[rees2001]

This is a good topic. It lends to lengthy responses which can be helpful.

I know our team has dealt with the college mentor thing a few times. I feel for our team there is no one answer. Some college students are ready for the task & others aren't. One of the first things I do with returning college mentors is give them the "junk" jobs. After kickoff, all of the un-fun things that need to be done get assigned to returning college mentors. You wouldn't believe how quickly you can weed out the college mentors that want to help & those that want to come back & build robots & hang out with friends. Once they have proven that they want to help & mentor, I encourage them to get in and teach the kids, guide them, help them.

I have found that some of my best mentors are the college students that are going to school for an education degree. These students want to teach & I know this will help with their growth as a future professional. One of my team assistants for the past 2 years was a former student studying to be a Technology teacher. He is now heading off to finish his degree so I have asked another former student to fill his role, another future Technology teacher who is studying at a local community college for a year.

This is not to say that the students studying engineering aren't good mentors, many are. The engineering students just tend to be the mentors that want to "do" more than show. I let them learn that role.

Likewise I have had to ask returning members to leave. Sometimes they just aren't mature enough to have around the kids. It isn't a fun thing to do, but it does show the other college mentors that if we don't think you are helping you will have to leave.


As for the growth of the college students, I always encourage my graduating seniors to go out & try new things. Like has been said above. Join Mini-Baja, Formula 1, or whatever club/activity you think YOU will enjoy.