Speech Topic: Academic Mentoring as a Tool in The Raising of At-Risk Youths Achievement

Audience Information: General; mixed with donors and potential volunteer mentors.

General Purpose Statement: Persuade and entertain the audience.

Social and Cultural Considerations for your audience: American; upper-middle-class to

wealthy.

INTRODUCTION

Attention Getter: “The strength of the United States is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons
of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our
people.” This is a famous quote by Claiborne Pell.

Statement of Credibility (Why are you credible to speak on the topic?): Today, it is my
pleasure to talk to you about academic mentoring. I have seen and experienced firsthand how
academic mentoring has helped young people to reach their full potential by way of monitoring
and analyzing their academic progress and applying the right methods to drive improvement.

But first, what is academic mentorship?

BODY/MAIN POINTS

What is Academic Mentorship?

Mentoring generally means when a person who is skilled at something helps another who is less
experienced by way of advice or coaching. In this case, academic mentoring means being guided
along with one's career goal and education. Meaning someone - maybe a teacher, parent, or even
a volunteer who has the necessary knowledge will help the less experienced student to improve
academically and help redefine their goals.

How can academic mentoring be beneficial to at-risk youths?

There exists a strong connection between academic mentoring and raising the achievements of
at-risk youths. I want to review that briefly.

Young teens while in school experience challenges. They have to deal with family, society, and
sensitive changes that occur during this passing period to young adults. It is in this period that
parents and educators seek to help kids build on knowledge and disposition – such as
adaptability, courage, and decision-making – to ensure that they can on their own solve problems
as well as be responsible and accountable for their decisions.
With the intention to provide young teens a better shot at life by influencing positively this
transitory phase to young adults, academic mentoring provides a meaningful opportunity to help
at-risk kids grow into responsible adults.
But how does this work?
The Model of Academic Mentoring
Lets’ talk about the model of academic mentoring. It involves two participants; the mentor, and
the mentee.

The mentor could be a teacher or a volunteer. He or she is the one who is experienced and is
charged to be a trusted advisor and guide. Not only is this role advisory, but also involves
supervision to ensure progress is being made.

The mentees, on the other hand, are our kids. The ones the Crossover program works with daily
to make a positive difference in their lives. The mentee is advised, trained, and counselled by the
mentor. But the mentor never imposes his or her will on the mentee. The mentor's job is simply
to assist these kids academically so they may explore their unlimited potential.

CONCLUSION

Statement of Closure: My watch says it's time to close. So, let me end my talk the way I began
it.

Yes, the strength and future of our country is based on the education and character of each and
every one. You will be doing a great service when you invest your time, your money or your
support for better education of at-risk youths, as they are the future. This will inevitably improve
our community; and when our community improves, guess who is going to be better off for it?

Recap of Thesis/Main Points: So, think please, as you leave here today: What happens if all we
do about this subject is listen and talk about it and don’t take action. What happens then?

Make a difference today. Help a kid. Help our collect futures.

Thank you very much for listening.