Quality mentoring leads to higher graduation rates with more earning potential

As part of our 20 Challenges in 2012 initiative to celebrate Mass Mentoring’s 20th anniversary, we are releasing a series of challenges to address key goals of mentoring in Massachusetts. Goal six is 20 ways that communities grow with mentoring. The Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring have researched 20 ways that mentoring provides positive social benefits that strengthen schools, families and communities. You can read more about their findings here.

This guest post is from Lianna Mika, an Ambassador at Boston Area Health Education Center (BAHEC).

Young people in high-quality mentoring relationships are more likely to graduate high school and pursue higher education, which leads to higher lifetime earnings. High school graduates make, on average, $130,000 more throughout  their lifetimes than their peers who didn’t graduate high school, while college graduates make $1 million more throughout their lifetimes than people who didn’t graduate from high school.

This is important for our economy as well as for the individuals. Many jobs require at least a high school diploma, if not some college. Students are put at a disadvantage if they do not finish high school, and that is where mentoring programs can help. According to the Building a Grad Nation Report by America’s Promise Alliance, America has an average high school graduation rate of 75%. If this rate was increased to 90%, 580,000 extra students from the Class of 2011 would have graduated and gone on to earn $5.3 billion more together in their lifetimes. America’s Promise Alliance estimates that this additional economic activity would lead to the creation of 37,000 jobs and an increase in our nation’s gross domestic product by $6.6 billion. This is all for one year’s worth of students who didn’t graduate high school – imagine this effect if every year 90% of students graduated high school.

The most important people in all of this are the students. Making more over their lifetimes would put them in a better economic position to live the life they want. They would be more likely to find a job and more likely to buy a house. If having a mentor can so greatly improve the lives of students who may otherwise not finish high school, then it is so important that we provide great mentors to students who need them the most and encourage these students to finish high school. They need a little extra help to get their diploma. Everyone who can mentor should consider mentoring – the benefits are far-reaching.

Source: Balfanz, R., Bridgeland, J. M., Bruce, M., & Hornig Fox, J. (2012, March). Building a grad nation: Progress and challenge in ending the high school dropout epidemic. Retrieved from http://www.americaspromise.org/our-work/grad-nation/~/media/Files/Our Work/Grad Nation/Building a Grad Nation/BuildingAGradNation2012.ashx

Minority college students with mentors reap benefits

As part of our 20 Challenges in 2012 initiative to celebrate Mass Mentoring’s 20th anniversary, we are releasing a series of challenges to address key goals of mentoring in Massachusetts. Goal six is 20 ways that communities grow with mentoring. The Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring have researched 20 ways that mentoring provides positive social benefits that strengthen schools, families and communities. You can read more about their findings here.

This guest post is from Lianna Mika, an Ambassador at the Boston Area Health Education Center.

Minority college students with mentors have higher GPAs, on average, than those that do not and are also more likely to persist in college. A program at Roxbury Community College, Mentoring for Success, has provided mostly first-generation, minority college students with mentors to help them navigate their college career and give them the support they need to do their best in school. Here are the experiences of some of the mentees of the program:

It’s great to have someone related to my major (business major and computer science minor) to talk to about my interests and to learn new things. My mentor, Matt, has been teaching me more about binary codes and it’s pretty cool. I don’t really have anybody in my family that can share in that kind of experience, or in the experience of going to college. My semesters have been really tough so it’s nice to have someone who I know cares about me and encourages me to set and reach more of my goals. I’ve learned mentoring means that not only do I learn from Matt, but he learns from me. While Matt and I share a lot of similarities, I have also learned a lot from our differences. I know my mentoring relationship is one that will go beyond college. It’s one that we can keep building on, a relationship and friendship that will last beyond my time in Mentoring for Success.
-Jerome Allen

