Q & A for Prospective Mentor Families
- Why are Mentor Families important?
- Do I have to be married with children living at home to be a Mentor Family?
- Do we have to provide a separate bedroom for our international student?
- Help your student learn English and adapt to both your family and U.S. life and culture,
- Provide a safe and loving home environment including a bed, a place to study, and meals for the first two weekends here and for any other visits that you offer,
- Attend orientations and maintain regular contact with your Project Coordinator,
- Understand program policies and encourage your student to adhere to those policies
- Familiarize your student with your community and its many resources.
- What are the benefits of mentoring a student?
- How are students and Mentor Families assigned?
- Do Mentor Families get help with adjustment and other issues?
- Are Mentor Families responsible for their students’ medical bills or spending money?
- How do the students get to and from school?
- Do Mentor Families receive financial assistance to offset costs?
- What is the application procedure?
Families who open their doors to host a “son” or “daughter” will play a significant role in the student’s initial adjustment and overall success. Mentor parent(s) will witness the young men and women selected for this program gain skills to navigate day-to-day life in a different country. Equally important, at the end of the program, Mentor Families will be saying ‘good-byes’ to students whose lives have been changed forever as they return home as young leaders with a deeper understanding of life in the United States.
No. Some people tell us that they would love to host, but they think they are too busy or are not the right type of family. In fact, Mentor Families come from all nationalities, occupations, and religious backgrounds. Mentor Families can be a married couple with or without children, a single parent with a child or children at home, or a single person with extended family in the community. What makes each exchange experience unique is that no family is like any other.
Yes. When you volunteer to host, you agree to:
There are many reasons why mentoring is a wonderful experience. You learn about another culture and language without leaving home. If you have children, they gain a broader perspective on the world, learning more about geography, communication, and other cultures. You have the satisfaction of knowing that you have provided an international student with the opportunity to adjust and adapt to U.S. culture and to gain workforce skills critical to his or her future. Moreover, you help promote international education at our local Community Colleges.
During face-to-face interviews and a visit to your home, a Project Coordinator will gain a broad picture of your family, including each family member’s hobbies and interests. Based on the information provided by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs on each student, the Colleges will make every effort to place students with families, not as the result of a mechanical match, but after finding those areas in which students and families might positively complement each other.
Yes. A Project Coordinator will provide on-going support to students and Mentor Families; he or she will coordinate a multitude of program activities and assess needs. The Project Coordinator is the person to whom Mentor Families should turn if they have any questions or problems. In addition to the support provided by the Project Coordinator, the Colleges have organized a series of structured orientations that are intended to enrich the quality of the experience for the participants by helping people learn about the cultural exchange experience, live with it, and grow from it. The Colleges want to encourage constructive and non-stressful interaction between members of different cultures.
No. Students have emergency medical coverage, and they are provided with a monthly personal allowance, as well as periodic stipends for clothing. The student may not be very experienced at budgeting money, especially in a new currency. Aside from occasional advice on such things as paying their phone bills (for which they are solely responsible) and shopping sensibly, Mentor Families should not get involved in financial issues or lend students money.
The Colleges have developed several approaches to manage students’ day-to-day transportation needs. During an intensive arrival orientation, for example, students will be introduced to the area’s public transportation system and given monthly bus passes.
Yes. The Colleges seek families who are sincerely willing to open their homes to an international student and give him/her an opportunity to become fully integrated into the family. Recognizing that adding a family member (even occasionally) increases household expenses, the Colleges offer a modest stipend of $30 per month for each student.
Prospective Mentor Families must complete a Mentor Family Application, provide two references, sign the Mentor Family Agreement, and submit to a Criminal Background Check. At a time convenient for the family, a Project Coordinator will conduct a home visit and interview. These face-to-face interviews are needed to obtain a broad picture of the Mentor Family. Therefore, the home visit should include all the family members in natural interaction whenever possible.
For more information or to sign up as a Mentor, please contact one of theses Project Coordinators:
| Noeli Biggs noelibiggs@dcccd.edu 972-860-5101 |
Jeana Remington jremington@dcccd.edu 972-761-6761 |