Many students start an academic or technical program after high school but do not finish. For example, In 2020, only about half of those students who began a degree at one of the Seattle Colleges will graduate. 

The attrition rate is higher for low-income students who may have difficulty connecting to services and building or finding caring relationships on campus. College procedures and policies are complicated and advisors and faculty are limited in how much time they can provide any individual due to large caseloads.  

With the 2020-21 COVID pandemic and increased food insecurity, homelessness and unemployment, students need more support than ever to complete their education. Research has shown that mentoring or coaching efforts result in positive academic and developmental student outcomes for college students.

Fall 2021 will mark the launch of our first mentor/student cohort and we are very excited! The Mentoring Project is unusual in that it supports adults, whereas most community-based mentoring programs focus on youth. In addition, this programs is unique in that the mentors and mentees will communicate exclusively through electronic methods such as texting, email and video conferencing. At The Mentoring Project, we hope our deeper approach of pairing college students with trained, caring, community volunteers for long-term support will lead to increases in degree completion, one student at a time.

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Julia Schechter, Ed.D.
Founder, The Mentor Project