Shires unveil student mentor program

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
READY TO MENTOR — Students participating in the new mentor program at Houlton High School include, seated from left, Marrissa Drake, Rebekah Holmes, Maddie Good, Franki White, DJ McGary, Kallista Rattray, Jayde McNinch, Taylor Sheldon, Breanna Boynton, Emily Fitzpatrick, Tori Hanson, Clarissa Crandall and Emily Dee; and back, Jade Tingley, Kierra Carmichael. Josh Chambers, Jimmie Fitzpatrick, Bobby Remington, Chase Brewer, Lucas Grant, Stephen Phillips, Felicia Prosser, Hannah Mooers, Sarah Sirois, Kaycee McClure, Morgan Ross, Kaitlin Hannigan and Ally Carmichael.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Making the leap from junior high to senior high can be a daunting challenge for some students.
     To help ease this transition Houlton High School has created a new mentoring program. Its purpose is simple. The mentoring program’s goal is to increase personalization, a sense of belonging and assist with positive transition to high school, according to program coordinator Dee Butler, who also serves as the school’s Jobs for Maine Grads instructor.
    “Last fall, Superintendent (Mike) Hammer met with myself, Hollie McPartland, Dawn Mathews and Marty Bouchard to talk about creating a mentor program,” explained Butler. “We decided we wanted to get the program going quickly, so we could train students now to help with next year’s incoming freshmen.”
    An application process was created that asked current sophomores and juniors why they wanted to become an adviser.
    “We were looking for a wide variety of student mentors,” Butler said. “We didn’t just want the National Honor Society kids or the hockey players, for example. The students will be mentoring a variety of kids so we wanted to be diverse in who we chose.”
    The school will place one junior or senior with three to four incoming freshmen to serve as a school mentor. During freshman orientation and activities throughout the year, these selected mentors will help to welcome the students to high school, familiarize them with school culture, encourage involvement and extracurricular activities and increase positive behaviors in the school. Additionally, mentors will be choosing a group service learning activity during the school year.
    Butler said the school was originally looking for just 25 mentors, but received 40 student applications. Twenty-eight students were chosen. They are: juniors, Ally Carmichael, Josh Chambers, Marissa Drake, Emily Fitzpatrick, Jimmy Fitzpatrick, Maddie Good, Tori Hanson, Rebekah Holmes, DJ McGary, Jayde McNinch, Hannah Mooers, Felicia Prosser, Kalista Rattray, Robert Remington, Taylor Sheldon, Jade Tingley and Frankie White; and sophomores, Bre Boyington, Chase Brewer, Kerra Carmichael, Clarissa Crandall, Emily Dee, Lucas Grant, Katie Hanningan, Kaycee McClure, Steven Phillips, Morgan Ross and Sarah Sirois.
    In addition, several adults were chosen as mentors, to provide a different set of life skills to the group.
    Among the many adult mentors for the program are Lt. Mark Brooks of the Maine State Police; Jared Sylvia, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; Steve Nason, Houlton Police Department; Dave Rowe, youth pastor for Houlton Wesleyan Church; Brigette Goguen, Machias Savings Bank; Dean Clark, Savings Bank of Maine; John Tribou, TD Bank; Jeremiah Crockett, Maine Forestry Department; Danette Ellis, Aid for Kids; Lori Weston, Houlton town office; and Bob Cowperthwaite, SACAP/Visions Gallery.
    “I wanted to become a mentor because I wanted to help the new freshmen as they switch from junior high to high school,” explained McNinch. “High school can be overwhelming and I want these kids to know that they have someone that they can talk to when they need help. I am intrigued by the community service that we will be doing with our mentees. What I want to get out of this experience is I want to become a better leader, and become a better role model.”
    “I was interested in doing the mentoring program because I wanted to help younger kids in the school adapt to high school life,” added Grant. “My goal is to make this transition as smooth as possible for these freshmen. I want to develop my leadership skills by helping these freshmen through their first year of high school. I hope that by helping them their freshman year will help them succeed in high school and later in life.”
    “Being a mentor is something that really interested me right away,” said Carmichael. “I always thought that having someone there for me in my freshman year would have been so helpful. To show me around the school and help me prepare for specific teachers and course loads. Help with social situations would have also been really appreciated. I am so excited to have the opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the incoming freshmen next year, and maybe even inspire them to become a mentor when they are my age. I think this mentoring program will be a great experience that I can’t wait to start.”
    To become a mentor, a student had to meet strict criteria, including:
    • Have a sincere interest in helping peers succeed.
    • Be in good academic standing (co-curricular policy applies).
    • Have a positive attitude toward school and learning.
    • Have a strong attendance record.
    “Our hope is to get the mentors and mentees involved in a community service project,” Butler said.
    Among the many responsibilities student mentors will have are attending scheduled meetings; organizing activities and events with peers; participating in all training sessions; being a mentor for at least one school year; being tolerant and respectful of individual differences; and building a rapport with their student “mentees” by planning and doing activities together.