Become a Career Mentor

Middle school students visit Marietta College as part of BB2C's Career Mentor program.

Helping middle school students with decision-making and goal setting can set a solid foundation for their future academic and career choices. By pairing them with career mentor volunteers, this BB2C program provides guidance and real-world insights that can be incredibly valuable for 7th and 8th graders.

Career mentors are community members who volunteer to work one-on-one with middle school students. They complete a day-long training through BB2C as well as a background check through the school system before being paired. This program runs in all of the public school districts in Washington County, including Belpre, Fort Frye, Frontier, Marietta, Warren, and Wolf Creek.

Career mentors usually meet weekly with their students to build relationships, provide support, work on skills such as decision making and goal setting, and explore career pathways. This is often done through activities such as games and interest and asset inventories. Career mentors also help students understand what it takes to achieve the short- and long-term goals that they have for themselves. This includes identifying action steps and community resources. The career mentor may help connect the student to other people and experiences to further explore career opportunities and meet goals. 

Career mentors also help students work on communication skills. Discussions between the students and career mentors allow students to become comfortable talking about their future, working towards what they want to achieve, and reflecting on what is working and not working for them. Career mentors help students see how their choices impact what they are trying to do and align with their goals and values.

Many career mentors say they learn as much from their students as the students do from them. A program highlight for both the students and the Career Mentors is the annual spring field trip to Marietta College. The day is led by MC students and faculty and allows the students and career mentors to enjoy the experience together.

If you are interested in becoming a career mentor, you can complete the Career Mentor Interest Form. If you have any questions, you can reach out to our Career Mentor Coordinator, Barb Schafer at bschafer@bb2careers.org.