Mentorship Program

For my major secondary project, I'm going to start a mentorship program among my students on the new campus. I already pitched the idea to my students on their last day of class and I got an overwhelming response. The idea for this project emerged as a response to the particular needs of my school, but I'm sure it can be adapted to fit any kind of situation at any school.

I'm writing up a more detailed rationale, but this is how I pitched it to the students in class.

At the beginning of last semester, how did you feel being at Shuangfu campus?
[Shuangfu is the new extension campus of my university. It's an hour and a half away from the old campus and Chongqing city. They sent all the Freshmen and only the Freshmen there this year]
What were the most difficult things to adjust to?
Who could you ask for advice?
Do you have many friends who are not Freshmen?

Next semester, there will be a whole new group of freshmen and they will feel just like you.

Shuangfu English Majors Friendship Program 

- Sophomores make friends with and mentor the Freshmen next year.

- Each sophomore will have 2-4 freshmen [Since almost all my students signed up for it, it will be 1-2 Freshmen per Sophomore]

- Just English majors on Shuangfu campus [Because there's no way I can manage more. There are 200 Freshmen English majors I teach now. Next year I will have another 200]

- Have events every month or every 2 months.

- Each class will have a “sister class” [Each class has its own specific major like "Mechanical Engineering English," and they take all their classes together as a class. Next year, there will be the same classes]

- Each class will have a representative.

- I will be in charge of collecting applications and putting students together.

Your job as a mentor

- Make friends with the Freshmen

- Be a good role model

- Give advice

- Communicate with them

- Come to meetings and events

- Hang out with the freshmen, get together with other mentors and their freshmen.

- It’s not difficult. It won’t take much of your time. The freshmen might choose not to talk to you much at all and that’s okay. Just give them an opportunity to make friends with you.

Why should you do it?

- Meet new people

- Make new friends

- Have fun

- Build leadership skills

- Build confidence

- Share your knowledge

- Help someone 

- It will look good on your resume

Representatives/Ambassadors

- One for each class – 5 Sophomores, 5 Freshmen.

- Elected by the class.

- They keep track of who is with whom.

- They can organize whole class events with Freshmen and classmates – dinners, sports, games, field trips, movies.

- They work with classmates to decide on events.

My job as leader

- I will be in charge of who is assigned with whom.

- If you want to switch your Freshmen.

- If you are having trouble with a Freshman.

- If you are concerned about the well-being of a Freshman.

- The Freshmen will also come to me about issues about their mentors.

- I will make the rules

- I will organize whole group events

- Next semester or whenever I leave, I will give my position to a student. You will elect him/her.

Why?

- Shuangfu is a very different place from Nan’an campus [the old campus where I live].

- You are all out here by yourselves without much contact with teachers, upperclassmen, the city.

- You have to stick together and make a community

- The Freshmen next year will be just like you and they will have a difficult time adjusting. They will need help and guidance.

- But all the teachers and upperclassmen are too far away. They need your help.

Why?

- Build community, friendship, family.

- Help each other

- Learn together

- Share knowledge and skills

- Grow up together

- Build leadership skills – learning to be a leader is very important

- Have FUN

Moving to Nan'an Campus

- When you move to Nan’an campus when you are juniors, you will be strangers to the seniors. They might be too busy finding jobs and studying.

- Nan’an will be new and strange to you just like Shuangfu. You won’t have many people to help you adjust, but you’ll have each other.

- Then, when you are seniors, the students you mentored will move to Nan’an, but they won’t have as much trouble adjusting as you because they will have friends to show them the way: you.

- You will be busy, but just being there and being a familiar face will help them very much.

- You will make a big difference in their lives and in their college experience.

Beyond College

- Even after you graduate, the students that you mentor will know you and keep in touch with you.

- You can give them advice about finding jobs and building skills.

[Networking and Guanxi are essential to Chinese professional culture. Who you know is more important than most other things. And, in a few years, the job market in China is likely to be strained judging by the slowdown in economic growth] 

Sustainability

- Next year, I will ask the Freshmen to do the same thing with the next group of Freshmen.

- Hopefully every year, the program will continue so that the seniors mentor the juniors, the juniors mentor the sophomores, and the sophomores mentor the freshmen.

- Each year, a president will be elected for each grade – seniors, juniors, sophomores.

Join the Program

- The best thing about this program is that it’s easy. You don’t have to do much at all. 

- It won’t take up much of your time next semester.

- All you have to do is make some friends.

- Fill out an application, answer some questions. I’ll do my best to find Freshmen with common interests for you.

[I felt that focusing on the "easiness" and casualness of the program would encourage more participation]