Positive Role Modeling Makes San Francisco International High School Alumni Mentoring through SPAN Program a Success

By Guest Blogger Amanda Chui, SPAN Program and Senior Seminar Coordinator, San Francisco International High School

This is the second year San Francisco International High School (SFIHS) is running Alumni Mentoring through the SPAN program.

Alumni Mentoring provides an opportunity for our SPAN scholars to come back to our community and mentor young men and women who share similar backgrounds. This year, five of our SPAN students are serving as alumni mentors. In total, our alumni mentor’s case load is approximately 35 mentees, particularly students who are having a hard time adjusting to the transition.

The great power of alumni mentoring is that the mentors recently overcame many of the same challenges as their mentees. Overseeing the mentor program, I am incredibly proud of the work that our mentors are doing and the command and initiative they take to ensure that their mentees are successfully progressing.

One of our mentors, Carlos, has spread his wings and talent by supporting the school community in every way possible. Carlos is an SFIHS Class of 2014 graduate. He is currently attending SFSU, and this is his second year mentoring at SFIHS.

This year, he has taken a significant amount of leadership in running the mentor program alongside SFIHS staff. In addition, he is also our cross country and track & field coach, a SFIHS math tutor, and volunteers a significant amount of hours to our community.

Our students look up to him as a strong and positive male role model, and his mentees have found inspiration in him to keep working toward their goals. Carlos is a definitely a growing community leader, and we are lucky to have him return to the community he is from.