By partnering with the St. Cloud School District and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota, St. Cloud State is introducing youth to college life and encourage them to think about their education beyond high school.
The Dr. Potter’s Bigs on Campus Mentoring Initiative is a 12-month pilot program for 13 middle school students in an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) class to meet twice a month with professional adult mentors from St. Cloud State.
“With this initiative kids will see themselves in their mentors, they will see potential that they have that they might not have been able to envision before,” said Willie Jett, superintendent of St. Cloud Area School District 742.
Mentors engage with their mentees during their one-hour meeting by visiting with each other, bowling in the Atwood Center Underground, checking out the Recreation Center and Climbing Wall and touring campus.
Mentees are brought to campus and accompanied by ISD 742 and Big Brothers Big Sisters staffers.
The AVID program caters primarily to students of color, low-income families or students who would be first-generation college students.