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The AIGA/NY Mentoring Program’s mission today is to provide youth with every opportunity and tool to achieve their dreams.
AIGA has the capabilities to create valuable programs to help young people succeed. Our endeavors can have a lasting
impact upon the upon the youth we serve and
the community.
The Mentoring Program is a crucial initiative of AIGA/NY; celebrating its fifteenth anniversary.
Our Mentoring Program pairs students from
New York City’sHigh School of Art and Design with professional AIGA members. Mentors expose students to the working environment,
paying attention to not only Graphic Design but also to the High School’s majors of Fashion, Architecture, Photography,
Illustration and Film. The Mentoring Program also participates in social outreach that extends the students’ awareness beyond
the workplace into the community.
Mentor/ student pairs meet one-on-one for two hours every other week. Often, mentors and students form
lasting bonds and remain in contact after graduation.
How are mentors selected, screened
and trained?
Potential mentors are required to attend a
three-hour training and orientation session, where they receive
intensive training, participate in role playing and are fingerprinted. Personal and professional references must also be provided
by the prospective mentor. Mentors are encouraged to meet with the program coordinators to ensure appropriate pairings.
The Office of Strategic Partnerships, which oversees the New York City Mentoring Program, reviews the
mentor’s application and the school’s and organization’s coordinators carefully match students with mentors based
upon shared interests.
What is the time commitment?
Once matched, the mentor is expected to make a time commitment of meeting with the student one hour each week
or two hours bi-weekly, for a total of four hours a month. The mentor is also asked
to make a year-long commitment to the program
and to participate in an evaluation process. These requirements are important to ensuring the consistency and continuity that make for a
successful mentor-mentee relationship.
What is expected of the mentor’s company?
Every week or every other week, mentors meet with their students after school, during or after work. Companies are
encouraged to be flexible in allowing their employees to participate in this program and are encouraged to allow pairs to meet during
regular office hours at the job site.
What do pairs do together?
The activities that a mentor engages in with a student are determined by the needs and interests of the Student, while
tempered by the Mentor’s experience. Mentors are encouraged to expose their students to the city’s vast cultural and social resources,
in addition to exposing students to the work environment and helping with academic advisement.
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