Chapter 3: No Role Models: The Experience of Black and Latino Men in a Mentorship Program at a Two-Year Hispanic Serving Institution

The purpose of this chapter is to explore how participants in the motivated, empowered, and noble (M.E.N.) program described the influence of mentorship on their educational pathways. M.E.N. is a mentorship program for Black and Latino1 male students at a 2-year Hispanic serving institution (HSI) in southeastern Florida. Federally recognized as an HSI in 2014, the diverse institution has 30,520 students, of whom 25% are Black, and 29% are Latinos. M.E.N. chapters are located on each of the 2-year institution’s five campuses throughout southeastern Florida. When asked about mentors and mentorship, the students repeatedly discussed “role models” in their responses. Their reflections were similar to themes from rapper J. Cole’s song “No Role Modelz” and other cuts from his album 2014 Forest Hills Drive (2014, Track 9). Using lyrics from the album, this chapter addresses how participants in the M.E.N. mentorship program perceived and valued role models.