Become a Mentor

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All RISD faculty and staff are welcome to apply to become a mentor. The heart and soul of this program is our amazing mentors! Mentorship pairs typically meet once or twice a month. Mentors have the flexibility to arrange their meetings directly with their mentees. Depending on the needs of the mentee and the type of mentoring relationships formed, many mentors simply meet with their student for coffee, while others do more elaborate excursions such as apple-picking and museum touring. Mentors and their Mentees can go to any of the RISD dining facilities (Jolly Roger, The Watermark Café, The Portfolio and The Met) and enjoy a free meal or coffee once a month. The possibilities are endless and the choice is up to you! 

Mentors commit to:

• Individual meetings with a student as preferred and arranged by the pair

• Attendance at the Mentor Orientation in September

• Attendance at mentor development sessions (offered 2-3 times a semester, mentors will be surveyed to ensure a convenient date & time)

• Attendance at the Opening and Closing Celebrations

We ask that mentors consider carefully whether they can commit to the sessions noted above, particularly the mentorship development sessions. These sessions are intended to help mentors support students in a critically conscious way, gain an understanding of what first-year students at RISD experience, and get support from other mentors. 

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Learn more about past year cohorts by visiting the ​Project Thrive Past Yearbook Pages

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How To Apply

Applying to be a mentor is as easy as filling out an application with ISE.  Once we receive your application we work to match Mentee Applicants with Mentors, so be patient as Mentees tend to have specific requests:

Mentor Schedule 2020-2021

Mentor Applications Open Mid April

Mentor/Mentee Speed Dating: September 9, 2020 from 5:00pm-6:30pm at the Tap Room. Mentors and Mentees participate in speed dating before being matched.

Engaging in Identity Conscious Mentoring Through A Coaching Approach: Date TBA.

Dinner will be served. Liza Talusen, who has over 20 years of experience in leadership and practice, will lead a workshop on mentorship, goal setting in the context of coaching, and how to support underrepresented students.

Reminder

Mentors and their Mentees can go to any of the RISD dining facilities, (Jolly Roger, The Watermark Café, The Portfolio and The Met) and enjoy a free meal or coffee once a month. In order to use the Project Thrive budget for dining, simply show your ID at The Met, Jolly Roger, Portfolio, or Watermark and tell them to charge to the Project Thrive account. 

Helpful Campus Resources for Mentors

View the Faculty and Staff Guide to Helping Students in Distress. Created by the Office of  Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), the guide provides information about how to respond to students in crisis, and provides a directory of on and off campus supports available to students.