Mentor project helpful

By Jean Dobrzynski

Role model. Cheerleader. Coach. Counselor. These words all describe the role a good mentor plays according to the coordinator of NIU’s mentor program.

Coordinator Kenneth Reeves said the mentor program is aimed at incoming freshmen who are interested in being assigned a person to help them adjust to university life.

“Our long-term goal is to reduce the loss rate on the NIU campus,” Reeves said. “NIU loses 40 percent of its freshmen by the time they are expected to graduate and the mentor program wants to reduce that loss.”

“We want to encourage them to stay at NIU,” he said.

Reeves said mentors are volunteers who are expected to help the student with anything they need help in, such as getting adjusted to residence hall life or using the resources in the library.

“We want them to know that there are people at a big university who care about them,” he said. “NIU is not such a cold, big place.”

The program was first started in the spring of 1990 and is expected to go through an assessment at the end of this year to see if the program is worthwhile.

“We are in a pilot phase right now, it’s only our third semester,” Reeves said. “We are still learning.”

The only requirement for applicants is to have the time to spare, Reeves said. This year the program has 110 freshmen and 53 volunteer mentors.

The deadline for past and current mentors to resubmit their applications is April 5. All new faculty and staff interested in the position have to submit their applications to student housing in Neptune Complex East in care of Reeves by April 15.