Be A Mentor

Providing academic help
Providing career assistance exploration
Providing technological support (assist students in conducting searches for information on the Web, encouraging use of the Web for career exploration and business issues)

It is common to hear the mentor described as:

Coach
Guide
Role model
Advocate
Friend

Any and all of the following are important activities that mentors provide in the lives of their students:

ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Encouraging academic success by showing the benefits of staying in school and evaluating educational choices.

ROLE MODELING
Helping students see and strive for broader horizons and possibilities than they may see in their present environments.

ATTENTION AND SUPPORT
Mentors can be the person who listens, guides and introduces students to the resources on the net. Mentors provide dependable and consistent attention and support.

ACCOUNTABILITY
A commitment made to responding to each other in a timely manner via email. This accountability has several benefits:

Sets a good example for students to see and emulate
Cements trust between mentor and student
Creates mutual expectations that can be met

What Mentors are Not

There is no expectation that volunteer participants in mentoring programs will take on the roles of PARENT, professional COUNSELOR, or SOCIAL WORKER. But some of their traits will also be a part of the mentor's role: Listening, nurturing, supporting and advising. Through the mentors' sustained caring, interest, and acceptance, students may begin to think of themselves as worthy of this attention. They may apply this new, stronger sense of self-confidence to other relationships and experiences