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The mission of the Young Scholars of Bartlesville is to assist academically promising, yet economically disadvantaged students in the Bartlesville Public School System to earn a college degree.

 

Students and their parents are matched with a volunteer mentor. This mentor will continue to work with the student and parent(s) through his or her senior year by having age-appropriate discussions regarding educational success, future opportunities, goal setting and career planning. The mentors will meet with students a few times per month, several hours per week and their parents once per quarter.

 

The volunteer mentor is where Big Brothers/Big Sisters in Bartlesville fills the need. Appearing on COMMUNITY CONNECTION, Briana Brzezinski, Executive Director, Young Scholars Program and Charlene Dew, Bartlesville Area Director forBig Brothers/Big Sisters explained how this partnership was formed.

 

Charlene Dew said the collaboration with Young Scholars came about in 2006. It was clear that both could work well together using each other's strengths for the benefit of young people. Big Brothers/Big Sisters has been cultivating quality mentor for years and the fit was a natural.

 

As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer-supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Oklahoma matches volunteer mentors (Bigs) with children (Littles) who need help with self-esteem, decision-making, and other areas of life.

 

These mentors provide Young Scholars guidance regarding educational success, future opportunities, goal setting and career planning. 

 

Students who complete the Young Scholars program and successfully apply to either Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, or Rogers State University (college selection may be determined by funds available at each university) will earn a scholarship up to $4,000/year in the academic field of their choice. Scholarship recipients will provide additional guidance for students entering the program.

 

The need now is for mentors. To learn more about how to become a mentor, log on to https://bigoklahoma.org/bigs .