Learning is a lifelong pursuit. To this end, Deo Mwano expanded his education expertise at College for America at Southern New Hampshire University, an online competency-based learning program for adult students.

Serving in many positions, including Team Lead Learning Coach, Deo was part of the team that launched the pilot program in 2013. Through his coaching, students developed success skills. Deo also coached and trained other coaches and partners. Working directly with the Chief Learning Architect, Deo was one of the six original coaches who developed the coaching and learning support model. He contributed to the development of a best practices coaching model for College For America, which was based on research he conducted into coaching techniques used in different fields. His experience with College For America has strengthened his ability to help a diverse range of students develop and grow their success skills including:

• Genuine relationship building

• Championing the students

• Understanding and selecting challenges

• Embracing adversities

• Importance of being present and neutral

• Positive accountability

• Taking ownership of successes

Deo has served College for America in other notable ways. Different departments at College For America have frequently sought his input and advice. He has lead innovative pilots and partnerships, including one involving Kepler University in Rwanda that scaled from 48 students to 300 students. Spearheading the partnership, Deo focused on cultural relevancy, which resulted in mutual benefits for Kepler University and College For America.

Working at College for America presented many challenging for Deo. But he loved every minute of the three and half years he was there. The college gave him the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse and talented group of individuals who, like himself, wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. Together they tackled complex issues encountered during the learning process and found creative ways to overcome them. What Deo learned and discovered from his work at College for America translates across his work as a Speaker, Dancer, Educational Strategist, Choreographer, Life Coach and as a Multi-cultural Activist.

Classroom connections

Deo Mwano is the director of I Am My Own Champion (IAMOC), a program he created through BringIt Granite United Way in partnership with The Extended Learning Opportunity Coordinators of The Manchester School District. IAMOC is a program that helps high school students develop and grow learning skills and habits based on how they learn best. It helps students identify how they learn best and then educates and coaches them on how to implement and maintain successful learning skills and habits.

Student success skills and habits are divided into 5 categories:

• Mindsets and Values

• Goals, Planning and Pace

• Learning Strengths and Challenges

• Academic Skills Mastery Cycle

• Networking and Relationship Building

Students in the program commit, at minimum, one full semester and those who successfully complete the program earn half a credit towards their graduation requirements.

The goals of the program is to help students:

• Effectively reach their goals by learning how to set goals;

• Plan and follow through on self-determined tasks;

• Understand their unique learning approach;

• Be capable of utilizing their knowledge to successfully meet their educational goals;

• Discover how their efforts and values connect to their goals and learning approach; and,

• Identify resources in their network and tap into these resources to achieve their goals.

Deo is passionate about driving student success in the traditional school model through the introduction of non-cognitive skills. He is looking to partner with other school districts to offer this education program. This is your opportunity to provide your team with a proven methodology, based on the emotional impact learning has on students. The program will also provide them with the key to identifying with a bigger demographic of students. By identifying with more students, you and your team will see improvement in overall academic success.

Deo worked for Motivislearning.com as Manager of Engagement. He collaborated with institutions that were adopting Competency Learning Education and helped them design successful programs by utilizing Motivis’ learning solutions.(https://motivislearning.com)

Deo worked as a coach and Manager of Partnership and Design for the E3 Teen Father program through the New Hampshire Department of Education. The program focused on helping the teen father graduate from school, gain employment and learn fatherhood competencies through individual personalize success plans. Deo helped design the implementation portion of the program through a partnership with the National Center of Competency Based Learning. Below are the outcomes of this program:

• Improved co-parental relationship with the mother of their child and the improved ability to co-parenting

• Increased satisfaction with their co-parent and an awareness of their own parenting philosophy;

• Increased parenting and co-parenting skills;

• Increased their involvement with their child;

• Earned their high school diploma and the capacity to apply to an institute of higher education if desired;

Gained the experience to obtain a ‘living wage” position.

• Effectively reach their goals by learning how to set goals;

  1. Plan and follow through on self-determined tasks;

  2. Understand their unique learning approach;

  3. Be capable of utilizing their knowledge to successfully meet their educational goals;

  4. Discover how their efforts and values connect to their goals and learning approach; and,

  5. Identify resources in their network and tap into these resources to achieve their goals.