Harrington Leads By Example

Jasmyn Harrington (BA ’11) knew she would go to college even as a third grader.

The Waterloo native, who became the first member of her family to graduate from college after earning her elementary education degree this year, knows not all kids believe they can achieve that goal. So, she has spent much of her free time volunteering as a mentor to help other young girls realize their potential and stay on a path that will take them to college.

Harrington, president of the historically African American sorority Zeta Phi Beta-Pi Kappa in 2010-2011, spearheaded an afterschool program for minority girls called Zetas After Class. The college girls, including Harrington, met with students from Iowa City’s City High School and Southeast Junior High to discuss topics that they may have been uncomfortable discussing with other adults in their lives.

“We wanted to do something that would introduce them to volunteering and college life, but also give them a chance to understand things about just being a woman,” Harrington said, noting that topics often included self esteem and sexual health.

Zetas After Class will continue although Harrington will no longer lead it. She said she’s discussed ideas to expand and improve the program next year under the sorority’s next president.

In addition to her afterschool program, Harrington has also been involved as a mentor in the Children of Promise program, which matches mentors with children or teens who have a history of incarceration in their families.  The program requires one hour a week of interaction, but Harrington said she often does more than that because she enjoys time with her mentee.

“These are kids who some may call ‘troubled,’ but I don’t believe that at all,” Harrington said. “They just need someone to look up to. I know how hard it can be to find your own way. If I can be there to help them out, to show them a different path, then I want to do that.”

Talia Meidlinger, Children of Promise program coordinator, said Harrington is a great mentor because of her consistency and attitude.

“The choices she has made with her life and the places those choices have landed her speak loudly to the young women she mentors,” Meidlinger said. “By mentoring, by just showing up to spend time with the young women she mentors, she has shown them that goals and dreams are attainable if you stick on the right track.”

This fall, Harrington begins the next chapter of her educational journey: law school at the UI. When finished, she hopes to pursue a career in child advocacy.