Friends of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School’s “It Takes a Village” College Success Program Launches Alumni and Community Mentoring
On July 19, 2014, Friends of CRLS (FOCRLS)’ It Takes a Village College Success Program launched its new Alumni and Community mentoring component with a mentee training at the Cambridge Public Library. The goal of this program is to improve the college and career success of recent Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) alumni by matching them with more experienced alumni and Cambridge community members who share their career interests.
Thus far, more than 60 recent CRLS alumni have expressed interest in being matched with a mentor. With help from ‘the village,’ including Starbucks, Finagle a Bagel, CRLS Alumni Association co-chair and FOCRLS board member David Vogel, Roland Gibson (Rindge Tech ’55), FOCRLS President Elaine Schear, and Treasurer Jamie Sabino, prospective mentees received training from the Mentoring Program Coordinator, Rachel Deleveaux (CRLS ’97).
The training highlighted how to get the most from the mentoring relationship, program policies and procedures, and role playing conversations to maximize their usefulness. With a BA from UMass Amherst and a M.Ed. from Suffolk University in Educational Administration, Deleveaux spoke of her own experience as both mentee and mentor, stating that “Access to well- trained mentors has been a life-altering source of support for me in my own college and career success thus far, and now I have the opportunity to make it possible to provide this resource to my fellow alumni coming up in my footsteps. I know the challenges they are facing are formidable, with college graduation rates running between 15-35% in the nearby MA public colleges. I am confident that with the help of our talented and experienced alumni and Cambridge community, we can make a difference in our young people’s lives.”
Mentors and mentees commit to spending time together once a month for a year, and to be in touch by phone or electronically weekly in between. If you are considering being a mentor, please visit the FOCRLS Alumni and Community Mentoring program web page,
http://focrls.org/mentors/, where a link to the mentor application is located, email
[email protected], or phone the FOCRLS office at 857.235.9290.
Photos:
Top: Alumni and Community Mentoring Program Coordinator, Rachel Deleveaux, discussing strategies for unblocking conversations with mentors.
Bottom: Mentees Lamia (Lily) Sater and Thelora Marseille enjoying the delicious lunch provided by the Cambridge community.