The Gateway to College Program is designed to help at-risk youth between the ages of 17 and 21 to obtain their high school diploma. The Gateway to College program does this by providing an environment that supplies needed structure and a way of transitioning the student into a technical college environment. At the conclusion of this “foundation semester,” the student is placed in the general college population while gaining dual credit for their high school diploma as well as introductory college credits. Everyone needs help adjusting to the college environment, and for this reason we feel that it would be very beneficial to create a mentor program to serve the Gateway to College students.

We have developed an e-mentoring program over WebCT to communicate with our Gateway students. In the first semester every Gateway to College student is required to take a university success skills class taught by their resource specialist (advisor/friend/etc.). The mentoring program would take place as part of this class and be monitored by the instructor. Each week the instructor would assign that each student communicate with their mentor using the WebCT discussion board platform. This discussion board would only be accessible by each student, their mentor, and the instructor/resource specialist.

E-mentoring at first seems to be a rather impersonal system, but with this age group, and the propensity to communicate on a digital level, we think it would be a natural, and more utilized method. Using this method also allows for all students to work on their own timetable and create a much more efficient system than a face-to-face system.

In order for the Gateway to College mentor program to work it will take not only us, but the surrounding colleges and universities as well. Each semester the Gateway program has 70 to 75 students in the first semester that would need mentors. We envision a program that will allow our students to learn from you and your experiences to become a well rounded college student.

If you are interested in becoming a mentor please click the below links to print the application and Tri-County Technical College volunteer form. The application and volunteer form should be mailed to Gateway to College 7900 Highway 76 Pendleton, South Carolina 29670, or dropped by our office at Tri-County Technical College Room 125 Pickens Hall

If you have any questions about the Gateway to College program please refer to http://www.tctc.edu/gateway_to_college.htm or contact our office at 864-646-1461.

Thank you for your consideration,

The Gateway to College Staff