May 25, 2021
Dear FLi Tigers & Friends Alumni Participants,
Many of you have participated in our mentorship program over the past two summers – thank you!
As
you might remember, we launched the mentorship program for
first-generation and/or low-income (FLI) Princeton students during the
summer of 2019 with the vital help of Princeton’s Class of 1979, who
made it our legacy project and provided approximately half the alumni
mentor volunteers. Then, we further expanded it last summer in 2020.
Now, we’re reaching out to see if you would consider becoming a mentor,
sharing your knowledge and experience with our FLI Princeton students in
“FLI Tigers & Friends 2021.”
For
any student, navigating Princeton and figuring out what they want to do
post-graduation can be challenging. For FLI students who may be the
first person in their family to go to and graduate from college, this
can be especially daunting. Your work as a mentor can make a tremendous
difference in the lives of your fellow Tigers, and help to shape the
next generation of our country’s leaders.
In 2021, “FLI Tigers & Friends” will offer alumni mentors two possible paths to participate:
| • | A six-week mentoring program, which will run from late June into August. |
| • | An
open-ended mentoring program beginning in late June and running as long
as you and your mentee deem the relationship productive. |
(You can also opt for the six-week program to start, then decide to keep your mentorship connection going!)
Here’s how the program works:
| • | Students and mentors complete a survey about themselves and their backgrounds. |
| • | Mentor
Collective matches students and mentors based on similar interests and
backgrounds, as well as what’s important to them. (Mentor Collective is
our partner organization that’s developed the online platform
specifically for Princeton.) |
| • | You then complete an online orientation module, which includes watching a short video about how the platform works. |
| • | Once
you and your mentee are matched, you will be put in an anonymous SMS
thread with your mentee that you can use to start communicating
(assuming you provided a cell number during registration). |
| • | After
this initial conversation, you and your mentee can work out when/how it
works best for you to speak (in person/on the phone/skype etc.). |
| • | We
simply ask that you use the platform to log conversations and share
your experience with the program. You will be prompted with reminders on
when and how to share this information with us! |
| • | Whichever
path you choose to participate – the six week or the open-ended option –
our expectation is that mentors and mentees have at least two
substantive conversations during this time, as well as an initial
goal-setting conversation. |
Next Steps:
The program will be open to enrollment beginning on May 20th. Participants will then be matched with a mentee and the program will officially start during the final week of June.
