Evaluation of a Training Program for Student Mentors

Abstract

Your Life. Your Story. (YLYS) is a summer camp in which Latino teens aged 13-17 spend a week choosing expressive, physical, and resilience-building activities in which they participate alongside college-aged mentors. Indiana Latino teens are 60% more likely to be depressed than their White peers. This program is preventative in that it builds resilience—the ability to bounce back after hardship—in these teens, which decreases the likelihood of developing depression. My portion of this larger project focuses on the systematic analysis and improvement of the mentoring. From the first year to the second year of this program, I helped decrease the number of issues with the mentoring by developing a comprehensive mentor-training program. Before camp, the YLYS leaders and I facilitated four training days focused on adolescent behavior and cultural awareness. I created a manual complete with tips and tools for effective mentoring. After submitting a grant to fund this year’s camp, we received helpful feedback about the training. Though it was creative and useful, I am currently working to revise the manual to present the teens less one-dimensionally. My next step is to deepen the conversation about culture in relation to the mentors and mentees. The mentors were more prepared for what to expect at camp this year and how to act around the teens than previously. I then spent my full year in the UROP program managing the mentors and planning monthly outings with the teens of the program. This direct management over the mentors taught me to appreciate the challenges of scheduling. Not all the mentors lived up to the responsibility of being a mentor for a full year, and others ended up surprising me by their commitment. My next step is to create an administrative manual to guide the next mentor manager.