Team Mentoring is the cornerstone of Movement of Youth. College students apply annually to become mentors and friends for high school students in the Movement of Youth program. These close, multi-year relationships provide participants with access to a Carolina student scholar who offers knowledge about how to successfully apply to and excel in college. The goal is to promote the academic achievement of our participants, motivating them to complete high school and then pursue higher education. The program offers activities that support these goals and the relationships between mentors and mentees.

Students are matched with a team of 8 mentors with two primary contacts: their assigned mentor and their team mentoring coordinator. Through this team setup, we believe that mentors have the opportunity to develop and foster a unique and lasting relationship with multiple high school students. By sharing the knowledge they have regarding the college application process and by providing academic guidance, our mentors serve as models of academic success for our minority students. We rely on the commitment of our mentors to make a dramatic difference in the lives of their individual students.

The mentoring relationship is tracked through monthly contact reports that outline mentor activity with the mentee. Mentors and mentees are expected to connect at least one hour a week via phone or e-mail in order to maintain constant communication and to build a relationship. We discuss the mentoring relationships during monthly chat sessions. This allows mentors to discuss their mentoring experience as well as address issues they have been facing.

The Mentoring Coordinators will occasionally provide informal outing opportunities for mentors and mentees to spend time together outside of Saturday Academy Sessions.