Personal background
I’m Elias and I’m a PhD researcher at University College London. I was inspired to become a mentor by recognising the impact that my own mentors had on me at various stages of my life and career. Feeling fortunate about those experiences, I saw the opportunity to be a mentor as an opportunity to ‘give back’ in a very meaningful way — by offering my time and energy. Time and energy are often more valuable to charities than funds are, and they are not to be undervalued.
Mentoring a student going through secondary education was particularly appealing to me, because at that age mentoring provided by the school is often inadequate, while it is most needed. Students arrive at significant crossroads and are asked to make decisions that will largely shape their future. Having spent a significant amount of time in education myself, I felt that I was in a good position to advise a student on such matters. At the same time, I believed that I could help the student on specific aspects of their curriculum, by providing a complementary perspective to what they were taught in school by their teachers.
Joining Bridging the Future
An email was circulated to my research group at the beginning of the academic year, on behalf of Hector who was a volunteer himself. The email outlined the purpose of the scheme, its charitable mission and the approximate time commitment it required. I was inspired by the team’s mission, I found the time commitment to be acceptable, so I decided to volunteer.
Online mentoring experience
My approach to mentoring centred on regularly asking the student for ideas on what they would like me to cover in our sessions. The first 2–3 sessions were more exploratory, aiming to understand the broad areas where I could be of help to the student. I created some initial teaching content based on that evaluation, but it was essential to request regular feedback from the student in order to make the sessions as useful as possible for them.
My student was very motivated and curious, enjoyed participating in STEM competitions and on some occasions needed to understand concepts that were more advanced than the standard school curriculum. Drawing from my background in research and higher education, I was able to explain some of those concepts through customised exercises and discussion. I believe that this ‘venturing’ into a more advanced curriculum also helped the student recognise what they might enjoy studying at university.
Programme impact
I believe that above all the Bridging the Future programme has helped my student identify possible career paths for their future. It helped the student understand what their academic strengths are, and what they enjoy studying the most.
Personal growth as a mentor
At the beginning of the mentoring scheme I was not very familiar with the secondary education system in the UK. The scheme helped me understand its structure and function, and to appreciate its strengths and weaknesses. I consider this knowledge to be broadly useful, and it has also proven useful at university where I mentor more senior students as part of my research. Also, my role as a mentor largely involved attempting to delineate complex concepts and ideas using simple explanations. This is a challenge I found enjoyable, and one which helped me develop this type of thinking process which is also essential in research.
The mentoring experience has strengthened my belief that a good quality education is a very powerful way to open up opportunities for all students, regardless of their background or the background of their families. Students with refugee status can be especially inclined to make the most out of the opportunities they are given, which can produce a powerful virtuous cycle which amplifies the motivation of both the student and the mentor.
Advice to future mentors
To individuals considering volunteering I would say that the team appears to be good at matching students to mentors considering both their backgrounds. For example, I have a background in STEM and was matched to a STEM student, therefore I was able to use my existing knowledge to the maximum. I would also advise potential volunteers to consider the time commitment to be approximately 4–6 hours per week for the first few weeks, but that can reduce to 2–3 hours later on, once a routine has been established.
