Do you enjoy aspiring high school students to achieve their dreams?

Written by Jenny Truong.

Hi! I am Jenny. I’m a 3rd year science and commerce student and I have been an Access Monash Mentor for the past 2 years.

I became an Access Monash Mentor (AMM) because I wanted to share my knowledge about high school and Monash with students from under-represented communities to help them find their passion. With Access Monash, we get the opportunity to work one-on-one with Year 11 and 12 students at schools in the Dandenong, Frankston, Berwick, Mornington and Gippsland areas, where not many students end up going to university. Many of these students are the first students in their family to even consider going to university, so it feels quite rewarding to aspire them to go on to higher education after finishing high school.

Working with my mentees has been the highlight of my time at Monash. They have been very enthusiastic and wonderful to mentor and tutor. It is very rewarding to see my mentees not only become great students but also successful young adults. In addition to academic studies, we also work on important life skills, such as finding a part time job, overcoming difficult parental expectations, maintaining motivation and helping them discover their interests and possible career aspirations. Being an AMM, I learnt that it is important to have the ability to develop open and honest relationships with others and appreciate an array of adversity issues that barricade many young students from attending university.

Being a part of the program for the past 2 years has allowed me to develop my public speaking and communication skills through so many additional activities. I had the opportunity to facilitate on-campus tours, study sessions and attended a luncheon with career advisors from many schools about the future of commerce degrees at Monash. You even get the chance to help out with science-based activities, such as the SEAMS (Strengthening Engagement and Achievement in Mathematics and Science) camps ran at Monash and the University of Melbourne. The Community Leaders Scholarship I received from being a part of the program has also been a great bonus to my studies. Most importantly, through the AMM program I have the opportunity to make real differences to my mentees’ lives.

If you have a 65% + average, can commit at least two hours per week, enjoy building nurturing relationships and sharing your own experiences with young students, then apply to be an AMM today! You will be enriching these students’ educational and professional lives.

Applications close at 5pm on October 30. Apply now at: http://www.monash.edu/access/mentoring/become_mentor