NEXT EDUCATION is seeking high school student volunteers to serve as mentors and guest speakers for younger students through our online Student Mentor Program.
Volunteer mentors will share their firsthand experiences with school clubs, extracurricular activities, academic competitions, leadership opportunities, community service, research, summer programs, and other educational enrichment activities. The goal is to help younger students better understand the opportunities available to them and make informed choices about activities that match their interests and goals.
What Volunteers Will Do
Volunteer mentors may:
- Prepare and deliver an online presentation about a club, extracurricular activity, competition, or other educational experience in which they have meaningful experience.
- Share practical information about how students can get started, what participation is like, time commitments, challenges, and lessons learned.
- Answer questions from younger students during a moderated Q&A session.
- Provide helpful resources or suggestions for students who would like to explore the activity further.
Sessions will be conducted online and coordinated by NEXT EDUCATION. Student volunteers will receive hour-for-hour SSL credit for the time they are actively providing volunteer service during live virtual sessions under the direct supervision of an adult NEXT EDUCATION nonprofit representative. NEXT EDUCATION will maintain attendance and service records and verify eligible service hours. SSL hours will not be awarded based solely on student self-reported logs.
Who Can Volunteer
We welcome responsible high school students who have meaningful experience in one or more extracurricular or educational activities and are interested in helping younger students learn from their experiences.
Possible presentation topics include Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, robotics, debate, academic competitions, research, volunteering, leadership, school clubs, arts and music, summer programs, and other educational or extracurricular activities.
MCPS SSL hours may be available for eligible volunteer service completed through this program. NEXT EDUCATION will document and verify qualifying volunteer service hours in accordance with applicable MCPS SSL requirements.
Please note the following guidelines for student service through live virtual platforms:
A student’s parent/guardian must provide the nonprofit with written approval of the student’s participation in the virtual platform prior to the student serving/volunteering.
Students must use personal/private accounts (not MCPS student accounts) to engage in the virtual platform.
Students will only engage with others under the direct supervision of a nonprofit supervisor. The nonprofit supervisor will be directly present in the virtual space (including any breakout sessions) at all times.
The nonprofit supervisor will initiate and host all virtual sessions. If the nonprofit supervisor is not available to initiate and host the virtual session, the session will not occur.
Virtual sessions will not be recorded.
Students should not share or upload any videos, pictures, or images of themselves, unless the nonprofit organization has obtained a signed form/waiver from the student’s parent/guardian authorizing permission/release.
Students’ email addresses/home addresses or any personally identifying information will remain protected and not shared.