Being a first-generation college student – as well as being Latino – has been, and is, a significant burden on my shoulders. My family immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, during the Salvadoran civil war, to look for economic opportunity, and overall a better life. After I was born in 1992, they have devoted their lives to encourage me to pursue Higher Education so I can have a better quality of life. Thanks to the RCC mentoring program, and in particular my mentor, Sterling, I have received support so I can pursue my dreams in becoming a college graduate. I am grateful that I had a support system during my first year of college. I feel more comfortable in my studies, and with my mentor’s help and guidance, I can find my place as part of this community. Thanks to the mentors in my life, I am graduating this year and will continue my studies at a four-year university.
-Daniel Alfaro

Entering college as a first-generation college student was a bit overwhelming at first. However, once I was able to get into the swing of things, it was not nearly as daunting as I had originally envisioned.  When I heard about Mentoring for Success, I thought to myself, “Wow! I could only further improve by becoming a part of this.” As a result of my mentoring experience, I began a wonderful journey of self-exploration, understanding, and endurance. There were times when I began to feel discouraged and just needed someone to talk to. I knew that there was always someone on campus, whether it was mentoring staff or my mentor, Jenene, that I could trust, vent to, and help me triumph over the many obstacles that were in my way. The Mentoring for Success program truly helped me better trust myself and all that I am capable of doing. I no longer feel that I have to do everything on my own. The program also served as an outlet, a source of support and encouragement, and a way of making college FUN! I genuinely LOVED my experience with this program!
-Shanetta Slayton

As you can see, these minority college students all benefitted from meeting with their mentors and felt that they were prepared to stay in college and to do their best. College is a big transition for many students, and the support mentees receive from their mentors can mean the difference between staying in school and doing as well as possible or feeling overwhelmed and possibly suffering in this new experience.

Quality mentoring alleviates future costs on social services

As part of our 20 Challenges in 2012 initiative to celebrate Mass Mentoring’s 20th anniversary, we are releasing a series of challenges to address key goals of mentoring in Massachusetts. Goal six is 20 ways that communities grow with mentoring. The Highland Street Corps Ambassadors of Mentoring have researched 20 ways that mentoring provides positive social benefits that strengthen schools, families and communities. You can read more about their findings here.

This first guest post is from Lianna Mika, an Ambassador at the Boston Area Health Education Center.

Did you know that for every $1 high-quality mentoring programs spend, states save $2.72 in future social service costs, including counseling and the cost of future public assistance.

The costs saved are helpful for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and preventing a need for future social services is beneficial for young people who enter into mentoring relationships.

Youth in high-quality mentoring relationships show improvement in multiple areas, including in school behaviors and attitudes toward alcohol and drugs. These improvements lead to better adjusted, more successful young people who will go on to personal success.

The young people who benefit most from a mentoring relationship are those who may not have many caring adults in their lives who are able to push them to be their best. A quality mentoring relationship often helps these young people make the most of their potential and gives them the self-esteem they need to succeed.

According to the Mass Mentoring Counts 2010 report compiled by Mass Mentoring Partnership, programs spend an average of $1,696 per youth in a mentoring relationship. In 2010, there were 22,881 youth in high-quality Massachusetts mentoring programs affiliated with Mass Mentoring Partnership. This means that all of the MMP affiliated programs in Massachusetts spent around $38,806,176 in 2010. If we calculated the return on that investment in saved future social service costs, Massachusetts will save $105,552,799 because youth in 2010 were placed in high-quality mentoring relationships. With the state of our current economy, any dollar saved is helpful; the $105,552,799 saved because of mentoring can be used for other needs throughout the Commonwealth.

There are still almost 3,000 youth on waitlists for mentors in Massachusetts. Every young person deserves a caring person in their life. The Commonwealth will also save money by placing these youth in mentoring relationships. Think about becoming a mentor today and making a difference in the life of a young person.

Source: UMass Donahue Institute Research and Evaluation Group. (2010). Retrieved from Mass Mentoring Counts 2010