Opportunities From: Montgomery County Volunteer Center

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.

Only students serving as approved volunteer mentors or guest speakers may earn eligible MCPS SSL hours. Students attending the program as participants do not earn SSL hours.

How to Apply

Interested students should first respond to this opportunity through the Montgomery County Volunteer Center and then complete the NEXT EDUCATION Student Mentor Program Volunteer Mentor Application.

Volunteer Mentor Application:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdeiDjli4pTzghtU4zn2FGvYHfwcj6QxUyIN1CbkbFoLc67PA/viewform?usp=publish-editor

In the application, students will provide basic contact information and briefly describe the extracurricular activity, academic program, competition, research, leadership, service, or other educational experience they would like to share with younger students.

NEXT EDUCATION will review applications and contact selected volunteers using the personal/private email address provided in the application. Parent/guardian permission must be received before a student participates in a live virtual mentoring session.

NEXT EDUCATION will coordinate approved volunteers, session scheduling, adult supervision, attendance, and verification of eligible SSL service hours.