About the Program
Goals of the Program
Mentor Requirements
Contact Program Coordinator
The Point Foundation Mentoring Program
About the Program
Every year, Point Scholars are matched with leaders across the professions who are committed to the welfare of Point Foundation and the greater LGBT community. These matches are intended to cultivate strong professional relationships between Scholars and professionals located within the Scholar’s academic fields of interest. In addition, the Point Foundation Mentoring Program provides Scholars with a strong network of emotional support which we strongly believe will help our students assume the leadership positions they seek. We look for mentors who are able to commit to a lifelong partnership with the Scholar as well as Point Foundation.
Typically, mentors and students are in contact with one another at least once a week and meet when time permits. Each Mentor-Scholar pair is expected to establish a yearly set of goals and objectives. The mentor then serves as an advisor, coach and confidant to the student. We believe that mentorship is a cornerstone of academic and professional success especially for students whose family, friends, and teachers are no longer willing to serve as pillars of emotional support. From our own collective experiences, the Point Foundation understands that having an interested, caring and empathetic mentor who is highly-successful in their chosen profession is invaluable.
Our current mentors include university presidents, professors, artists, journalists, doctors, lawyers, businessmen and women, philanthropists, and more.
Fortunately, Point Foundation currently has many more mentor applicants than scholars in our program. However, we are constantly seeking new mentor applications and encourage you to apply. We have a diverse set of students with various academic backgrounds and professional interests who may benefit greatly from working with someone like you. The foundation desires to build a large pool of mentor candidates to better match the interests of both the mentor and the scholar. Additionally, the foundation seeks mentor candidates who are interested in assisting our scholars with additional aspects of our program including leadership development, community service, professional advice and networking, as well as internship opportunities. Please be advised that the foundation is not always able to successfully match a mentor applicant with a Point Scholar.
Goals of the Program
1. To build a mentorship program that enriches the lives of both our mentors and scholars.
2. To attend to the welfare and future of our Scholars in a world that threatens their livelihood and opportunities for future success.
3. To provide Scholars with a network of support that cultivates their intellectual development.
4. To match Scholars with mentors who are committed to advancing our students’ academic and professional opportunities.
5. To set practical procedures and policies based on the needs and capacities of our mentors and scholars.
6. To implement a sustainable mentoring system that enhances the overall quality of Point Foundation.
7. To build a clearinghouse of mentors suitable to a diverse set of emerging LGBT leaders.
8. To train Point Scholars to serve as future LGBT mentors and community leaders.
9. To provide potential mentors with strategies for developing mentoring relationships with our Scholars.
Overview of Mentor Requirements & Application Process
1) To be considered as a mentor you must provide a completed application including signing and filing a hard copy background authorization check and a Code of Conduct.
2) We accept applications throughout the year. Our matching process coincides annually with the selection of our scholars each summer.
3) The number of mentor applications received each year usually exceeds the number of Point Scholars. Therefore, we are unable to match each mentor who applies. If you are not matched with a scholar during the year that you apply, we hope you will continue to remain on our list of interested applicants to be considered for the following school year.
4) No guarantee of match: Please be advised that the foundation is not always able to successfully match a mentor applicant with a Point Scholar.
5) For more details or to get started, click here.
Contact the Mentoring Program Manager
E-mail Darrin Wilstead: darrin@pointfoundation.org