Ryan Ross says he works "in dreams and visions." But when the dean of students and retention along with other officials at the Community College of Denver were considering creating a program to help male students navigate collegiate life, he knew there were no guarantees of success.
"For some, there's the pride factor, them saying, 'I'm a man, I take care of my own and I'm not gonna ask anybody for help," Ross said. "We have men here who are in dire situations. Maybe they're homeless; maybe they're not eating. We have a food bank but they won't go because they don't want to show weakness.
"They'll say, ' I'm on the campus, but I don't want a pity party.' "
In those cases, Ross continues, the challenge is to help students realize that it's OK to ask for help, whether it's for something as big as something to eat or as seemingly minor as buying the right textbook for class. And for the last few months, one of Ross' flights of fancy, CCD's Urban Male Initiative, has done just that.
The program, which was launched in March, has already started making inroads in helping students deal with life on campus and in areas like professional development. Presently, part of the school's academic advising center, the initiative has been so well received that officials now believe much greater success lies ahead.
"We won't fail," said Leslie McClellon, CCD's vice president of student development. "Within a couple of years, it will be a department of its own."
At any level, college can be a daunting experience. That's especially true in the community college system, where the vast majority of students commute, many of them taking classes while trying to manage jobs and families.
When those pressures become too much, it's often school that suffers, particularly for men. At CCD, for example, fewer than 40 percent of the students are men, and according to McClellon, each year between 33 and 50 percent of them leave.
"That's why this is so important ? we don't want to lose our men," she said. "A lot of them will say there are too many obstacles, too much going on."
And so, even when men are on campus, they often are looking to get off.
"I used to come here for classes and go straight home," said Clenton Tunson, Jr. of Denver, a student at the school. "I never saw what was available. I was doing myself a disservice."
One day this spring, Tunson stuck around long enough for a scholarship meeting that was cancelled. But before he could bolt, someone told him to check out another event ? an Urban Male Initiative meeting.
"It was 2 o'clock on a Friday. I was skeptical," Tunson said. "I didn't know what they were going to ask of me, but I walked in and I haven't left since."
A father of three, Tunson enrolled in school after he was laid off from his job at a mechanical engineering design firm. For a time, he thought it might be better for him to work and let his wife continue school. But his lack of a degree was holding him back from even getting interviewed for jobs, he said. And he also realized that preaching the value of education to his children would ring hollow if he wasn't walking the talk himself.
"Men will drop out and get a job to support their family. But they don't realize it takes both (him and his wife) to finish and get the degree to help them achieve the life that they want," McClellon said. "This program is a way to wrap our arms around them and say, 'This is for you. Let us help you get through the hard times and get to that end result.' "
Typical of those efforts is the two-week summer bridge program Urban Male Initiative is offering to its students next month. The first week will be spent on academics ? "How do you study?" Ross said. "When you pick up a book, how do you read it?"
In the second week, the participants will work on their leadership skills, with part of the curriculum listening to real-life stories from members of the Denver community.
"We don't want the fluff leadership speech ? we want to know, how did you fail and how did you get up?" Ross said. "We want to really give the students that push, to say I have to keep going because here's somebody who's a role model and they've had pitfalls and they were able to get up."
Even in Ross' perfect world, there will still be stumbles. But those who fall won't have to worry about scrambling back to their feet alone.
"When it's graduation day," he said, "We'll walk across the stage together ? all of us, not just some of us."
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
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