College and University Students: volunteer to be a mentor with us! No experience required.
Why be a mentor?
Give back
Rural high school students in BC are often underserved by traditional outreach efforts by colleges and universities, as the nearest school is typically very far away. As a result, many rural students do not have equal access to information about applying to schools, career pathways, and educational opportunities. We think that college and university student mentors can provide this information in a way that is fun, personal and highly impactful.
What’s in it for you?
- eMentoring is low commitment, high reward: Participate in the program on your own time and make a difference in the life of a rural youth.
- Learn skills such as online communication, working with youth, handling difficult situations, cultural competency and building trust and rapport.
- Get exclusive access to unique professional development opportunities.
- Build your resume: We love to help our mentors out by providing volunteer hour verifications and professional references (for jobs, co-ops, med school, grad school, etc.) – just ask!
How the program works
What you’ll do
As a mentor for ReMBC, you will be helping rural youth explore their options for after high school. You’ll be asked to share your experiences, give advice, and provide support to rural high school students.
Your role will include the following:
- Learn about how one-one-one mentoring works
- You will be matched to one mentee at a time. The ReMBC staff will match you to your mentee based on a profile you will fill out.
- You and your mentee will (likely) work through activities provided by the program on topics like well-being, post secondary, and careers.
- You will communicate with your mentee by writing messages to each other through an online platform. These are not instant messages, so you can send messages whenever you want – as long as you respond to your mentee’s messages within 3 days.
- Expect to spend 2-3 hours per week writing to your mentee and doing the activities.
Several times a year, mentors will have the opportunity to volunteer to join a Zoom call with a group of rural students. You will share your journey to your current program, answer questions, and provide your perspective on life after high school graduation. All mentors are required to volunteer for at least one visit per year.
Who would you be mentoring?
Mentees in this program are attending high school outside the lower-mainland, Victoria, and Kelowna metro- areas of BC.
Most are participating as a requirement for their careers courses, though some participate voluntarily. Relationships with mentees who are participating through careers courses usually only last for the duration of the course (a 10-week quarter or one semester), so you may be matched to one mentee for the first half of the year (September through February), then a different mentee for the rest of the year (February through the end of June). Mentees who are participating voluntarily can choose the length of their relationship.
Our mentees have a mixed bag of career and educational interests; though we do have mentees interested in STEM and humanities, we also have mentees interested in the fine arts, entertainment, and trades. We try to match you to your mentee based on shared career interests, hobbies, experiences, and personal preferences. However, our mentees’ interests are typically more diverse than our mentors, so expect to have at least one match who is on a different path than yours. For example, you might be paired with a student who wants to be a welder, millwright, mechanic, or who wants to enter the workforce right after graduation. Think of this as an opportunity to learn from someone completely different than you. You’ll get experience communicating with new and different demographics – a skill that will almost certainly be valuable in your future career.
Eligibility
Mentors must meet the following criteria:
- Currently enrolled in a post secondary program in BC, or if you are studying outside BC you must have graduated from a BC high school or have attended a BC post-secondary school for at least a year.
- Able to mentor until the end of the high school year which ends on June 30th.
- Able to devote 2-3 hours per week to their mentee. These hours are flexible and can be completed on your own time.
We are looking for mentors with diverse goals and experiences, who will be able to meet the wide-ranging needs of the mentees in our program. You don’t have to be a perfect student or have your life figured out – as long as you are willing to share your mistakes and advice with your mentees.
Questions about eligibility? Ask us e.mentoring@ubc.ca
How to apply
- 1. Complete our application form
- 2. Background check
- 3. Program training
- 4. After you have completed training
- Take our short course that introduces you to the program and your role as a mentor. If, after taking the course, you decide that this opportunity is not for you, you will be able to exit the course before applying to the program.
- Answer a few questions about your motivations and eligibility.
- Complete your mentoring profile: if you are accepted as a mentor, your mentees will be able to view this portion of the form.
If you are accepted as a mentor, we will help you obtain a BC Criminal Record Check, or you can provide us with a copy of an existing one.
- Unsatisfactory results of your Criminal Record Check could result in dismissal from the program.
- ReMBC reserves the right to ask for professional references if we deem it necessary.
If you are accepted as a mentor, you must complete online training on your own time. Training includes:
- Mentor and program training: developing appropriate and meaningful relationships with youth online, handling difficult issues, and program logistics. (2 hours – must be completed before you can be matched)
- Rural cultural competency: how to appropriately connect with someone from a rural community. (30 minutes – must be completed before you can be matched)
- Cultural Safety Training: understand the historical and cultural influences that shape your mentee’s experiences, and how to make them feel safe and accepted. (4-6 hours – must be completed within 30 days of acceptance into the program)
We will invite you to create an account on our online platform, and you will be eligible to be matched. The eMentoring staff will match you to a mentee when someone compatible becomes available.
We need to let everyone know that we’re no longer accepting mentor applications until next year.