UHV Celebrates National Mentoring Month
As part of National Mentoring Month, the Letting Education Achieve Dreams initiative at the University of Houston-Victoria is hosting a reception Tuesday, January 24, to recognize and honor LEAD mentors currently volunteering their time to work with local youth.
The reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room on the UHV campus. Prominent university and community members will be on hand to express their appreciation for the mentors’ work. They will be joined by mentees and their families.
Mentors provide encouragement and guidance to individual youth, usually through meeting with each student once a week. Studies have shown that students involved in mentoring relationships are less likely to begin using illegal drugs or alcohol, less likely to miss school and less likely to be involved in fights or gangs.
“Mentors make a remarkable difference in our schools and community,” said LEAD mentoring coordinator Matina Pflaum. “We want to let them know that their time and effort are deeply appreciated.”
LEAD mentors commit to meeting with a student for one full school year, after which they have the option to continue. A national poll of active mentors found that 99 percent of them would recommend mentoring to others.
The UHV LEAD initiative helps regional schools and businesses establish mentoring programs, provides training for the volunteers and offers ongoing support.
National Mentoring Month began in 2002 with a presidential proclamation from George W. Bush. For more information about mentoring opportunities, contact Matina Pflaum at (361) 570-4860.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
