LOS ALAMITOS, CA– Starting this school year, students have been signing up to participate in a program called “Students to Mentors”. Anyone with a GPA of above 2.5 and who doesn’t have any D’s or F’s and is interested in assisting students with their coursework can enroll in this elective. 

The idea for this program started last year when Kristine Morris, the Los Al psychologist and the founder of this elective, took a group of administrators to a school in Whittier. They noticed that the school had a program reflecting this assistance and figured that the students in Los Al would greatly benefit from it.

“Last year there were fliers around campus for [the program] and some of my teachers recommended I join the program,” said Jonas Corliss, a senior at Los Al mentoring in Principles of Geometry.

This elective is different from students enrolled in a TA class. While TAs assist the teacher with any additional work that needs to be done, the students in the program help the students of the classes with any schoolwork they need.

“I help students edit, film, direct, write, and much more,” said  Sofia Youngs, a mentor for Film and Production I.

In some Spanish classes, the students even call the mentor “Profe”, expressing how they have similar responsibilities as the teacher they are with. 

At this point in time, the program has around 45 mentors spread around campus. Most, however, are located in the skills lab. Next semester the program will hopefully be incorporated into the new wellness center.

“They build this little relationship to help them like school more,” said Morris.

The mentors who have worked extremely hard throughout the semester are recognized with a fun day out, they enjoyed themselves immensely while bowling together this semester.

“It gives me a chance to solidify the basics in my own studies and I enjoy being able to help,” said Heema Pal, a junior mentoring in an Algebra Class.

Any student can join this program if they need an extra class, all you need to do is go to your counselor’s office and they will ask teachers who need an extra helping hand with their students.  

“I’m gonna start small,” said Morris. She hopes that as the year goes on, the program will grow and add even more mentors for the students at this school.

Hopefully, with this program, the students at Los Al will continue to grow academically together.