Celebrating Our 15th Year of Mentoring!
We are thrilled to launch the Fall 2025 mentoring season, marking our 15th year of dedicated mentoring with Austin Independent School District (AISD) and Del Valle ISD (DVISD)! This year, our program proudly serves students across nine schools: four high schools and three middle schools in AISD (McCallum HS, Northeast ECHS, Travis ECHS, LBJ ECHS, Kealing MS, Lively MS, and Garcia MS) and two middle schools in DVISD (Dailey MS and Ojeda MS). To ensure our mentors are ready, we held our annual Mentoring Kickoff Retreat with both new and returning mentors on September 19th, where they engaged in essential training and team building for the year ahead.
Our leadership is strong this season with our Mentoring Team Coordinator, Clint Lafuente, leading our Site Coordinators: Celine Norman, Marianna Fresquez, and Zorayda Sanchez. Our mentoring curriculum is structured around our five core pillars: Student Identity, Leadership, Fellowship, Health and Wellness, and College/Career Readiness. In their weekly sessions, site coordinators and undergraduate mentors facilitate workshops that encourage students to develop positive qualities they wish to emulate in pursuit of their goals. Sessions also focus on utilizing student’s strengths while consistently striving for academic excellence.
The commitment of our undergraduate mentors is the backbone of Project MALES. Many of these student leaders are first-generation college students who share similar backgrounds with the students we serve. They view this work as an opportunity to give back and encourage secondary school students to pursue higher education. Beyond the Kickoff Retreat, mentors are continually learning throughout the year in the ELP 111s IMPACT service-learning course and through participating in SOL: Sustaining Ourselves as Lideres. SOL, led by Brenda Breceda, Maria Aramburo, and Victoria Cuellar, provides a platform for returning mentors to connect, socialize, and foster a community rooted in shared values. Through events like Project MALES Pláticas, we facilitate meaningful interactions with keynote speakers and mock mentoring sessions. During Pláticas, mentors share their experiences and reflect on the impact they have on mentees.
Mentees from each school will have the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned throughout the year by attending our field trip at UT Austin. Every Spring semester, our students from each of the nine schools interact with faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students at UT’s College of Education. The visit includes workshops, presentations, a campus tour, and UT swag. Our Longhorn for a Day event will be Alright, Alright, Alright!
