On Sunday, 17 February 2013, 11 students from AIEF Partner Schools were introduced to their new mentors at the NSW Mentor Induction Day held at St Vincents College, Potts Point. The day kick-starts the NSW Mentor Program for the year and is designed to give students and mentors an opportunity to get to know each other in a fun and informal setting.
Students from St Gregorys College Campbelltown, St Catherines School, Waverley, St Vincents College, Potts Point and Kincoppal-Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart and their mentors from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CLSA as well as an AIEF Ambassador were welcomed to the program on the day and began their mentoring journeys together.
The students and their mentors participated in activities that reinforced the purpose of mentoring and highlighted to students the contribution their mentors could make to their schooling experience and post-school transition. The pairs shared special items like a photograph of their family that they had brought along to the day and played People Bingo. In what was clearly the highlight of the day, mentors and students developed trust through a blindfolded walk around the school grounds students leading the blindfolded mentors using only their voices. Students relished the opportunity to lead and relaxed after seeing their mentors vulnerability. It was a very amusing spectacle for all. Over lunch, students and mentors exchanged contact details before saying goodbye, all looking forward to their next meeting in a few weeks time.
The AIEF Mentor Program aims to create a structured and trusting one-on-one relationship between a student and an experienced, professional individual who shares knowledge and offers guidance and support about life and career options. Students and mentors meet once a month in face-to-face sessions as well as at group activities with a more social focus.
