Mentoring

Are you interested in starting a mentoring program at your church, community center, or school?  
 
Contacts us today to begin a program that will increase youths’ interpersonal competence, improve their academic performance and strengthen family relationships! Mentoring is an important part of 4-H at WVSU. Its value is demonstrated through mentoring incorporation into other programs including our STEM Scholars Academy and annual summer camps. We are actively looking for new partnerships to revitalize the 4-H Mentoring Program. 
 
Originally implemented at the Roosevelt Center and Bob Burdette in Charleston, WV,
 WVSU’s youth mentoring pairs youth ages 10-14 with WVSU undergraduates as student mentors. The pairs met once a week and participated in hands-on STEM activities including robotics and lego zip line, as well as arts and crafts. 
 
Mentors were supported through Youth and Families with Promise. 
 
We use culturally appropriate, early-intervention strategies during interactions such as one-on-one and group mentoring as well as involvement in 4-H clubs and family activities. 
 
To start, gain support for, or sponsor a mentoring program, contact Extension Agent Kaysha Jackson today!
 
Kaysha Jackson 
(304) 204-4009 
morenokt@wvstateu.edu

Mentoring Programs

STEM Scholars Academy

Partnership Between WVSU 4-H, the Center for the Advance of STEM, and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
 
In the STEM Scholars Academy, students learn what it takes to be successful in college as well as in life. Through “hands-on” experience, active mentoring, academic support and a nurturing environment that fosters greater persistence and graduation rates, the STEM Scholars Academy aims to increase the number of high school students entering college in STEM-related fields of study, the number of completed undergraduate degrees in STEM,  and the number of degree holders entering careers in STEM fields. 

Scholars participate in facilitated mentoring sessions covering topics such as understanding learning styles, goal setting, time management, study skills, note-taking, and facing challenges. In addition, the high school students attend two immersive on-campus events each semester; at these events, participants get connected with professionals from the community by participating in professional panels, get introduced to complex STEM topics such as protein analysis, and learn about STEM career pathways. 

The academy works with low income and underrepresented students, connecting them with mentors and advocates throughout their high school and college lives. Currently, there are  19 STEM Scholars from Hoover and South Charleston High School matched with undergraduate peer mentors who are STEM majors at WVSU.