The UW-Whitewater ‘Little Scholars’ is a program all about helping the kids.

The program helps connect college students with a grade school student through a letter exchange, after which the class sends a video message and combines 21st century technology with personal interaction. Finally, students come to the campus and with visit their Little Scholars. According to Rasheed Goodman, a member of the program, though the interaction may seem little to some, it makes a big difference in the lives of students and gives them another person to call a friend.

“The Little Scholars Experience is a reminder that you have the ability to impact every life that you come across. For younger children, the responsibility becomes even stronger because it is easier to make imprints on them,” said Goodman. “It impacted my scholar’s life because it gave her another person she feels she can connect to. Sometimes, for kids, they just want and need that attention to know that they have multiple people that they count on and know cares about them.”

In the past, during a visit, students have met with their buddy and spent the day seeing the different spots around campus, playing games and enjoying a lunch at one of the dining halls, but according to Goodman, the bond and effect of the program doesn’t end there.

The program hopes that students want to visit the campus months after their original visit, but they also hope that students are inspired to make a change of their own.

“The program is a motivational tool for young students to keep pushing forward so they can be a mentor in someone else’s life. They have to keep passing down the idea of any blessing they received in their lives to the next generation.”