The Whitman Mentor Program’s anticipated event of the year, the Mentees to Campus Carnival, takes place Friday, Feb. 20 from 12-2 p.m. This event celebrates the special bond between Whitman student mentors and their Walla Walla elementary and junior high school mentees.
“This is a big, fun event,” said Whitman Mentor Intern, senior Amy Strauss. “The kids love it. It’s their one chance to get to come to Whitman during the school year.”
The Carnival’s main purpose is to provide a day for the Mentor Program mentees to interact with other mentees and with their mentors, exploring the mentors’ schooling and living environment. Mentees get to leave school early, play games and have a fun social day.
“Mentees see that they’re part of a bigger thing, a big group,” said Strauss.
“Since mentors only visit mentees at their school, this gives the kids a chance to come to their mentor’s school,” said Assistant Student Director, sophomore Rachel Sicheneder.
The Carnival reveals the Whitman Mentor Program’s success, reflected in the growing number of attendees. The first Mentee to Campus days was attended by 24 mentor/mentee pairs as compared to the 170 pairs this year. Mentor Program interns predict that over 300 Whitman students and 180 local Walla Walla kids will attend this year. This makes it the most successful event to date, largely due to the addition of two new Walla Walla public schools to the program.
“We’re expecting about 500 people total, mentors and mentees,” said Strauss. “We need lots of volunteers at booths, since mentors will be taking their mentees around.”
As of now, the Mentor Program includes eight public schools, which includes two middle schools and six elementary schools.
The Whitman Mentor Program, which started 15 years ago, seeks to help “high risk” students by finding positive student role models to pair them with.
“It’s a broad definition,” said Strauss, regarding how “high risk” youth is defined. “[It includes] anything from a hard home life to socially shy students to those with behavioral problems. Anyone who can use a positive adult model is considered for the program.”
The Walla Walla elementary and middle school faculty and administration nominate students who they think could use a role model, and students are paired with Whitman mentors.
“We try to have schools nominate kids who need mentors more, since there are so many who apply,” said Sicheneder.
While the Whitman Mentor Program does seek to improve student’s academic success, the mentors focus primarily on engaging mentees socially and creating a strong, consistent bond.
“For most mentees it’s mostly about having someone to play with, to pay attention to them, since they don’t really get as much of that at school or at home. We want [mentors] to be a friend,” said Sicheneder.
“The mentor program is all about one-on-one relationships,” said Strauss. “[Mentees]form bonds with a positive adult model.”
To volunteer for the Whitman Mentees to Campus Carnival, contact the Whitman Mentor Program via e-mail at [email protected].
“We always need volunteers,” said Sicheneder. “We have more booths this year, and more people.” It’s going to be huge.”
