking care of academics, but we're also taking care of students," she says. "Success to me doesn't necessarily mean a 4.0 grade point average. Success can be a freshman having a good transition from high school to college. It can be writing a paper or learning to set goals."

Blaze came to UNT from Longview as an undergraduate in 1992 and earned her bachelor of arts degree in speech and hearing sciences in 1997. Even when she was a freshman, she knew she wanted to help other UNT students. She worked as a student employment counselor and as a freshman peer counselor while attending school.

After graduating, she began a full-time job as an academic adviser in the College of Business Administration. Mary Thibodeaux, associate dean in the business college, says Blaze showed a deep commitment to the students.

"It was obvious from the start that she was very student oriented and took the interest of the student to heart," Thibodeaux says. "For many students, she was the adviser of choice."

In addition to developing the mentor program, Blaze is working on her master's degree in higher education and is considering pursuing a doctoral degree. She says that perhaps in the future, after starting a family, she will turn her love of cooking into a catering business. She developed an interest in cooking when she was a young girl.

"I enjoy spending time with my grandmother," she notes, "and growing up I would spend time with her while learning to cook and bake."

But for now, Blaze is focusing on developing the mentor program, a job she accepted in November. She hopes that the mentor relationships will last even after students graduate.

"I want to make people feel a part of something, make them feel connected," she says. "Sometimes that's all that is needed – just feeling connected."

BY ELLEN SCHROEDER paiswril@pres.admin.unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• UNT maintains nation's only 'cybercemetery'
• Interim music dean named
• Summer camps supplement budget, recruit students
• Twenty UNT students receive Frank W. Mayborn Scholarships
• Vroom! Speedway events will create heavy traffic
• Employees elected to serve as reps on Staff Council
• New program helps area children explore musical culture
• College radio offers programming flexibility
• National association elects art professor Nancy Berry as distinguished fellow
• Herman Totten will lead library group
• First TAMS class holds reunion
• Faculty Senate elects officers, plans meeting

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