Join us as a volunteer mentor to help struggling, low-income college students find success!! Click "Respond" and we will direct you to the application. Mentors can provide short-term career information or longer term guidance overcoming obstacles to graduation.
The Mentoring Project is a new e-mentoring program partnering with Seattle Colleges to support struggling college students. Join a small team of dedicated mentors who have these essential qualities:
- Non-judgmental and accepting of differences.
- Reliable, consistent and punctual.
- Good listening and communication skills.
- Ability to take apart complex problems and identify solutions and strategies.
- Degree from a college, university or certificate or training program.
- Willing to share expertise about one’s own career or academic path if and when relevant.
Preferred qualities and experience might include having struggled to stay in college, first-generation in family to attend college, bi-lingual and/or having identified as a part of a minority group while attending college or university. Please meet some of our current mentors at www.mentoringproject.org. Overall time commitment is about one hour a week with your student and two hours a month for training and chat group with other mentors.
Mentors:
- Commit to working with your student(s) for at least one academic term; or if just for career mentoring typically 1-3 sessions.
- Check-in weekly with the student by email, text, Zoom or other electronic methods.
- Respect the student for "who they are" and strive to better understand and appreciate the student’s background in regard to race, religion, culture or economic circumstances or other differences.
- Listen to student's needs, serve as a resource about campus and community support and services, encourage your student to believe in their own capacity to succeed and check-in on their progress seeking out and implementing solutions to obstacles.
Specifically, mentors:
- Assist your student each academic term to complete or update:
- Determine specific goals to serve as benchmarks for measuring progress, such as:
- Registration for the next term.
- Establish an academic plan, as necessary.
- Submit financial aid applications.
- Engage in campus activities and programs.
- Determine specific goals to serve as benchmarks for measuring progress, such as:
- Identify barriers and establish top goals.
- Provide information and resources about campus and community services.
- Encourage self-advocacy & determination skills.
- Follow-up.
As part of The Mentoring Project Mentor Team, you agree to:
- Attend an on-boarding session and one monthly (one-hour) discussion group with other mentors to review and share information and experiences.
- Submit a brief electronic monthly progress report.
- Consult program coordinator as needed to seek advice or should problems arise.
- Maintain student’s confidentiality.
Please click "Respond" and we will follow up with application materials.
