Become a Mentor to Bosana Student

As a mentor you are expected to be a positive role model, a friend, a coach, an advisor, a self-esteem builder, and a career counselor. All successful mentoring relationships have a few key elements in common: clear and honest communication, realistic objectives, and a structured plan for success. A mentoring relationship is a partnership, with both people showing respect and support for each other. You recognize the magnitude of the responsibility that you accepted in choosing to work with youth and agree to interact appropriately with your mentee according to the highest ethical standards at all times. Objectives of the Program Mentors should support and understand mentees, their needs, goals and objectives. They should foster open communication and dialogue. Majority of students in Bosana Foundation programs are orphans or coming from a single parent home, the reason for this mentorship program was to match them with someone who has similar interest and who would provide moral support for the students, be their friend and listen to them when they need it. We have two-tiered system for our mentors: General mentors – provide moral support to their mentee, they might not have similar background but they are interested in well-being of our students and they help them deal with everyday college stress. Their role is that of a friend and listener. Specialized mentors – besides moral support, specialized mentors have similar background to that of their mentee. They might share college majors, hobbies or work-related experience. These mentors will provide more focused guidance during the college years. Mentors and mentees typically enter their relationships with assumed expectations of each other. Many have been irritated and disappointed because expectations weren’t met or even discussed. To prevent this and help you with your planning, we have provided some reasonable expectations. Responsibility of a Mentor A clear understanding of the mentoring process will go a long way toward assuring success. We strongly recommend that Mentors and Mentees clearly communicate expectations early in the relationship. This conversation should be part of your initial contact, so that each party understands responsibilities he or she is agreeing to. Your role: • Initiate contact with the mentee • Be a good listener and support the mentee to the best of your ability. Remember, in the initial phase mentee may appear to be hesitant and unappreciative of your relationship. The mentee will need some time to get to know you and realize your sincerity about being a friend. Be patient! • Set realistic expectations and goals for your mentee when it comes to communication. Establish how you can reach your mentee: by phone, email or social network sites. Bosana Foundation sets the minimum for the Mentor: correspondence once a week or 4 times a month, but Mentors are encouraged to set their own time and frequency based on their availability and expectations of the mentee. • Maintain confidentiality. Mentors act in the best interest of the mentoring organization and ensure confidentiality, taking care to protect against inadvertent disclosure. • Maintain a positive attitude. • Encourage independence: not dependence. Respect uniqueness and honor the integrity of your mentee and influence him/her through constructive feedback. • Mentors are not expected to support students financially, to cover costs of travel, seminars etc. basically any financial requests should go to Bosana Foundation. If your Mentee requests any financial compensation, please inform the staff immediately. Throughout your mentorship, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Bosana Foundation staff for more information on potential activities and approaches to the mentorship. Accountability: Mentors make regular contact with the organization to ensure effective mentoring process. Include Bosana Foundation Program Director in your communication with the students for the first couple of months. Due to the distance between the students, staff and mentors the most common way of communicating has been via emails. Reports: Submitted on quarterly basis. Reports will be submitted via Google docs application.