PVCC Offers Mentorship Program

Aleena Haidari, staff writer

Coming to college and pursuing higher education is a rewarding milestone to each student, but it can also be overwhelming. Many students, who graduate high school and seek higher education, can be overwhelmed by the complex system of education and the transition from high school to college.

The Mentorship Program was officially established two years ago, which provides guidance and assistance to newly graduated high school students. 

Thanks to the faculty and staff at PVCC, who are generous to volunteer their time to mentor the newly high school graduates. In the 2018-2019 academic year, there were 60 PVCC faculty members who were matched to 120 students. Each mentor was paired with two mentees to share their experiences and help them grow as a person.

Since this program has no specific guidelines of how mentors should assist students, assistance and mentorship varies from one pair to another. For instance, some of the mentors have taught their mentees how to drive and some have helped them to grow in their career while others have helped them academically.

These examples demonstrate that mentorship varies from one pair to another and mentors mainly focus to accommodate their mentees’ needs. 

When asked about the guidelines and requirements of having a mentor, David Lerman, director of Student Success and Retention and coordinator for Mentorship Program, said that it is “contingent upon the allocation of next year’s college budget.”

“If the Mentorship Program receives funding for next year, they would match newly graduated high school, who intend to attend PVCC, over the Summer to be prepared for the Fall Semester. Therefore, when they start their first year at PVCC, each pair of students would already be matched with a mentor to make their transition easy,” said Lerman.

When asked about the significance and benefits of this program in their life, similar sentiments resonated among the mentees. For instance, Elizabeth Phan, who was a first year student at PVCC and had benefited from this program said, “My mentor is Dr. Tamara Whyte, and she has been extremely helpful both academically and socially. Although I was nervous at first because I had never done mentorship before, but we instantly connected and had a lot in common. She also helped me to come out of my comfort zone by getting involved in clubs and on campus. This program has helped me grow as a person and has provided the essential tools to be successful.” 

Similarly, Waheda Haidari, who was a first year PVCC student and utilized this program nodded in agreement. She said, “My mentor has been a great help in my academic accomplishments and success at PVCC. Since my mentor is fluent in German, he has helped me tremendously with my German class. He has also been very helpful in regards to finding me internships and connecting me to people so I can build up my network.”

Later, Lerman added that this mentorship mutually benefits students and the faculty to expand their knowledge of each other. For instance, when students reminisce back to their college career and people who have helped them grow as a person, mentors are certainly mentioned.

Mentors can have a tremendous impact on their students’ lives and help them be successful and overcome any constraints. This engagement with students in a non-academic environment also helps professors to learn more about their students and share their experience on a personal level. These engagements help both parties to develop deeper understandings of each other and mutually benefit. 

In the academic year 2019-2020, the mentorship program has changed their criteria and number of students they mentor. For instance, in the past two years, they were mentoring 120 students; whereas now it has reduced to 25 students.

All of these mentees are enrolled as full-time students who are working on campus or are in the process of finding jobs. This is a new variation to the program which aims to help students both academically and socially.