Student Starts Campus Mentorship Program for Young Men of Color
Before he had entered a Vassar classroom for the first time, Devyn Benson ’25 knew he would be encountering young men of color like himself who would be struggling to find their place on campus.
Benson knew this because his older brother, Harry A. Johnson Jr., had felt this way when he first enrolled at Bard College several years ago. “At a place like Vassar or Bard,” Benson said, “you don’t see a lot of people who look like you, and that’s a struggle right there. You’re apart from your family and your community, and you lose your sense of control.”
But thanks to his older brother and Dariel Vasquez, a Bard classmate, Benson was prepared to overcome the obstacles he and other young men of color were facing. Johnson and Vasquez are co-founders of Brothers@, which began as a student-led program at Bard in 2014 and has expanded its reach to more than 20 colleges in five states since then. Its mission is improving the academic, social, and emotional well-being of young men of color in secondary school and college. Vasquez currently serves as CEO of Brothers@.
“Brothers@ has created a blueprint for addressing the systemic inequities and opportunity gaps young men of color face at many colleges and universities,” Vasquez said. “Today, Brothers@ works with more than 300 young men, recruiting, training, and hiring collegiate men of color to become ambassadors and mentors to high school students who are contemplating attending college, offering advice and support before they set foot on a campus.”
Benson first participated in Brothers@ programming as a mentee in high school, and when he enrolled at Vassar, he became a Brothers@ Ambassador, working with groups and individuals on campus to strengthen the inclusion of young men of color. With help from Wesley Dixon, Vassar’s Deputy to the President and Secretary of the Board of Trustees and a longtime friend of Vasquez’s, Benson launched Brothers@Vassar this year. In an event on the Vassar campus in April, Benson and his peers facilitated workshops for 35 local high schoolers alongside students from the Brothers@Bard, and they finished off the day with a basketball game in Vassar’s gym, pitting the high school mentees against their collegiate mentors.
“At the workshops, we talked about the challenges of being a first-generation student of color and about the pressures that build from that,” Benson said. “And because we are all from the same age group, it’s easier for the message to be heard.”
While he continues to facilitate Brothers@Vassar, Benson has stayed in touch with Vasquez, who continues to launch programs elsewhere. “This is not a Bard issue or a Vassar issue; it’s everywhere,” Vasquez said. “Diversity is one thing; inclusion is another, and we’ve seen so many young men of color dropping out because of how difficult it is for us to find our place.”
He said he was pleased, but not surprised, that Benson had launched such an initiative at Vassar. “I am beyond excited to see Devyn step into this type of work; we couldn’t ask for a better role model,” Vasquez said. “It’s been amazing to watch what he has accomplished.”
Benson said Brothers@Vassar is just getting started. “Everyone has seen the statistics, the dropout rates, and the low graduation rates,” he said. “We will be changing those statistics. Being part of Brothers@Vassar means being part of something bigger than myself, and it’s my hope that we can change the lives of a lot of young men of color on campus.”
Dixon said that he has been encouraged by what Brothers@Vassar has already accomplished. “It is important that we at Vassar continue to find meaningful ways to strengthen and deepen our relationships with community partners,” Dixon said. “Devyn’s work with Brothers@ not only strengthens our on-campus community, but also fosters deep and meaningful bonds with young people in and around the Poughkeepsie community. These are important bonds to cherish.”