Guidelines for Students

Welcome aboard! Our mission is to help you to develop a better understanding of the “real” world outside the classroom, by meeting and engaging with business and professional leaders in the local community. To guide you, please download the Guide for Student Engagement.

This is an opportunity for you to learn about the decisions, processes, and challenges that these leaders regularly face in their daily pursuits, including their thoughts about how their products and services might help their customers and clients, and contribute to the community. We do not expect you to become proficient in any particular aspect of the organization. We simply want you to have a better idea of what it’s like to run a business or other professional entity, and how best to engage with the business and professional community.

Your mentors will share with you the benefit of their life experiences. They may also offer you networking opportunities that can help you as you begin to explore the world after you graduate from CCHS and in the years beyond.

As indicated in your acceptance letter, you have been assigned to either an individual mentoring partnership or a mentoring discussion group.

If you requested a mentor in a specific field, we tried to accommodate your request; however, we may not have been able to do this for all students who asked. In any event, we hope that you find your mentoring relationship valuable. We will send out evaluation forms for you to complete at the end of the semester.

If you have questions at any time, please contact Mr. Wells, Faculty Coordinator (Email: swells@concordcarlisle.org Phone: (978) 318-1400 x7951).

In the meantime, here is an outline of the process and what will be expected of you:

1. After receiving your acceptance letter:

Please contact your individual mentor within one week of receiving your acceptance letter. Your mentor’s contact information will be in your acceptance letter. Introduce yourself to your mentor and confirm your participation in the program.

Discuss when and where to have your first meeting. We suggest your first meeting take place before February break, at a time and place that works for both of you. You are not permitted to miss class to attend meetings, however, if you have free time during the school day, you may meet at that time if your mentor is available.

2. To prepare for your first session:

Set a reminder in your phone, calendar, or homework planner for the date and time of your first meeting.

Arrange for transportation to and from your meeting.

Review (and print and bring) the list of Possible Discussion Topics. Bring a pencil and notebook, in case you want to take notes or write anything down. Also, review the Guide for Student Engagement, which you may download here.

Dress neatly. Look presentable and respectful.

Arrive at all meetings on time. Please call your mentor if you are running late or need to cancel due to circumstances beyond your control. Mentors will reschedule missed sessions if they are able to do so.

3. During sessions:

Sessions should run for approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours, and typically be held after school in the 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM time block.

Greet your mentor in a professional manner (hello and a good, firm handshake).

In your first meeting, talk about when and where to schedule the remaining 4 sessions. All sessions will need to occur before the first week in May, each for 1½ to 2 hours. Write down the meeting times or put them in your phone/calendar.

Show that you’re interested and engaged. Ask questions and listen to the answers. Follow up with thoughts or other questions of your own. Feel free to use the question outlines as your guide for discussions. You may certainly veer from the outlines as needed; however, the discussion guides offer a workable “flow” to establish a good working relationship with your mentor and to make sure you cover a wide variety of areas of discussion.

These mentoring relationships are designed to give you a sense of the importance of teamwork, interpersonal relationships and problem-solving skills, and appreciating diversity, along with a host of other things. The relationships are also inter-generational: you and your mentor will have much you can learn from each other. Please seize the opportunity to share the knowledge that you have and the person that you are.

Take notes if you feel that it will help you. You may audio-record the sessions if your mentor has no objections.

At the end of each meeting, briefly review the topics that you covered and highlight any topics you would like to talk about in your next meeting.

4. When it’s all over…

We will schedule a program wrap-up at CCHS for students, mentors, and parents/guardians (tentatively scheduled for the second week in May). This final event will allow you to share what you learned during the experience and hear from some of your peers about their experiences. If your mentor is able to attend, it will give you the chance to think back on your experience together and talk about what you have learned from each other.