Titans Mentoring Titans is looking for students to serve as mentors to our incoming class. The program is a partnership with Mentor Collective, which matches mentors and mentees based on common interests and background. Mentors must have sophomore status or above and be in good academic standing. If you advise or teach a student that you think would make a good mentor, please encourage them to register and take the brief matching survey.
We need a minimum of 125 mentors to provide adequate support for our 375 mentees. Our students value the help you gave them to succeed in their difficult first year, and many of them jump at the chance to “pay it forward” by sharing what they learned with a new student.
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the program:
- Who Can be a Mentee? Mentees are first-time college students (not including dual credit) joining us for the fall semester. The program does not provide mentoring for other student groups, such as transfers.
- How do TMT mentors help mentees? TMT mentors help new first-year students adjust to college by involving them in the social life of the campus, helping them navigate university processes, connecting them with resources, and reporting problems that require additional support. They do not provide academic tutoring.
- How much time do mentors commit? Typically, less than an hour a month per mentee. Some mentors/mentees choose to touch base by text or video chat to fit mentoring into their busy lives. Others become friends and spend a lot of time together. It’s really up to them how and how much they communicate, The number of mentees is up to the mentor; most choose to mentor 2-3 students.
- Are mentors paid? No–mentors are “paying forward” the support they often received informally in their first year. That said, the experience of being a mentor is a valued by employers because it speaks to collaboration, communication, and leadership skills.
- What support do mentors get? All mentors complete a one-hour training module before being assigned a mentee. The program is also assigned a point-person at Mentor Collective who they can contact by phone or sms with questions or concerns.
If you or your students have other questions, feel free to contact Lee Kahan (lkahan@iusb.edu), who directs the program. More information is also available on the Titans Mentoring Titans website.