Coming out of two years of lockdowns and restricted ability to engage in humanitarian projects it is now a great time to stretch our wings and get back into action. And there is probably no better project, for the times, than the new international student mentoring program. A great opportunity for ALL members to get more engaged in a high-impact project.
The new Rotary International Student Mentoring program is a great way to engage Rotarians, particularly newer Rotarians. Even if members are still concerned with COVID this is a program Rotarians can do in their home, via video conferencing. And the value to both the student and Victoria is considerable.
It can also be a great way for international students to engage with Rotary projects, learn more about Rotary and your club.
Having successfully completed the first pilot back in 2021, with eleven mentors, we are now looking to run a second pilot. This time with fifty mentors. The pilot will run over a restricted eleven-week period with one one-hour mentoring session per week.
This project came about through a partnership between Rotary and MentorMatch that was formed to compete in a Victorian state government challenge. It was one of six challenges the state government issued to address identified social issues. The goal of the international student mentoring challenge is to improve the social connectedness and employability of international students studying in Victoria.
There are no specific requirements to be a mentor in this program, beyond being a good listener an effective communicator and having a genuine desire to help the student assimilate and learn.
This program, with its clear guidelines and supporting training videos, will provide a great introduction to people who would like to get involved in mentoring but lack experience and/or confidence.
If you think the international student mentoring program might be something of interest to you or your club please contact Warwick Cavell on warwick.cavell@rotary9800.org