Collegiate Challenge Mentor Offers Encouragement and Advice

Mentor Dana Stewart coaches mentees at Spring Woods High School.

Dana Stewart and his wife were out for a walk in their neighborhood and passed by Northbrook High School, where the school’s marquee read “We Appreciate Our Mentors.”

At that moment, it flashed into Stewart’s mind: “I want to be appreciated too!” He subsequently signed up to be a mentor in SBISD and felt led to be a Collegiate Challenge mentor.

As a retired business manager for World Impact, Stewart’s schedule best aligned with the Collegiate Challenge mentoring program at Spring Woods High School, and he began volunteering at the school this spring.

Watch a spotlight on SBISD's Collegiate Challenge Program  >>

This spring, mentors from the ranks of SBISD administrators and community volunteers are meeting once a week with a group of juniors to prepare them for college applications in the fall.

The mentors and students work on writing admissions essays, polishing resumes, seeking summer college experiences, discussing and researching careers and majors, and much more. To allow all mentors and mentees to work on drafting and editing at a similar pace, program leaders present assignments and resources to the students and mentors each week.

Stewart is ‘getting his feet wet’ as a roving mentor in the program this spring. When a student’s assigned mentor is not able to attend, Stewart fills in by offering encouragement and advice.

“My first opportunity to help a student was life-changing,” Stewart said. “I was able to read about the obstacles they have overcome in their pursuit of a college degree and give input with their essay.  What a privilege!”

Becky Wuerth, mentor coordinator for the SWHS Collegiate Challenge program, said that she is “so thankful” to have Stewart in the mix to work with mentees when their own mentors are unavailable to attend meeting times.

In SBISD, we APPRECIATE our mentors! We are glad that Dana Stewart took that stroll through his neighborhood, was inspired to find out more about the District’s mentoring programs and found a place with the Collegiate Challenge mentors and mentees at Spring Woods High School.