Info Session: Refugee Student Mentor Program–Call for Volunteers
Date: Monday January 23, 2023
Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Location: online
Spring 2023
Refugee Student Mentor Program (RSMP) – Call for Volunteers
A joint endeavor between the Center for Middle Eastern Studies; the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies; The South Asia Institute; and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
We are writing to invite interested undergraduate and graduate students to join RSMP for the Spring 2023 semester. Below you will find information on how to join and how we have adapted our activities to account for current pandemic conditions.
Orientation
This semester’s orientations will have one virtual option and one in-person option. They are the same orientation, and you only need to attend one. They cover the same material. We schedule two in an attempt to accommodate different schedules. If you would like to volunteer but cannot attend either of these sessions, please email Erin Kelleher (ekell@utexas.edu).
The virtual orientation will occur on Monday January 23, from 2-3pm at this link: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/91977897526
The in-person orientation will occur on Thursday, 26 September, from 4-5 pm in CAL 516.
Orientation will cover the following topics:
1) Volunteer Guidelines
2) Best Practices for Mentoring
3) Mentoring Tips
4) Mentor Skill-Building
5) Understanding Student Behavior
6) Meeting With Your Student
7) Resources
Thank you to any and all who are willing to help these students in the Austin Independent School District (AISD). Our hope is that the orientation will show you more precisely how you can contribute your time, your care, and your skills to make a difference in your community. We’re looking forward to meeting you all!
RSMP – What We Do
Austin is a relocation site for refugees from around the world. Beginning in 2015, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies worked with Doss Elementary in northwest Austin to connect UT students with Arabic-speaking students there. In response to changing needs within Austin’s refugee community, the Refugee Student Mentor Program’s mentors are working with more diverse groups of students, depending on their skills and schools’ needs. We actively encourage volunteers with non-English language skills to join us and help newly-arrived students in Austin K-12 schools adjust to their new surroundings.
Our most critically needed languages at the moment are:
- Dari/Farsi
- Pashto
- Burmese
- Swahili
- Kinyarwanda
- Arabic
For the Spring 2022 semester, UT students can volunteer to help these students in the following manner:
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
- ESL Education – Our mentors join in ESL classrooms, both generally assisting instructors and working more closely with particular students depending on classroom needs.
- Other classes – AISD often places RSMP mentors in English classrooms, but mentors may sometimes be asked to work with students in science or mathematics classes. If you are not comfortable with a particular subject, that’s ok! AISD employees are usually open to adjusting their requests to your own skill sets.
- Outside the classroom – RSMP mentors sometimes work with one or multiple students in a setting separate from classrooms (often counselors’ offices) for more focused time on class or homework.
SOCIAL TIME
Volunteers can meet with students in non-academic sessions in order to get to know them better and be supportive presences in the students’ lives. Volunteers might set up a wide variety of activities, like having lunch with students on campus, playing games with them, reading books or articles relevant to the students’ interests, or developing crafting projects with students.
School Placement & Background Checks
Following orientation, we will match mentors with the most appropriate AISD campus on the basis of student need. Mentors will need to fill out an Austin Partners in Education (APIE) background check. as well. These are short and online.
First Steps:
If you are interested in joining RSMP, please fill out the survey found here: https://forms.gle/rmPUnXV4HsH7W8kNA
If you have any questions about the program, please email Erin Kelleher.
