WHAT TO EXPECT
We're not just a program, we're a partnership. A fundamental part of the Summer Search program is mentorship. There are many other mentorship programs out there, but few that span 7-9 years during a student's most crucial developmental years spanning adolescence and adulthood. Expect to build a mentor/mentee relationship you can count on, where you can feel respected, seen and heard.
Our Summer Searchers often talk about how moved they are by the entire community. You'll meet new students during school welcome events, summer experience adventures, peer-to-peer group mentoring sessions, workshops, and local career development days. Expect to make life-long friends who stay with you from high school, through your chosen post-secondary pathway, and beyond.
Our program is long, intense, thoughtful, and spans almost a decade. We commit wholeheartedly to each student we accept into our program. Likewise, each new Summer Searcher commits to fully participating to the extent they are able. This is a significant commitment and can feel intimidating to some students. It's OK if you feel this way at first - we're here to support you every step of the way.
Summer Search means living a life of searching and being open to ‘try on’ new ideas. What are we searching for? Our purpose in the world. Our next big move. How to become more of our true selves. How to find a fulfilling and financially satisfying career. When you join Summer Search you're choosing a life perspective that says, "I may not have all of the answers, but I'm willing to try on new ways of doing things to find my purpose.
elebetel
Assefa
“ My Summer Search experience helped me transform from a girl with many fears and anxieties to a young woman confident in her abilities to overcome them.”
We believe in the beauty of our students' dreams. We also know dreams don't always come easy. Summer Searchers are used to overcoming challenges. Most of our students have faced incredible obstacles. We challenge you to push past the limits you have for yourself. This can be uncomfortable, but remember - here, you grow with the support of a mentor and a caring community.
Summer experiences are one of the founding pieces of our program. These summer adventures take our students all over the world on outdoors, academic, or service-oriented experiences that expand their minds, hearts, and hiking prowess! Whether exploring the Alaskan forest or helping build schools in Nepal, Summer Searchers return with experiences they continue to reflect on and learn from. Expect to try things you might never have thought possible.
Goal setting and planning for the future are common activities for our mentors and students. You'll probably discuss more topics about your future than you ever have before, but we think that's a good thing. You can't make your dreams come true without first defining them clearly. Our mentors are trained to be supportive of the future that you envision for yourself.
Our mentorship program centers on a cycle of action and reflection that helps you learn from your past, course correct through mistakes, understand and celebrate your identity, and set goals for the future. Expect to reflect on your life with your mentor, peer group, and your local Summer Search community.
Students discuss the supportive environment
Power of having a mentor
community builder
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National Partners
Summer Search is available to all, without regard to race, color, origin, gender, political affiliation, disability, sexual orientation, or religion. Summer Search is a US tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID Number: 68-0200138).
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