Minds Matter volunteers are college graduates at varying stages of their careers looking to make a difference in their community by directly impacting a high school student’s chance at a college education.

Minds Matter utilizes a 2:2 mentor-mentee model: mentors work with their student alongside one other adult mentor. Every week, quads work through the Minds Matter curriculum, which guides students through exercises to develop the hard and soft skills they need to succeed in college. Mentors commit to following their student throughout their three years in the program and directly impact their mentee’s chance at a college education.

The mentor role is all about strong relationships. In order to effectively guide, challenge, and celebrate their mentee, mentors exhibit and develop a few key characteristics:

• Your relationship is built over time, in and out of session, but the majority of your interactions happens at Saturday session. Therefore, showing up and being present at session is the baseline for your effectiveness as a mentor. Mentors are required to attend at least 80% of Saturday sessions during the course of the school year.

• Acting as a role model and caring adult for your mentee requires active listening, empathy, commitment, and integrity. Furthermore, it’s critical that mentors follow through on their commitments made to their mentee. Unfulfilled promises negatively impact relationships, but especially those with young people. Mentors act as role models and mentor not only their own student, but also all of the students on their team.

• While there are no required meetings outside of Saturday session, we ask mentors to be responsive to texts/emails from their student during the week, and actively check in from time to time.

• All volunteers act as representatives of Minds Matter in and out of session, and are asked to uphold the organization’s values and core beliefs.

The program directors (PDs) share the agenda for the session. In the sophomore and junior years, the primary focus will be building the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate the college application process. In the senior year, the mentors and their mentees will research colleges, apply for scholarships, discuss financial aid, etc. The PDs lead the Saturday sessions and support the mentors and mentees.