2024-2025 College Access Mentor (Central Valley)

Are you passionate about reshaping the narrative for young men of color in our community, nation, and world? Join us as a Part-Time College Access Mentor with AmeriCorps, a national service and volunteerism agency, for up to 10 months starting this August of 2024. As a College Access Mentor, you will join a nation-wide movement to help increase the college going rates among middle school and high school students enrolled in Improve Your Tomorrow’s College Academy program. This is an opportunity to empower students through mentorship, academic support, college advising, parent engagement, college tours, weekend and evening events and engaging after school programs. 

What is Improve Your Tomorrow?

Improve Your Tomorrow (IYT) was founded in 2013 with the mission to increase the number of young men of color (YMOC) to attend and graduate from colleges and universities. We envision a world where men of color are overrepresented in higher education, underrepresented in the criminal justice system, and leaders in their communities. We work to combat academic inequities and build a college-to-community pipeline through service, teamwork, character and liberation. 

Benefits

College Access Mentors receive a bi-weekly stipend, loan deferment (if eligible), professional development, career advising, access to Alumni Network and much more! At the completion of the service term, College Access Mentors receive a monetary educational award. Please see more details for your region below. 

• Earn an Education Award upon completion of program requirements
  • Earn up to or between $1,565.08 to $3,697.50 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award that can be applied towards student loans and college expenses. 
• Eligible for Student Loan Forbearance and Interest Accrual Payment (for all loans that qualify)
• Gain Career Readiness & Leadership Development training that prepare you for your career path and to be leader
• Participate in Wellness workshops designed to support  mental health, wellness, and personal empowerment.

Living Stipend Amounts

Central Valley 

• $517.99 Bi-weekly stipend for 20 hours per week 
• $690.65 Bi-weekly stipend for 25 hours per week

Responsibilities:

College Access Mentors are assigned a caseload of 25-30 students with the goal of providing weekly academic, college advising, emotional, and mental support (mentorship).

• Recruit and enroll eligible students to join Improve Your Tomorrow’s program through tablings, presentations, parent calls, and direct communication with school administration and students.
• Provide guidance and oversight of college eligibility for each student to ensure  the completion or understanding of prerequisite courses to access 2-year and 4-year college institutions; for example, verifying completion of California's A-G requirements (academic support). 
• Conduct weekly communication with parents/guardians via phone/email in regards to the student academic, emotional, and mental growth (mentorship follow-up).
• Ensure all students on caseload complete an academic plan to capture both current and future academic goals and college or career aspirations as applicable (mentorship). 
• Provide after school programming and activities that promote self awareness, wellness, teamwork, character building, service, and college and career readiness (after school). 
• Provide a space for members to build strong study habits and receive academic support on a weekly basis (academic support).
• Complete data entry on a daily basis of student progress into IYT’s Salesforce database such as transcripts, mentorship notes, member information, attendance etc. (mentorship follow up). 
• Participate in events outside of the normal Monday through Friday service hours, including but not limited to, weekend college tours (twice a semester on Saturdays), overnight camping trips, evening pop up events, college and career fairs, weekend brotherhood events, Brotherhood Conference, Brotherhood Graduation, Summer Arc, evening parent/family nights and potential school events (service).
• Attend monthly mandatory team building and trainings aimed to strengthen both mentorship, professional, and career development. 
• Assist with the recruitment of college students to become IYT AmeriCorps members. 
• Support/Assist Program Manager and fellow College Access Mentors in both programming. 
• Perform other duties as assigned. 

Qualifications

• Must be a college graduate or college student that is familiar with college requirements and  application process
• Have reliable transportation
• Must be available weekends and evenings for events (minimum twice a month) 

Schedule Requirements: 

• Weekly commitment of 20 or 25 hours on average per week
• Must be available to serve Monday through Fridays at a minimum of 20 to 25 hours between the hours of 8:30 and 5:00pm, based on site needs 
• Fridays are mandatory for professional development training
• Available for weekend and evening activities as required, including one to two Saturdays per month are required for college tours, teambuilders, IYT signature events

Note: This is not an hourly job, but a 10-month AmeriCorps program. 

Please note that this position is contingent upon the availability of grant funding

Requirements:

• Clearance from background checks is required for employment, with fingerprinting expense covered by IYT
• All incoming mentors must attend Mentor Fellow Orientation which will be held in Sacramento, CA.
• Mileage and hotel accommodations are provided by request.

IYT provides service opportunities to all employees and applicants and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of service, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. If you require accommodations during the application process, please contact IYTMentorFellowship@improveyourtomorrow.org to request assistance. We will work with you to provide reasonable accommodations.

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Questions? Please email us at IYTMentorFellowship@improveyourtomorrow.org