Mentor Guidelines for SPA Senior Projects

What is it like to be a Mentor? 

Depending on the nature of a student's project, this role can be quite varied. If a student is engaged in a career-exploration project, they may need to talk with several resources about their work and their field. If a student wants a deeper experiential dive into a career, they may wish to work closely with just one mentor for an extended time. Last year we had a student who wanted to learn about the care of horses at a boarding stable, and they worked directly with the director and the horses of a local business on a daily basis. Alternatively, we have had students work with a Drug Court judge and that judge helps line them up with different people involved in the drug court process (lawyer, disposition advisor, investigator, 911 operator, etc) who they shadow for different days/weeks. 

What are the expectations? 

Our students are expected to spend 30 hours per week on senior project activities and at least 20 hours/week must be dedicated to their capstone. While some students spend all 20 of those hours directly engaged with their mentors and sites, others spend some of that time working independently on projects for their mentors/organization. It depends on what you arrange with the student.

Senior Project runs for 4 weeks during May. Students are expected to spend approximately 30 hours on senior project activities each week. Before the project begins, the mentor and student should discuss goals, potential projects, and responsibilities which will assist the student in setting up their project. The senior will ask the mentor to ‘sign’ a Senior Project Proposal form to confirm the agreed upon goals and daily schedule for the project. The senior Project Proposal is an outline of the student’s goals and objectives for the project and a copy of his/her daily schedule. It functions as a learning agreement and is signed by the senior, their parents, and the site mentor/supervisor. It is approved by the Senior Project Committee.  

During the project, the mentor acts as a guide and supervisor. This involves holding regularly scheduled meetings (at least once per week) and being available for questions or direction. Evaluation: at the end of the four weeks, the mentor evaluates the senior’s work in terms of the agreed upon goals and tasks. The mentor will provide a written evaluation to the Senior Project Committee that includes a short statement evaluating the senior on attitude, responsibility, work ethic, attendance, projects on which they worked, and any other pertinent information.   

The Senior Project requires the student to do a reflection and analysis in a number of ways. This includes a written log of hours at the project site and may include either a 2-page reflection paper or regular journal entries. At the end of the month, the student gives a 20-minute oral presentation of the project before a committee of classmates and faculty. The senior is graded pass/fail for the project and it is a graduation requirement.

If you are interested in proposing an idea to our students, please contact us! The current Senior Project co-advisors are Dr. Amy Stading and Mollie Ward. Please include the following when you reach out: 

• Name of the contact and contact information (email, telephone, address, etc)
• A brief description of your organization
• A brief description of the proposed experience
• A brief description of the project responsibilities and hours/week

If you are interested in overseeing multiple students, we ask that you not accept more than three seniors from SPA at the same time. The Senior Project Coordinators serve as a liaison between the student, the school, and the organization providing the project experience. This involves monitoring the student’s progress and receiving feedback from the organizations -both positive and negative.