Community Mentor Program

Students working together with community partners to develop and direct community projects that address locally identified needs is part of the Center for Civic Engagement and Leadership mission. Simply put, the Center will strive to create a learning community that emphasizes student ownership. At the core of that ownership will be the Community Mentors program. Each student Community Mentor(CM), who is a paid member of the Center staff, will work with community partners to identify needs within their organizations and develop partnership programs to address those needs. The CM's will then have primary responsibility for the coordination of the partnership programs as well as to mentor and manage other students who will be incorporated into their programs through course work and/or volunteer programs. In addition, these CM's will take on certain specialized tasks based on expertise and interest. For example, some will serve as teaching assistants in CBL courses, others as volunteer coordinators, while others might serve as participatory action research project directors. All CM's will be required to enroll in CBL101: Leadership Development Studies, where they will be trained in leadership skill development.

The rationale behind the CM program is to empower students to identify problems and develop programs in collaboration with community partners, faculty, staff, and fellow students. As a result, with leadership from the CM's, the Center will build on several existing partnerships with community organizations, as well as support the creation and development of new programs within the community.