When Kaua’i Community College officials started GED and nursing, horticulture and culinary programs, they saw them as two key building blocks in helping disadvantaged Kaua’i youths become productive adults. The programs have produced success stories, but not enough to the
When Kaua’i Community College officials started GED and nursing, horticulture and culinary programs, they saw them as two key building blocks in helping disadvantaged Kaua’i youths become productive adults.
The programs have produced success stories, but not enough to the satisfaction of college decision-makers.
Now, the college is putting in a third building block intended to help youths reach life goals.
Through a new mentoring program, Kaua’i adults, including professionals, will counsel youths and give them insight into how to be successful in college or in the workplace.
The mentors will become like substitute parents for youths whose own parents don’t have enough time to spend with them due to work responsibilities or other obligations.
“A great majority of the kids come from single-family homes. So parents don’t have the time for their children I am sure they would like to have,” said Linda Pasadava, head of the mentoring project. “This is a project our kids need.”
Up to ten youths, some of whom are already in the GED or middle college programs, which prepare students as nurses, horticulturists or cooks, have expressed interest in the mentoring program.
The program is funded through the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, whose focus is to help youths reach academic and employment success. The GED and middle college programs also are funded by WIA.
WIA programs also allow students to improve educational and work-related skills and to connect with employers.
The mentoring program is the first recognized one of its kind in Hawai’i, Pasadava said. None was developed earlier, possibly due to lack of interest, she said.
Kaua’i Community College officials decided to start the mentoring program after reviewing the GED and the middle college program and looking for ways to enhance them. Pasavada, a teacher in the WIA programs, was given the task of running the mentoring project.
The program is designed for 14-21-year-old youths who have low basic skills or have dropped out of high school. Candidates also can be homeless person, a runaway, a foster child, a pregnant or parenting teen or a criminal offender.
Pasadava predicted the project will be successful because of high interest. “The students who expressed interest in it hope to meet an older person who has been there and done that,” Pasadava said.
Students in the WIA programs are “way ahead because they are saying they want to achieve more than what they have reached so far,” Pasadava said.
The project will be of mutual benefit to student and mentor, she said. “Students can begin to learn the ropes of life from them. Mentors, in turn, can make lifelong friends.” Pasadava said.
The college is looking for mentors who can make a long-term commitment to the program and can devote time and energy to their charges, Pasadava.
Those who want to be mentors must fill out applications, go through an interview and attend a training session of two hours, Pasadava said.
An orientation-training session for mentors is scheduled at the Kaua’i Community College from 10 a.m. to noon on April 5.
The training will be led by Pasadava, who has a political science degree from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn.
Attending the meeting doesn’t commit anyone to joining the mentoring program, Pasadava said, adding “It just gives them a clearer picture of what mentoring is all about.”
As a way to ensure compatibility between the mentor and the student, Pasadava said she will attend the initial meeting between them.
“We will screen mentors and make the best match we possibly can, so they have common interests, she said.
In addition to class time, mentors will be required to meet with h students at least two to three times a week. Where they chose to meet is up to the mentor and the student, she said, adding “it could be a round of golf or a movie.”
Being a mentor “isn’t going to make you rich. It comes from the heart. It is total giving and receiving without accolades,” Pasadava said.
She said she would like to introduce the mentoring project to the KCC curriculum one day.
“We want to provide the right influences for our students,” she said. “We want to send out the message that it is cool to have a mentor.”
Those interested in the mentoring program and other WIA programs can contact the KCC Office of Continuing Education and Training at 245-8280.
