I had the privilege of attending a meeting earlier this week to catch up with 3 of my own TN Promise mentees and 3 other mentees that we sitting at the same table. They are all enrolled in classes at Roane State Community College this semester. One is going into education, one accounting/business and one is studying music with classes at RSCC Harriman. Two are looking at something in the physical therapy and medical fields and one is undecided. One of my mentees that I did not get the chance to connect with at the meeting is enrolled in the welding program at TCAT. I started out with 5 mentees. One was accepted to the University of Tennessee and choosing to attend UT did not qualify for the TN Promise (community colleges and technical schools do). The other four made it from high school to college with the help of the TN Promise scholarship!
There is one thing that is critical to the TN Promise scholarship for students – Mentors. The 2015/2016 school year was my first experience as a TN Promise mentor. It actually took about an hour a month to be a mentor. There were 3 mandatory meetings; the first was mentor training, the second to meet with my mentees before their senior school year was over, and the final meeting was the one this week to see their transition to college students! Between the first and third meetings it was my honor to help my mentees navigate their transition by sending emails and texts to remind them of important deadlines and check on their plans to complete their community service hours in time. I had all the information I needed in my mentor handbook.
As of Wednesday October 19th Cumberland County had 36 of the 75 mentors needed for the high school seniors that will be graduating in May. Only 48%. There are a minimum of 39 additional mentors needed by November 20th to ensure that each of the graduates have someone outside their family cheering them on. I will be doing it again. It takes about an hour a month. Will you join me?
You can learn more about the requirements for mentors and apply to be a TN Promise mentor at this link: https://tnachieves.org/mentors/requirements/
Once you are registered as a mentor, your choice for your mentor training meeting is November 17, 2016 at noon OR January 26, 2017 at 5:30pm in the Roane State Community College Cumberland Campus Community Room.
I look forward to seeing you at a mentor training meeting!
