Five Hoosick Falls High School seniors who have been selected JLS Foundation scholarship finalists this year are doing their part to encourage their peers to participate in the school’s new Hometown Mentoring program.
[private]“It is a really unique program to Hoosick Falls, both to the school and our town,” said senior Lindsay McMahon who has applied to colleges across the country and plans to study Animal Science and International Studies. “No other high school, at least that I know of, has a program like it.”
Hometown Mentoring is a collaborative venture between the Hoosick Falls Central School District and the JLS Foundation that is designed to help improve college completion rates for Hoosick Falls graduates. A recent study by Complete College America found an overwhelming majority of students attending public colleges do not graduate on time. According to the report, only 19 percent of full-time students nationwide earn a bachelor’s degree in four years. Currently, less than 40 percent of Hoosick Falls Central School graduates complete college.
The Hometown Mentoring program aims to help graduates transition successfully from high school to college by engaging successful Hoosick Falls alumni to serve as mentors and assist college-bound seniors as they adjust to the academic and social challenges of college life.
“I think it was smart of our school to take a look at the dropout rate history and create a program to improve college completion,” said Elizabeth Philpott, who plans to pursue a degree in Chemical Engineering in college. “Not only will the mentor program help students adjust to college, but it will help them network for career success in the future.”
As a community service project, the five JLS scholarship finalists—Justin Gaines, Shaelynn Kelly, Lindsay McMahon, Elizabeth Philpott and Madeline Ryan—have created a presentation that defines the Hometown Mentoring program and extols its benefits. The seniors have twice shared the presentation; once with members of the Class of 2015 to promote the mentoring program, and again with parents of college-bound seniors to introduce the program and explain how it works.
“We use mainly the same PowerPoint slides in our presentations, but tailor the message based on the audience,” said Shaelynn Kelly, who has applied to several colleges including Marist College, the University of Vermont and Syracuse University. “For students, we describe what a mentor is, how students can communicate with them, and how mentors can help with the college transition.”
Justin Gaines, who will study Business and/or Criminal Justice next year in college, explained the student presentation was intended to raise awareness of the program and get seniors interested and involved in it. “We really try to get them to understand why it would be beneficial for them to participate,” he said. “When talking to parents, we give them information they need to help make sure kids take advantage of this program. It’s important that parents encourage their kids to sign up.”
For many students, college represents their first taste of independence and the uncertainty of what to expect in college can be overwhelming.
“When we graduate high school, we are going into the real world and a lot of us aren’t really sure what to expect,” Justin said. “I think the mentoring program will help keep us focused and give us an anchor to help guide us through it.”
As a mentor for elementary students, senior Madeline Ryan knows the value of having that kind of support. “When I’m working with the younger students, and they get a math problem right with my help, it feels great,” she said. “Because of that, I think having a mentor to rely on in college, someone to talk to and be able to ask questions, especially if we are having problems with or doubts about our major, will be invaluable.”
The seniors want others to understand that the Hometown Mentoring program is open to all students who are planning to go to college, not just those earning straight A’s.
“Students who have been pushing themselves throughout high school and want to go on to do better things have shown the most interest in the mentoring program,” said Shaelynn, “but others who just floated along through school, I’m not sure they grasp how this could really help them.”
The five also encouraged students who are interested in pursuing vocational training or trade school to consider participating in Hometown Mentoring.
Online Connections
Technology will play a significant role in the Hometown Mentoring program for practical reasons. The mentors will receive training online via Skype and through the Linked In website. Linked In will also serve as the conduit for participating students and their mentors to remain connected regardless of location.
“Not many people, especially in high school, are familiar with Linked In, so in our presentation, we have a slide that introduces students to the website and shows them a template,” Lindsay said. “The Linked In website will help with career networking, too, allowing us to stay connected with our mentors and with our graduating class.”
In May, the five seniors will share their presentation with the junior class to introduce them to the Hometown Mentoring program and make them aware of its benefits.
“There are some seniors who still don’t really seem to have a plan for next year,” said Elizabeth. “That is why I would recommend this year’s juniors get involved as early as possible in the planning process.”
The JLS Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping high school students in the Hoosick Falls community. During the past 10 years, the JLS Foundation, named in honor of John Liporace Sr., has worked closely with five HFCS students each year to help them realize their fullest potential.[/private]