Yamina began as a freshman by working with Nichols Arboretum on their lessons for our Web site (Have You Ever Met a Tree? and Living in a Tree). She then began seeing the need to seek and cite good Web sites within lessons as "extension" ideas, thus putting Web technology to use in an appropriate way. She worked with her fiancé to develop a lesson on building a door alarm from a project he did as a child. Yamina suggested that we translate our Web site into Spanish, and one day we hope to do so.

Karyl has worked with CUOS outreach staff to establish a model database and evaluation/assessment system for the program. She hopes to share this model with other colleges or universities that would like to offer such long-term school-based mentoring for teens. She developed and provided orientations for mentors this year and has learned from the many roadblocks what it takes to persevere and to make such a program a reality. She has dealt with mentors not showing up, students not showing up, students wanting to con mentors into doing their homework, parents being angry about their children not seeing improvements in grades or not being matched as soon as they want, teachers who are at a loss for how to help a teen, and coaches who want their entire teams mentored. Karyl is also hoping to work with a few teachers to integrate study groups into their classrooms. She recognizes that few teens know how to come together to study and it is a key to the success of many university students! Mechanical Engineering Professor Bill Schultz is piloting a study group with her at Pioneer this fall.

Karyl is now working on ways to promote career exploration for children via their mentors and the office at the school. She is working with the school's counselors and career center coordinator. We know that teens need to see a reason to take on and do well in math and science classes. CUOS was able to provide a computer which is now on line at the school's Reach Out! office. Together, Karyl and her team hope to provide career awareness opportunities for students, field trips, and job shadowing experiences.

As mentors expressed concerns on how to help their children with personal concerns from dating to eating disorders, she worked with the principal and parent coordinator to create a resource directory list and mentor Web site, which now includes on-line tutorial and study skill links, as well as career and college planning directories.