Back to DreamYard: DY Prep Graduates Return to Mentor 11th Graders

This past summer, 11 former DY Prep students came together to organize a two-day college mentoring session at the Art Center for students heading off to college in 2012. Topics ranged from financial and time management, accessing campus resources, avoiding the 'freshmen 15' and building relationships with professors. Over the course of the year, each college student will have an 11th grade mentee who they will support as they prepare for the college application process. We sat down with one of the graduate mentors, Haydil Henriquez in order to capture her thoughts.

Q. Why did you decide to organize a college mentoring program? A group of DY Prep classmates and I talked about what we could do to give back to our community. Having already completed one semester of college, we found that we had all experienced a transitioning issue, which we thought we could share with others. After all, who is better equipped to inform others about culture shock than those from the same community? We decided to host a retreat that will help students prep for college and also partner students to provide support as they go off to college.

Q. What impact do you think mentoring will have on both the 11th grade students and the college freshmen?  The mentoring program was created as a way to show students who are going to college that they are not in it alone. There are people who are rooting for them on the sidelines and are willing to listen and guide them in the right direction. Therefore, it is expected that the college sophomores will also find moments where their mentees will teach them about themselves, college and society as a whole.

Q. Do you have a story you would like to share about your experience as a freshman in college?  I entered college thinking I was an amazing writer, then I got my first C on a paper, and although Swarthmore is known for the slogan "Our C is your A" I still was very disappointed. It is very easy for someone to settle and accept a C, and I was actually considering it but thanks to my 'big sister' at school I decided to continue pushing myself. This is the kind of mentoring guidance we hope to create with the college mentoring program-sustainable relationships that do not seem structural but more genuine.