College Possible Recruiting Mentors for Twin Cities High School Seniors

St. Paul, Minn. – Idealistic Mentors program is celebrating a successful first year and recruiting 120 new mentors for next year.

Idealistic Mentors matches college-educated adult mentors with College Possible seniors. Mentors support their mentee through college graduation. Mentees are paired with mentors based on their education and career interests. Mentors and mentees exchange weekly emails based on the Idealistic Mentors curriculum and meet at monthly Idealistic Mentor-sponsored events.

“Idealistic Mentors is a unique opportunity for working professionals to share their knowledge, expertise, and reflections with high school and college students who are excited to achieve their dreams of college completion,” said College Possible Twin Cities Associate Director Bethany Krueger.

Currently, College Possible is implementing the Idealistic Mentors program at Highland Park, Columbia Heights and Coon Rapids high schools, where 93 seniors have been paired with mentors.

“It’s great because you get to connect with high school kids. I don’t have that opportunity at my normal job,” said mentor Leah Schultz. “Learning about the challenges they’re facing and helping in any way I can is pretty amazing.”

Interested mentors must be at least 21, college-educated and live or work in the Twin Cities metro area for the first year of their mentoring relationship. To apply, candidates must fill out the College Possible Idealistic Mentors online application, attend a mentor training and complete the screening process.

“It’s really nice that my mentor will be a resource through college,” said Schultz’ mentee, College Possible and Columbia Heights High School senior Maleni Garcia, who will be attending Hamline University in the fall. “I can’t ask my parents questions about college because they didn’t go to college. It’s nice to be able to talk to someone who did.”

ABOUT COLLEGE POSSIBLE TWIN CITIES
College Possible™ Twin Cities, formerly Admission Possible, is making college admission and success possible for low-income students through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support. Launched in 2000, College Possible Twin Cities serves 7,600 low-income high school and college age students through its college access and completion programs. Nationwide, College Possible’s innovative and award-winning model serves 8,700 Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin students in 2011-12 with plans to reach 20,000 students annually in 10 locations across the country as early as 2015. According to a recent Harvard study, the program doubles a student’s chances of enrolling in college. More information at www.CollegePossible.org.