Did you do your pet rock project yet?” Eric Obana, a Sixth
College junior, asked as he flipped through a pile of paperwork including a
slightly crumpled grading progress report, a stained class project outline and
a well-worn homework planner.
“No, I don’t have a pet rock,” 12-year-old Alex Castillo
said nonchalantly. “That’s for babies, man.” He reached into his oversized
black backpack hidden beneath the lunch table. “Hey, do you want a juice box?”
Obana skeptically eyed the concentrated fruit drink, paperwork
still in hand. “Where did you get all of those from?”
“I’ve got a little refrigerator in my room now, and I put
some of these drinks in there,” Castillo said. “Like how you have in college,
right?”
Obana laughed and shook his head. “Yeah man, like in
college.” He reached out his hand. “I’ll take one of those, too.”
Obana and Castillo are two of the 28 participants in the
Friends Understanding Needs mentor program, which joins UCSD students with
sixth-grade students from
School
Jolla
F.U.N. is one of six year-long volunteer programs that work through the
university to provide academic and emotional support to local elementary,
middle and high school students, mentally disabled peers, or senior citizens.
Unlike the other programs, however, F.U.N. serves 11- and 12-year-old students
enrolled in Advancement via Individual Determination classes, offering
one-on-one mentoring to motivate high-achieving students and improve social
skills.
“Some of the service is academic, because the students are
involved in the A.V.I.D. class,”
Dianna Delima said. “Mostly, we have students who have family troubles, friends
their age not really understanding their problems, and a few even had
behavioral issues where they ditched school or caused problems in class. So
having that mature, sympathetic friend there really boosts their confidence.”
Since its inception in 1996, F.U.N. has connected more than
500 “at-risk” middle school students — most of whom are the first of their
family to attend college — with UCSD mentors who advise and guide the sixth
graders toward the possibility of academic achievement past high school. John Muir
college junior and F.U.N. Codirector Rita Kreig said the program was successful
because of its responsive social environment.
“My mentee just needed someone to tell her it was okay to
study, and that it was cool to get good grades,” Kreig said. “Sixth grade is a
difficult transitioning time for any student, but if we can tell them, ‘Hey,
I’ve been through all this too,’ then they know they can relate to us.”
In order to apply for the program, sixth grade students
complete a brief questionnaire in November explaining their likes and dislikes
(including their favorite color), personal family background and their reasons
for requesting a mentor. Julie Latta, the A.V.I.D. program instructor, then
reviews the surveys and decides which students would benefit from the program
most, before submitting the applications to the mentors, who personally choose
which student they feel they could best help.
“I look for students who have the most potential, who may be
disadvantaged economically and have to take the bus to school, but really kids
who are ‘diamonds in the rough,’” Latta said.
Mentors and their students meet weekly for approximately two
hours after school at the Muirlands campus, reviewing homework and any problems
students may have with their teachers or peers before engaging in a number of
social activities, including playing sports or board games, walking to the
beach and shopping in
“I can hear the kids talking sometimes after school, and it
seems the [sixth-grade] students always want to talk about dating, makeup,
sports or fashion,” Latta said. “As much as we seek to motivate and inspire the
kids academically, they are learning cultural and social things from the
mentors too.”
While interaction is mainly between the mentors and students,
Latta often recommends that the mentors acquaint themselves with other adults
in the student’s life in order to better facilitate communication.
Mentors generally receive feedback from teachers from
progress reports that underline academic concerns the mentors should address.
Once they are paired, Latta also provides the teams with a brief orientation
that offers tips for effective and accommodating relationships.
“I tell the students to … be a hip, young, exciting
grown-up,” Latta said. “Be what these kids want to become, not what they are
already. Be motivational, but don’t preach to them. But most importantly, be
that special person who consistently comes to hang out and be there for the
kids.”
Some mentors make such a strong connection with their students
that they stay in touch past the required six-month length of the program,
continuing their correspondence well into the students’ high school years.
“A few years ago, one pair got along really well and the
mentor would visit the student and her family on the weekends, even after the
student had progressed to the seventh, eighth grade,” Latta said. “The mentor
called it her ‘
which must have helped since she herself was so far from home.”
While the UCSD students act as mentors, Kreig believes that
she learned more about herself and the community through the eyes of her
sixth-grade mentee.
“These kids have lived in San Diego for all their lives, and
they know a lot about the community — even how to take all the different buses
— that would have taken me a few years to learn,” she said. “We become so
consumed with college and classes, but they show you that worrying all the time
doesn’t help you grow.”
The student directors organize quarterly field trips to the
San Diego Zoo or SeaWorld that all students and mentors attend together, in
addition to Sports Day, a day-long event of relay and athletic games, and
College Day, a tour of the UCSD campus that prompts students to explore the
possibility of attending a four-year university. But Kreig finds that the most
memorable moments come from the everyday experiences.
“It’s so exciting, the first time the students open up to
you, when they start showing you off to all their friends and teachers,” she
said. “You feel like a rock star, and they feel so special having you there.”
