Recently, a local advocate and facilitator for student mentorships had a chance to share her message on a national stage. DCMO BOCES Public and School Liaison Martha Ryan was a speaker at the National School Public Relations Association National Seminar, “Finding Common Grounds,” held in Seattle, Washington July 14-17. The annual conference is the largest communications-focused professional development event for education leaders, attracting over 1,700 participants from the United States, Canada and beyond for four days of presentations and discussions on a wide range of communications and community engagement topics.
Ryan was instrumental in setting up a successful partnership among regional chambers of commerce and DCMO BOCES for a mentorship program where retired and active business professionals served as mentors for BOCES students, and that was the focus of her presentation.
“I was deeply honored to have been invited to present at this conference, affording me the opportunity to share a compelling narrative of a successful mentoring program with fellow professionals,” she said. Her presentation, “Engaging the Business Community as Student Mentors,” detailed the volunteer campaign that launched the mentorship program, and provided ideas and tools that the audience of school public relations professionals, administrators and state education officials could use to develop their own mentorship programs. Ryan said that there was great enthusiasm and interest, and that participants “were provided the occasion to revisit their own mentoring experiences,” both as mentors and mentees.
Ryan believes the local mentorship program has been very successful, with positive outcomes for both the students and the business community. She sees no reason why it couldn’t work in other parts of the country as well, and she hopes that speaking at the conference will encourage others. “My aspiration is that I have sown the seeds of inspiration that may take root and flourish in diverse regions.”
The Regional Mentoring Program began as a partnership between DCMO BOCES, Commerce Chenango, Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and Otsego County Chamber of Commerce. Initial funding was provided by the Community Foundation of South Central New York, and by a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission. For more information about the Regional Mentorship Program, contact your county’s chamber of commerce. For more information about the educational and community programs available at DCMO BOCES, visit www.dcmoboces.com.