Mentor a Scholar

Our mentoring program provides a sustained, community-based network of personal support, information and resources to BCS High Hopes Scholars and their families, to help each student complete college successfully and increase their future opportunities.

By matching students with a mentor who has a college degree and understands the challenges and rewards of college, we provide a missing piece on their path to success.

Why Mentor?

According to the National Mentoring Partnership, research confirms that quality mentoring relationships have powerful positive effects on young people in a variety of personal, academic, and professional situations. Many of our scholars have shared that their mentor relationships have been very helpful to them as they navigated through their college experiences.

Requirements of a Mentor

We ask our mentors to commit to at least four years as a mentor and expect that each mentor will:

  • Be a college graduate
  • Arrange at least two face-to-face meetings or outings with the Scholar per year, if possible.
  • Initiate contact with the Scholar approximately once a month during the school year (text, email, or by phone depending on what you work out with your scholar).
  • Attend the Scholarship Awards Ceremony, Summer Orientation, and Mentor-Scholar Mixer in June, and Match Meetings in summer.

How to Get Started

  • Attend a mentor information session. Find a list of upcoming sessions here.
  • Fill out the Mentor Interest Form
  • College Success Advisor Linda Osuorji will schedule a face-to-face interview
  • If we decide to move forward, you will be asked to submit two references
  • For the safety of our scholars, we ask all potential mentors to be cleared by a background check.

Additional Resources

Read our Mentor FAQ here.

View our Mentor Resources here.

If you have questions, please contact our College Success Advisor, Linda Osuorji, at linda@berkeleyscholars.org or by calling (510) 900-9541.