The IB Mentors program is a club catered toward current International Baccalaureate upperclassmen students. Directed by coordinator Kate Sheil, the IB Mentors club is accessible to juniors and seniors interested in serving the community by mentoring underclassmen in hopes of guiding them throughout their first few years at high school pursuing IB.

The program was initially created for the benefit of both upperclassman mentors and underclassman mentees.

“It was created because we saw that a lot of our ninth and tenth-grade students were struggling. Trying to navigate the transition between middle school and high school while also taking advanced-level classes was pretty stressful for a lot of them,” said Kate Sheil.

The IB Middle Years Program (MYP) is the path underclassmen take their freshman and sophomore years, advancing to the Diploma Program their junior and senior years if they wish to continue.

Without a doubt, IB MYP is difficult to grasp for ninth and tenth-graders. On top of more coursework added to their plates, students have to start thinking about their “personal project”. In their final year in the MYP program, sophomores are required to complete a project of their choice to demonstrate their learning skills and education.

“I am trying to lower the amount of trash and waste left around our campus at school for my personal project,” said Elyse Bailey (10).

In this scenario, an IB mentor’s job is to aid the sophomore group of mentees that they were assigned to at the beginning of the school year. Advice is given to the mentees and as much help as possible to progress their completion with the personal project.

“They [IB mentors]  were really helpful with answering a lot of questions at the beginning. I got two seniors who both have leadership positions at the school as well. So it was really cool just to hear about what they do and they’re really good role models and mentors,” said Bailey.

This school year, IB mentors and coordinator Kate Sheil are working hard to build crucial relationships between the mentors and mentees.

“They’re doing lunchtime activities, which means that more people will show up because it’s during school, and they don’t have to take out extra time,” said Illias Aloffi (11).

The activities at lunch including games, handing out snacks, and talking amongst each other were implemented to let IB underclassmen have a vision of what it looks like to be an upperclassman in the program.

These interactions benefit both parties, the underclassmen and upperclassmen.

“It gives them familiar faces of upperclassmen that they feel like they can approach a little bit more. Upperclassmen can be a little intimidating to ninth and tenth graders so it just gives them somebody that has gone through the experience,” said Sheil.

As for upperclassmen with a future vision of prestigious universities and colleges, it gives them one more addition to their resume. 

“Because it’s [IB Mentors club] a leadership position which is good for college applications and I want to be a good mentor,” Aloffi said. 

Every element that is being contributed is recognized for each excelling student in the IB program. Whether the student is in the process of completing their personal project or performing an act of service by fulfilling the role of a mentor, no part gets forgotten. 

IB Mentors present new opportunities for both underclassmen in the MYP program and upperclassmen finishing off in the Diploma program. Each mentee and mentor gain something out of the club that is valuable for their personal project or their college application.