High Jump Celebrates Mentoring Month

January is Mentoring Month and we’d like to thank the incredible High Jump alumni who serve as mentors to current High Jump students!

High Jump hires juniors and seniors in high school or college students to serve as Teaching Assistants (TAs) and Special Projects Interns (SPIs), and they do much more than just assisting in the classroom. Our TAs and SPIs exemplify what high school and college success look like and their relationships with the current students help them both academically and emotionally.

Here are what some of our TAs and SPIs have to say about their mentorship experiences at High Jump:

“I’ve realized is that what people lack the most are role models. Even if you’re the smartest kid in your class, you might not go anywhere without knowing it was possible. When I met my TAs at High Jump, I wanted to be like them. I wanted to go to college like them. One of my TAs Erifer got into Yale and I was blown away that someone like me was able to go to an Ivy League school, I mean even just going to college is a big deal. And it’s crazy to think that now I’m a role model to current High Jump students.”

– Brandon, Cohort 24
Attending Haverford College

“I was a TA and I also mentored High Jump students at Northside [College Prep]. Being a mentor helped me be more empathetic, it made me think about how others might be feeling and how to help them when they need it. I remember some students would come to me really stressed about high school acceptances and I would tell them it’s okay. I explained to them that struggling with something doesn’t signify who they are and what they can be and they can move past it.”

– Yesenia, Cohort 24
Attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

“My time as a TA and SPI were the best. I remember the Moving Up ceremony and the students from my campus crying because it was my last summer working as a SPI and focusing more so on school. They legit made me cry that night because I saw how much of an influence and a coach and a mentor I was to those students.”

– Arthur, Cohort 18
Marquette University Class of 2017

“I wanted to be a TA because I remembered how helpful my TAs were when I was in High Jump. One TA Evan was really helpful and he was always really happy and calm and it made me feel better when I was stressed. My favorite memory now as a TA was helping a student with a math concept they were struggling with and seeing the light bulb go on in their head. It’s nice to know that I’m helping others like my TAs helped me.”

– Jiewen, Cohort 26
Attending Walter Payton College Prep

“One of my favorite parts of being a SPI was getting to work with the TAs. They were once my students when I was a TA and it was really great seeing them take the next step in their education and graduate from high school. The fact that they’re going to top institutions now is a huge accomplishment that shows their dedication, and it’s a result of being in High Jump.”

– DJ Cohort 21
University of Chicago Class of 2019