Program Description:
The ACE Mentoring Program works with high school and college students of refugee and immigrant families in Lancaster, PA to support them in achieving their vision of success after they complete high school. The program links these students with college student coaches and with expertise in the community in order to provide ongoing training and support in academic, leadership and life skills. The five pillars of the program's content are: discovering life purpose, academic success, financial planning, emotional and personal well-being and professional leadership. Additionally, college-bound students who successfully complete at least one year of the program are eligible to apply for a $500 scholarship to put toward their college tuition.
The ACE Mentoring Program is also building an online resource portal for students of refugee and immigrant families to access appropriate information and guidance as they make plans for after high school.
Why? What’s the need?
Lancaster proudly welcomes refugee and immigrant families every year. These families join the Lancaster community, but some processes in the U.S. are different from their home countries. Processes like applying for college, with all the steps of standardized testing, FAFSA filing, and essay writing, are sometimes unfamiliar to both high school students and their parents. At the same time, thinking about how to choose a career direction is difficult for many people, but it can be particularly challenging in a new setting.
The ACE Mentoring Program aims to complement the guidance services available at high schools to provide extra support to students who are learning these processes as part of their transition to life in the U.S.
How can you support?
The ACE Mentoring program relies on the generosity of our supporters in order to run. College student coaches, experts in the community, and program coordinators are all volunteers, and the funds used to run the program and provide scholarships are all donated. If you’re a college student willing to provide coaching, or a professional willing to have a program participant shadow you in your workplace for a day to learn about a career track, or someone with expertise in a key academic, leadership or life skill, please be in touch! We’d love to see if your experience is a good fit for volunteering with program. And, of course, if you want to donate to support this program, please click SUPPORT US above.