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Mentoring
Someone once  described
the ideal university as "a student sitting on one end of the
log interacting with the professor on the other." Expensive
private universities pride themselves on having a high faculty to
student ratio. Often large schools like the University of Washington
can become increasingly impersonal or even intimidating. Wouldn't
it be great if the student had opportunity to discuss student life
with someone who has already been there?
Gateway Student Development provides these opportunities through
a mentoring program.
It currently has three tracks:
Group Mentoring: We link a small group of students with a
trained mentor who facilitates the students developing a personal
understanding of who they are and where they are headed. Our goal
is to assist the student in discovering values, motivations, and
relational strengths that help shape their personal life direction.
The students will write out a personal expression of their life
direction that addresses the following questions:
- What kind of person do I want to become?
- What kind of influence do I bring to
others in life and work?
- What are the motivations that keep
me going?
 On-Going
Mentoring: This is a personalized
continuation of the Group Mentoring, only done on an individual
basis. The student will meet with a mentor to interact on issues
that are raised while trying to apply his or her personal goals
to college life.
Casual Mentoring: We
link students with volunteers from the Seattle business and professional
community in a similar field. The goal is to bridge the gap between
the academic arena and professional life. The desired outcomes include:
- Give the student a glimpse of the
demands within a career
- Create a context for dialogue and
questions
- Provide opportunities for the "mentor"
to better understand and invest in the next generation through
sharing of life lessons learned along the way
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