Tap into your pool of college students
- 1. Best Practices for Utilizing College Students as Mentors Tap into your pool of College Students
- 3. Best Practices I. History of TeamMates II. Benefits of using college mentors III. Identifying the right college mentors IV. “Best Practice” guide
- 5. History of TeamMates The mission of TeamMates is to positively impact the world by inspiring youth to reach their full potential. The TeamMates Program began in 1991 with the vision of University of Nebraska Head Football Coach Tom Osborne and his wife Nancy. The program began with twenty-two football players who met with middle school students in the Lincoln Public Schools.
- 6. History of TeamMates What did these twenty-two football model to these twenty-two middle school students? 1. Work hard - Grades 2. Commitment - Attendance 3. Character - Behavior
- 7. History of TeamMates 21 out of the 22 mentees graduated from high school 18 out of the 21 mentees pursued a post- secondary education 1/3 of those mentees eventually became mentors
- 8. TeamMates Now Now, we have over 7,000 matches Over 90% of our mentors are community volunteers 1/3 of our mentees each year pursue a post- secondary education 15 post-secondary institutions in Nebraska and Iowa have indicated that their students would like to mentor youth
- 9. History of TeamMates We utilize less than 1% of college mentors in Nebraska AND Iowa so the question is…… How do we tap into your pool of college students?
- 10. The Benefits of College Mentors
- 11. Benefits of college mentors What do our youth need?
- 12. Benefits of college mentors Research has shown that HOPE, ENGAGEMENT, and WELLBEING are positioned as actionable targets and indicators of success, with links to grades, achievement scores, retention, and future employment.
- 13. Benefits of college mentors College mentors provide youth with…. College students are close enough in age to youth they mentor to establish strong and positive friendships. College students are able to equip their mentee with the skills and knowledge necessary to attend college. Through mentoring, youth can see college as a “real life” learning experience. College students are fun! Support Positive Influence Motivation Confidence Friendshi p Encouragement Hope Engagement
- 14. Identifying the Right College Mentors
- 15. Identifying the right college mentors -Tutoring and mentoring youth are the most common volunteer activities among college student volunteers -44.1% of college students engage in regular volunteering -Since 2001, the overall percent of college students who volunteer has increased from 27.1% to 30.2%, exceeding the volunteer rate for the general adult population of 28.8%. Mock Mentor Scenarios
- 16. Identifying the right college mentors Amy Brad o First- semester Freshman o English major o Sorority o 17 credit hours o 3.8 GPA o Second- semester Freshman o Engineerin g major o First- generation o Received an MIP in the fall Carly o First- semester Sophomore o Education major o Honors student o Has a boyfriend Doug o Second- semester Sophomore o Football player (starter) o 2.1 GPA o Texas native
- 17. Identifying the right college mentors 1. Amy, Brad, Carly, and Doug i. Pros and cons ii. Key attributes iii. Support needed
- 19. Recruitment • Know your numbers • Be strategic in focusing your recruitment efforts • Provide opportunity to complete application process at recruitment • Have current college mentors present
- 20. Training/ongoing training 2 + hours required Emphasis on: Commitment of time—hours and years Communication with program coordinator Social media/confidentiality policy Emphasis on boundaries
- 21. On-campus support/liaison Who could fill this role? Role: on campus recruitment support of mentors on campus group meetings and communication group match activities on campus networking for transportation etc.
- 22. Transition Even before matching, make sure mentee understands the mentor will be shorter term- they may have multiple mentors Planning for transition is critical Have replacement mentor in the ‘wings’
- 23. Tap into your pool of college students University of Nebraska-Lincoln University of Nebraska-Omaha Peru State College Chadron State College University of Northern Iowa Buena Vista University ? University of Nebraska- Kearney ? Hastings College ? York College ? Concordia University ? Creighton University ? Wayne State College ? Grace College ? Bellevue University
- 25. 10,000 TeamMates Mentors by 2015! Tap into your pool of College Students