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Advising & Mentoring High School Students

In general, guidelines and resources for advising and mentoring high school students share many commonalities with those for working with undergraduate and graduate students.

Keep in mind that these students may have little to no experience in the lab and field environment, likely will not have worked as part of a scientific team, may lack confidence and may need more guidance and scaffolding compared with an undergraduate or graduate student.  

Students in the region may reach out to you directly asking for an opportunity, or you may pursue the opportunity to mentor a high school student through the VIMS Governor's School.  

The VIMS Governor's School is a 4-week summer residential school provided in cooperation with The Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary. Students are housed at Christopher Newport University. Since 1993, this program has been serving high-achieving high school students throughout Virginia and providing participants with authentic experiences in marine research. The program allows students to explore their interests and abilities in a professional setting, working with faculty sponsors who have chosen to share their knowledge, experience and expertise. Students become more confident and self-sufficient, as well as creatively productive, as they apply their critical thinking skills to authentic research projects.  Detailed guidance for mentors is provided in the VIMS Governor's School Handbook.  Dr. Rochelle Seitz is the Project Director for the program.

In the article Ten simple rules for providing a meaningful research experience to high school students, Lescak et al. (2019) provide the following guidelines for mentors of high school students pursuing science research:

Rule 1: Check with your institution’s environmental health and safety/risk management offices to confirm the rules and regulations for working with minors.* 

Rule 2: Make sure that you and any others who will be involved in co-mentoring agree on reasonable, timebound expectations and goals for the student’s mentoring experience

Rule 3: Be realistic about your expectations for the student, and provide positive feedback

Rule 4: Set goals early, and revisit them often

Rule 5: Design a deliverable for the end of the experience

Rule 6: Structure the student’s time when they are in the lab

Rule 7: Help the student see both the forest and the trees

Rule 8: Guide the student toward becoming independent in their work and taking ownership of their project

Rule 9: Show the student you are human

Rule 10: Establish a long-term mentoring relationship

The use of individual development plans and mentoring compacts helps mentees make the most of the experience and also helps to keep everyone involved on the same page regarding expectations.  

*Key VIMS and W&M policies:  

Statement from Dean & Director Aday: "When we host minors (individuals under the age of 18) on our campus, we must take very seriously our obligation to safeguard their wellbeing. Compliance with University policies and procedures that govern engagement with minors is imperative and required when working with minors in any capacity, including formal (e.g., summer camps) and informal (e.g., high school volunteers in your labs) programs.

Training is required for program supervisors, those individuals ultimately responsible for formal programming.  If you work with minors on the VIMS/W&M campus, then I strongly encourage you (and your graduate students, if they interact with or supervise minors) to attend a training session.  Please recognize that adherence to policies and procedures is the responsibility of the person ultimately overseeing the program or the laboratory that minors are affiliated with, even if that person has delegated the responsibility of working with minors to others".

W&M Policy on Protection of Minors and Reporting Abuse: Youth program training is offered annually by the Office of Compliance & Equity.  Announcements are made in the W&M digest and via email.  In addition, university programs and programs affiliated with the university that are lead by employees of W&M that include participation of minors (under 18 years of age) must register with the university in advance. The registration form will be available online. Other requirements are detailed in the policy and Program Supervisors may contact compequity@wm.edu with questions.

High school students working with research programs at VIMS should be supervised by experienced mentors.  Their work in the laboratory must be under the DIRECT and CONSTANT supervision of an adult competent to evaluate the safety of the work being performed.  For further information, refer to VIMS PPD-0513. If you plan to work with volunteers under the age of 18, contact VIMS Outreach Coordinator Kristen Sharpe to discuss special considerations before the volunteer begins work.