Serve as a Supportive Mentor for a
Peninsula Bridge Scholar

Make a long-term commitment to a Peninsula Bridge scholar! Learn more below about volunteering as a Choice Mentor, supporting a 5th or 8th grade student through the independent school application process, or a College Career Coach, helping to fuel the social capital of college juniors and seniors as they prepare to enter the workforce.

Choice Mentor Program

Many of Peninsula Bridge’s talented 5th and 8th graders are interested in applying to independent schools, but they often face barriers. We work closely with our students and our partner schools to support them in this process.

The Peninsula Bridge Choice Program supports Middle School (5th grade) and High School (8th grade) scholars as they navigate the independent school application process. In addition to a mentor, the program also includes 10 virtual sessions of test prep provided by AJ Tutoring, an Independent School Fair, writing workshops, a closed ISEE test site with all test fees waived, and financial aid support (Spanish/English).

As a mentor in this program, you will act as an advocate and sounding board for your mentee and his/her family through the application process for independent schools. The main goal is to help Peninsula Bridge students with the independent school application. You will primarily focus on the life skills developed in the process (test-taking, support in writing a personal essay, interviewing skills, character development) and their implications for continued success in school.

Time Commitment:

We anticipate the time commitment to be approximately one (1-2hr) meeting/touchpoint a week between September and January. You will be able to set your own meeting times to fit your schedules.

If you have any questions about the role and/or commitment, please reach out to Karen Zamora at karen@peninsulabridge.org.

College Career Mentor Program

The goal of our Career Coaching Program is to ensure each of our scholars becomes a competitive candidate and confident professional upon college graduation.  We require each of our Junior and Senior college scholars to attain an internship in the summer or a job after graduation that kick-starts the career of their dreams. However, searching for internships and jobs is not an easy task! We match each of our Juniors and Seniors with a volunteer career coach to get the guidance and tools to help them reach this requirement.  Across one year, volunteers will support their students with (1) career-building skills, (2) career exploration, and (3) building their network.  

A career coach will meet with his/her scholar every month to discuss topics laid out in our step-by-step guidebook. This guidebook will cover “get-to-kow-you” exercises, check-in topics, and discussions around one or more of the following areas:

  • Career path exploration and selection

  • Resume and Cover Letter Development

  • Interview Practice and Preparation

  • Networking Skills

  • Summer Internships Applications 

Learn more about Coach qualifications and expectations here!

Time Commitment

  • Commit to 1-2 meetings per month, for one full year, starting in July. Each meeting with be 1-2 hours.

  • Attend a one-hour orientation in June and meet your student

  • Attend a networking event with Peninsula Bridge college students in July

Timing

  • March-May: Volunteer Registration and Matching Process (Application deadline: May 15th)

  • June: Attend one-hour orientation and meet your student (Date: June 15th at 5:30pm) 

  • July: Monthly virtual coaching term begins

     

If you are interested in becoming a career coach for Peninsula Bridge, please contact Komal Goel at komal@peninsulabridge.org.